164 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Dr. Oberholser (1919) describes this race as similar to the Kiska 

 bird, "but wing and tail longer ; bill decidedly, tarsus and middle toe 

 without claw somewhat, shorter ; upper parts darker, more ruf escent ; 

 lower parts rather more deeply ochraceous, and posteriorly with nar- 

 rower, less deeply blackish bars." It seems to be subspecifically dis- 

 tinct from oil the birds of the Aleutian Islands, including Unalaska. 



Dr. Nelson (1887) wrote: "One of the most peculiar facts in its 

 history is its abundance on the island of St. George, which is about 180 

 miles north of the Aleutian Islands, whereas, on St. Paul Island, only 

 27 miles distant from St. George, and apparently suitable in every 

 way for its presence, there is not a single record of its occurrence; 

 and Elliott states that he searched carefully for it during his residence 

 at that place." This statement could not be made truthfully today, 

 for specimens have since been taken on St. Paul Island. We failed to 

 find it there, but our stay was very limited; we failed to find it on 

 Walrus Island in the same group, where we made a more thorough 

 investigation of its wonderful bird life. 



More recently. Dr. Harold Heath (1920), who spent the greater 

 part of May and the first half of June 1918 on St. George Island, 

 has added much to our knowledge of this wren and its habits. As to 

 its distribution on these islands he says : "Until recent years the wrens 

 of the Pribilof Islands were strictly limited to the island of St. 

 George. In 1915, however, six individuals were observed by Dr. 

 Hanna on St. Paul Island, and of these, three were secured. None, 

 so far as I now recall, have since been noted there, but in the sum- 

 mer of 1918 a considerable number were seen on Otter Island, a small 

 body of land 4 miles to the southward." 



In a still more recent paper, Preble and McAtee (1923) state that 

 Mr. Hanna took two of his specimens on St. Paul Island on October 

 29, 1914, and the third on May 16, 1915 ; he also reported that, during 

 1915, George Haley saw 11 individuals on Otter Island, that they have 

 since become well established there, and that they bred there in 1916, 

 1917, and 1918. These authors conclude : 



It seems likely, therefore, unless the species meets with a reverse on Otter 

 Island from some cause, that it will in time become regularly established as 

 a breeder on St. Paul, and that, therefore, the likelihood of the species sur- 

 viving will be strengthened. 



During the winter of 1916-1917 St. George was visited by an unusual num- 

 ber of gyrfalcons, which preyed upon the wrens and rosy finches to such an 

 extent that they were almost extirpated. G. Dallas Hanna states that in May 

 1917, he found not over six pairs of wrens during a trip made entirely around 

 the island. Since then, however, as elsewhere detailed, the species has be- 

 come at least fairly common again and has even spread to the other main is- 

 lands, previously unoccupied. 



Nesting. — It was many years after the discovery of the Alaska wren 



