110 VALLEY OF THE YUKON. 



and whose range is, therefore, not correctly given 

 in the Fauna boreali- Americana* 



* From Mr. Murray, I have received the following account 

 of the arrivals of the water-fowl in the Valley of the Yukon. 

 " Of the two kinds of swan, only the largest sort ( Cygnus buc- 

 cinator) are seen here ; they pass on to the northward of the 

 Porcupine River, to breed among the lakes. Bustards (t. e. 

 Canada geese) are plentiful, and breed everywhere, from Council 

 Bluffs on the Missouri to the vicinity of the Polar Sea. On the 

 ramparts of Porcupine River they frequently build high up 

 among the rocks, where one would suppose only hawks and ravens 

 would have their nests. How they take their young down is 

 unknown to me, but they must be carried somehow. Ravens and 

 large gulls are very destructive to young geese. With respect to 

 the breeding-quarters of the laughing geese (Anser albifrons), 

 I am able to inform you correctly, having myself seen a few of 

 their nests ; and, since the receipt of your letter, made further 

 inquiry among the northern Indians. Their nests are built on the 

 edges of swamps and lakes, throughout most of the country north 

 of the Porcupine, where the ground is marshy. It is only near 

 the most northerly bends of that river that any are seen in the 

 breeding season, and these are male birds. They pass to their 

 breeding-places in the beginning of June, and make their nests 

 among long grass or small bushes, where they are not easily seen. 

 They are shy birds when hatching ; and, when any one comes 

 near the nest, manage to escape unperceived, and then show 

 themselves at a distance, and manoeuvre like grouse to lead the 

 intruder away from the place. Notwithstanding our ruthless 

 habit of collecting eggs of all kinds to vary our diet, I have 

 often felt for a laughing goose, whose anxiety for the safety of 

 its eggs was frequently the means of revealing to us the situation 

 of its nest. When the bird was swimming some hundreds of 

 yards off, immediately that any person in walking round the 

 lake came near its treasure, the poor bird began to make short, 

 impatient turns in the water, resuming her calm demeanour if 



