THE FUR-SEAL ISLANDS OF ALASKA. 133 



31. Larus brevirostris. Red- legged Kitteiwak ; "Goverooskie." 



This beautiful gull is one of the most elegant of all birds on the wing, and is, perhaps, as handsome as any known to 

 the sight, when it rests ; it seems to delight in favoring these islands with its presence, to the exclusion of other land, 

 coining here by teus of thousands to breed. Certain it is that my specimens testify to its special abundance, and that 

 it is by far the most attractive of all of its kind; the short, symmetrical bill, large hazel eye with crimson lids, and 

 rich coral or vermilion-red legs and feet, contrast beautifully with the snowy-white plumage of its head, neck, 

 lavender back, and under parts. 



Like Larus glaxcus, this bird remains about the islands during the whole season, coming on the cliffs for the 

 purpose of nest-building, breeding by the 9th of May and deserting the bluffs when the birds are fully fledged and 

 ready for flight, early in October. It is much more prudent and cautious than the auks and the murres, for its 

 nests are always placed on nearly inaccessible shelves and points of mural walls, so that seldom can one be reached, 

 unless a person is lowered down to it by a rope passed over the cliff. 



Nest-building is commenced early in May, and completed, generally, not much before the 1st of July ; it uses dry 

 grass and moss cemented with mud, which it gathers at the fresh-water pools and ponds scattered over the islands. 

 The nest is solidly and neatly put up; the parents work together in its construction most diligently and amiably. 

 Two eggs are the usual number, although occasionally three will be found in the nest. If these eggs are removed 

 the female will renew them like the "arrie", in the course of another week or ten days. They are of the size and 

 shape of a common hen's egg, but covered with a dark gray gronnd spotted and blotched with sepia patches. Once 

 in a while an egg will have on the smaller end a large number of suffused blood-red spots. Both parents assist in 

 the labor of incubation, which lasts a trifle longer than the usual time — from twenty-four to twenty-six days. The 

 chick comes out with a pure white downy coat, a pale whitish-gray bill and feet, and rests helplessly in the nest 

 until its feathers grow. During this period it is a comical-looking object. The natives capture them, now and then, 

 to make pets of, always having a number every year scattered through the village, usually tied by one leg to a 

 stake at the doors of their houses, where they become very tame ; and, it is not until fall, when cold weather sets in, 

 that they become restless and willingly leave their captivity for the freedom of the air. This bird is remarkably 

 constant in its specific characters. Among the thousands and tens of thousands of them, 1 have never observed 

 any variation in the coloration of the bills, feet, or plumage of the mature birds, with one exception. This is a 

 variety, seldom seen, however, in which the feet are nearly yellow, or much more yellow than red, and the edge of 

 the eyelid is black instead of being normally scarlet; there is also a dark patch back of each eye in these odd 

 specimens. The abnormal color of the feet is, probably, due to sheer accidental individual peculiarity, while the 

 eye-patch and absence of bright color from the eyeUds may depend upon the season. 



32. Colymbus arcticus. Black-throated Diver. 



When surveying Zapadnie, July, 1873, in measuring my angles on the beach, I came across the form of this 

 bird, thrown up, nearly dead, by the surf, under my feet. It is the only one I have seen upon the islands, aud 

 I called the attention of "the old wiseacres of the village to it. Whereupon, after much deliberation and guttural 

 Aleutian vocalization, they informed me that they had never noticed it before around the island, though one aged 

 man declared to the contrary, and submitted his minority report with great emphasis and much gravity. At all 

 events, it is seldom seen here. The bird in question was a fine adult specimen, and it is interesting to observe that 

 it is the true Colymbus arcticus and not var. pacificus, which might naturally have been expected. 



33. Podiceps griseigena. Red-necked Grebe. 



As in the case of the diver above cited, the present specimen is a typical form rather than a North American 

 variety. It was the only specimen seen during my residence on the island. It has, however, been observed by the 

 natives heretofore, though they affirm that it is uncommon; also, a straggler, in my opinion. 



34. Fratercula corniculata. Horned Puffin; "Epatka." 



My first impression when I saw one of these odd-looking birds, with its large shovel-like, lemon-yellow and red 

 bill, as it sat squatted in glum silence on the rocky cliff perches, was one of great amusement, and it stared back at 

 me in stolid wonder as I laughed. Of all birds in these latitudes, it seems to have been fashioned with a special 

 regard to the fantastic aud ludicrous. This mormon, in common with one other species, M. cirrhata, comes up from 

 the sea in the south to the cliffs of the islands about the 10th of May, always in pairs, never coming singly to, or 

 going away from, the Pribylovs in flocks. It makes a nest of dried sea-ferns, grass, and moss, slovenly laid together, 

 far back in some deep or rocky crevice, where, when the egg is laid, it is ninety-nine times out of a hundred cases, 

 inaccessible; nothing but blasting-powder would open a passage to it for man. It has this peculiarity: it is the 

 only bird on these islands which seems to quarrel forever and ever with its mate. The hollow reverberations of its 

 anger, scolding, and vituperation from the nuptial chamber, are the most characteristic sounds, and indeed the only 

 ones that come from the recesses of the rocks. No sympathy need be expended on the female. She is just as big and 

 just as violent as her lord and master. The nest contains but a single egg, large, oblong, oval, pure white; and, 

 contrary to the custom of the gulls, arries, and choochkies, when the egg is removed the sea-parrot does not renew 

 it, but deserts the nest, perhaps locating elsewhere. The young chick I have not been able to get until it becomes 



