The kingfisher flourishes in a region where streams and fishes 
are so plentiful; and of woodpeckers local varieties of the downy, the 
hairy, and the three-toed, a sapsucker, and the northwestern flicker, 
are to be noted. There is also a hummingbird (see page 20), and 
Vaux’s swift; but the latter is rare. 
Next comes the great order of Perching Birds. Three flycatchers 
have been listed, but the western pewee alone is numerous. The 
magpie is seen irregularly, and seems to be less common than for¬ 
merly. Steller’s jay is a numerous resident, his gaudy plumage flash¬ 
ing before the eyes of the travelers along all the shores, and in clear¬ 
ings and villages. Crows are common, near the coast and on the 
islands, robbing the nests of the sea-birds as long as any eggs or 
young are to be obtained; and at other seasons, as Willett tells 
us, “they gather in large flocks along the beaches at low tide, feeding 
on shell-fish and crustaceans, and when the tide is in scratching 
among the drift-kelp along the shore.” The fish crow has similar 
habits, and may be seen in throngs, sometimes, about the fishing- 
stages and canneries, feeding upon ofifal. Still more conspicuous and 
generally distributed is the raven, of which Mr. Willett gives us a 
graphic picture; 
. . . plentiful in the streets of Sitka, and on the near-by beaches, feeding 
on refuse and carrion. They were also noted on the tops of the mountain 
ranges, where they were frequently seen playing on the snow-banks and 
glaciers. They would dig holes in the snow, and, lying down in them, would 
scratch the snow over their backs with bill and wings, the coolness secured 
in this way evidently affording them great enjoyment. They frequently 
follow the eagles when the latter are hunting, probably in hopes of securing 
a share of the prey. On one occasion I had killed a deer and left it for a 
couple of hours. On my return the eyes and a part of the intestines had been 
picked out by the ravens. . . . The raven is very fond of clams, abalones, 
sea-urchins, and other shell-fish, which are secured from the rocks at low 
tide. The shells are frequently found high up on the hillsides, where they 
have been carried by the ravens. On one occasion Merrill watched a number 
of birds standing around a hog that was digging clams from the mud. As 
fast as the clams were brought to the surface they were appropriated by 
the ravens. 
The handsomely marked form of the nutcracker may well reward 
the keen-eyed observer, but thus far it has been seen, or at least has 
been recorded, only once inside the bounds of Alaska. The only 
blackbird is the wide-ranging rusty grackle, and that is uncommon. 
No other grackles, orioles, meadowlarks, or bobolinks make music in 
that region of dense forests and rainy skies. 
14 
