Remains of moles (Scalopm aqua- 

 ticus) were present in ;> pellets. 

 Birds were found in 7 ( about 1 per- 

 cent) of the })ellets and of these, ?> 

 were domestic chickens, 1 a mea- 

 (lowlark (Sfit/'/N'/la) . and '> were 

 niiidentified. 



Tahlr T). — AiinhisiN of 59 ijcllrts of ha hi 

 eafjhff rollcctcfl on the Blarkivntcr 

 National Wildlife Refuye, Md., March 

 1933 to March 193/t 



ANALYSIS OF FOOD 



Fish 

 ALASKA 



That lish are the "staff of life" of 

 Alaskan bahl eagles has been em- 

 ])hatically demonstrated by exam- 

 ination of the 485 stomachs of these 

 l)irds collected in the Territory. 

 Fisli in some form and quantity 

 a])peared in 1)25 of the 4;)5 stomachs 

 (74.7 percent by volume), either as 

 freshly caught i)rey or as carrion 

 (see table 2). Of the 227 stomachs 

 collected during the summer period, 

 .June to October, only 15 ((').(> ])er- 

 cent) of the eagles had failed to feed 

 on tish. Although the tish ^vas con- 

 strued by the examiner to have been 

 carrion in only .'37 instances, there is 

 reason to believe that much more of 

 the tish eaten had such an origin. 

 In fact, the senior author who 

 heljjed collect much of this material 

 considers that much more than half 

 of the fish eaten by Alaskan eagles 

 were dead when found by the birds. 



When digestion of tish is far ad- 

 vanced there is little evidence left to 

 reveal to the examiner the nature of 

 the food eaten. The same ])rocess 

 when ])rolonged, also obliterates 

 many diagnostic bones and other 

 parts from which identitication of 

 the tish can be made. This has re- 

 sulted in unidentified Hsh being 

 recorded in a substantial number of 

 stomachs (50), and in numerous 

 others only the genus or the family 

 to which the fish belonged could be 

 determined. 



An undetermined portion of the 

 fish eaten by eagles in Alaska must 

 be construed as carrion in origin. 

 Mui'ie (1'.>-I<») comments that this 



26 



