GREATER KAMCHATKA NIGHTINGALE 313 



CALLIOPE CALLIOPE CAMTSCHATKENSIS (Gmelin) 



GREATER KAMCHATKA NIGHTINGALE 



HABITS 



One of the pleasantest surprises and one of the most important 

 results of our expedition to the Aleutians in 1911 was the addition 

 of this beautiful and attractive bird to the North American list. It 

 was a mere straggler, of course, for no other ornithologist had ever 

 reported it as occurring at all regularly on these islands. My assistant, 

 Mr. McKechnie, shot one of these birds on Kiska Island on June 17, 

 and saw two others at the same time. They were near the beach 

 about some old buildings, but were too wild for him to secure any 

 more. Dr. Alexander Wetmore, another member of our party, saw 

 one there two days later, but was unable to secure it. 



Dr. Leonhard Stejneger (1885) records the capture of an immature 

 specimen on Bering Island on January 29, 1883, where he says that 

 it is only an accidental visitor. It is therefore a rarity even in the 

 more western Commander Islands, and the capture of our specimen, 

 now in the United States National Museum, extends its range several 

 hundred miles eastward. 



It is a common bird on Kamchatka and an exquisite songster, of 

 which Dr. Stejneger (1885) writes: "Kamtschatka's Nightingale, one 

 of the loveliest birds I ever saw or heard, breeds plentifully round 

 Petropaulski, especially in the sunny alder-groves on the slopes above 

 and behind the town. In the late spring of 1883 I shot the first male 

 arrivals on the 22d of May. It was absolutely silent, creeping 

 shyly among the lower branches of the bushes. During the following 

 autumn I met several in the latter part of September. They were 

 found especially in a narrow valley on the eastern side of the grave- 

 yard, the same place where Kittlitz, more than fifty years ago, had 

 collected his specimens during the same season of the year. About 

 the 1st of October all had left." 



Austin H. Clark (1910) says that this "was the most abundant bird 

 about Petropaulski and also the best songster. Its fine, clear song 

 was the most characteristic bird note of the place, and was heard from 

 sunrise to sunset. This species shows a preference for hillsides 

 covered with scrubby growth, in which it is very adept at concealing 

 itself. It is also common on the lowlands where any little clumps 

 of bushes occur sufficient to afford it shelter. Most of its time is 

 spent on or near the ground, but the song is usually delivered from 

 the tops of the bushes or the lower limbs of small trees. If surprised 

 in such a situation, the bird is very quick to take refuge in the thick 

 underbrush." 



Spring.- — La Touche (1925) says that the "ruby-throat," as he 



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