16 BULLETIN 17 0, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



did not take specimens, conversations with Eskimo natives convince 

 me that gyrfalcons nest there regularly. In conversation with the 

 natives, there was no doubt between us as to the specific identity of 

 the bird, for we used the native name ka-gukh-tuk, which is applied 

 to the Asiatic gyrfalcon by the natives at all places mentioned in 

 these notes." 



Nesting. — Until Mr. Bull's notes were received, we had very little 

 information on the nesting habits of this gyrfalcon. The bird in my 

 collection, referred to above, was shot on a ledge on some rocky cliffs 

 in Kotzebue Sound, where its nest was probably located. 



The "white" gyrfalcons reported by Dr. Leonhard Stejneger (1885) 

 as breeding in the Commander Islands were probably all uralensis, as 

 birds from Bering Island, now in the United States National Museum, 

 are referable to this race. He writes: "The White Gyrfalcon breeds 

 on Bering Island, though in limited numbers only. A pair had their 

 nest in a steep and inaccessible rock in the so-called 'Nakovalnaja,' 

 a couple of miles from the main village." 



Mr. Bull has succeeded in finding and collecting eight sets of eggs 

 of this rare gyrfalcon in the region referred to above; five of these 

 were collected in May, two in April, and one in June; the earliest 

 was taken on April 22, 1934, and the latest on June 8, 1934, with 

 large embryos; there were five sets of 4, two sets of 3, and one set of 

 2, with small embryos. He writes to me: "On May 13, 1932, my 

 first set of eggs was taken from a ledge on a dirt bank overlooking a 

 valley near Goodnews Bay. Other sets were collected in 1933 and 

 1934, when seven good sets were taken. At this time, a total of 14 

 nesting sites were known to me, but it was not practicable for one 

 person to visit them all in a single season on account of the breaking 

 up of the ice at this time. I believe that the beginning of nesting 

 varies each year according to the weather. In 1934 we had a very 

 early year, the break-up occurring on April 22. 



"The nests were on ledges overlooking the bay, a river, or a valley. 

 No addition was made to them except an occasional feather. If 

 located on loose dirt ledges, a hollow was scraped. Frequently they 

 were in nests formerly occupied by American rough-legged hawks. 

 That the Asiatic gyrfalcon resents any intrusion upon its nesting 

 domain there can be no doubt, and he who admires temperamental 

 display can never forget the actions of a gyrfalcon disturbed at its 

 nest." 



Eggs. — According to the brief description of the eggs, given to me 

 by Mr. Bull, these do not differ materially from those of other gyrfal- 

 cons. I have no measurements of them. 



Plumages. — As this race is none too well known, and as no des- 

 cription is available in American publications, so far as the writer 

 knows, it seems worth while to describe the known plumages in some 



