OS CRUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 
CLANGULA GLAUCIUM AMERICANA (Bp.) Ridgw. 
(129.) AMERICAN GOLDEN-EYE. 
This is a very rare species on the shores of Bering Sea. The only instance where [ met with 
it alive was late in autumn near Saint Michael’s, where a party of four was seen in a small pond, 
three of which were secured. It occurs more commonly along the streams of the interior, but it 
is rare along the sea-shore, and I have no record of its presence about Kotzebue Sound, although 
it undoubtedly reaches that point. It is unknown from the islands of Bering Sea and the north- 
eastern shore of Siberia. 
CLANGULA ALBEOLA (Linn.) Steph. 
(130.) BUTTER-BALL DUCK. 
This beautiful litthe Duck is reported by Mr. Dall as not uncommon at the Yukon mouth, 
where it breeds; but no specimens of it were noted during my residence at Saint Michael’s, nor 
did I see it on my visit to the Yukon mouth in the spring of 1879. Mr. Dall’s record is the only one 
attributing this species to the shore of Bering Sea, and no further records are at hand of its 
occurrence in that region. It is also unknown from the shores of the Arctic coast of Alaska and 
Kotzebue Sound in addition to the islands and Siberian coast visited by the Corwin. 
HISTRIONICUS MINUTUS (Linn.) Dresser. 
(131.) HARLEQUIN DUCK. 
This richly-marked bird is found on the shores and islands of Bering Sea, extending into the 
Arctic, but north of the Straits it is much less numerous. On the Aleutian Islands it is an abundant 
species, especially in winter and spring. During May, 1877, at Ounalaska they were extremely 
numerous in large flocks, frequenting the inner harbors, but were too shy to allow close approach, 
Mr. Dall informs us that they remain later than most other Ducks; and also notes their occurrence 
insummer on the Shumagin Islands. It breeds along the coast to the north ward from these 
islands; and Elliott records it as being extremely numerous about the fur-seal islands, where 
it occurred close along the beach in flocks of hundreds, keeping closely bunched together, and 
comparatively heedless of approach. This author records his total inability to secure any of the 
eggs of this bird, although they were permanently resident there in summer, and he offered large 
rewards to the natives. The females appeared to outnumber the males two to one, and he was 
at a loss to account for not securing its nest. The probability is that these birds were barren 
females, or young of the preceding year, which for some cause did not pass to their northern 
breeding ground, but remained here, feeding upon the abundant animal life found in these waters. 
It haunts the clear cold streams of the interior which flow down the mountains and empty into 
the Yukon and its tributaries. The bird seeks secluded pools in these waters, and the natives 
when wishing to hunt them proceed up a considerable distance on the course of the. stream in 
their birch canoes, and then float silently down with the current, gun in hand, and secure the birds 
before they become aware of being approached; otherwise, if the birds’ attention is attracted they 
are said to dive with such rapidity that if is almost an impossibility to secure them; but by 
remaining perfectly quiet in the canoe they are easily approached and killed. Around the shore of 
Norton’s Sound this duck is not common in spring, occurring very rarely as a migrant, and nesting 
only along the streams flowing into this body of water. When the young are ready to take wing— 
during August, or from the last of July until September—they become more and more common 
on the rocky portions of the shore, frequenting the same localities and often joining in flocks of 
the Seoters. I have generally found them thus associated, or sunning themselves upon the 
projecting rocks and reefs at low tide during this season. They are used by the natives of the 
interior as toys, the bird being skinned, stutfed with moss and decorated with beads and bright 
colored threads to serve as dolls for the children, their handsomely variegated plumage attracting 
the eyes of the savages. 
