2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 56 



of the chain, however, and landed on Atka, Kiska, Attu, Tanaga, 

 and Adak islands, besides visiting the western end of Unalaska 

 Island, landing at Chernofski. The whole time at our disposal was so 

 short that we could devote but a very few days to each of these 

 islands and our explorations were limited to such small portions of 

 them as we could reach on foot, which meant a small area within one 

 day's walking distance of the most frequented or best harbor, where 

 we were obliged to anchor. Long trips into the interior, which 

 would involve camping, were not attempted ; our time was too limited 

 to waste any of it in making and breaking camp ; we were not familiar 

 enough with the region to know where to go and we had no facilities 

 for transporting our camp outfit, supplies, and provisions over the 

 endless succession of barren mountains surrounding every harbor, 

 as there were neither navigable streams nor trails. 



Our reconnaissance of the Aleutian chain was necessarilv so super- 

 ficial and hurried that it seems best to make at this time merely a 

 brief report of the results and not to attempt to fully describe the 

 topography, the flora, and the fauna of these interesting and little 

 known islands until a more complete biological survey can be made 

 by some subsequent expedition. 



In spite of the short time at our disposal, the four members of our 

 party used the excellent facilities at our command to the best advan- 

 tage, and by constant hard work accomplished very satisfactory 

 results. Much credit is due to the officers of the Tahoma, who gave 

 us most valuable assistance and did everything in their power to 

 further the objects of the expedition. Special thanks are due Chief 

 Engineer John I. Bryan, Lieutenant John T. Carr, Lieutenant Herbert 

 N. Perham, and Doctor Louis Schwartz, for much valuable assist- 

 ance in securing specimens. 



Good series of all the land birds were collected on nearly all of the 

 islands visited ; particularly fine series of the various subspecies of 

 ptarmigan were taken, about forty from each of the important 

 islands, among which a new subspecies was discovered inhabiting 

 Tanaga Island, Lagopus rupcstris sanfordi ; ^ two species, hitherto 

 unrecorded from North America, were collected, namely, Calliope 

 calliope and Hypocentor rustica. 



Some other interesting facts were learned regarding the distribu- 

 tion and habits of the birds of this region, but so much important work 

 in this line still remains to be done that further and more thorough 

 explorations would well be worth while. 



^Described in Smithsonian Misc. Coll., Vol. 56, No. 30, December, 191 1. 



