ALASKA. 175 



sessod, is a regular and perinaiieiit settler on the islands, which 

 it never leaves. In the dejHh of dismal winter, as well as on a 

 summer's da}', the pahtoshkie greets yon with the same pleasant 

 chirrup, wearing the same neat dress, as if determined to make 

 the best of everything. It is particularly abundant on Saint 

 George's, where its habits may be studied to best advantage. 



"The pahtoshkie nests in a chink or crevice of the clifls, 

 building a warm, snug home for its little ones of dried grasses 

 and moss, very neatly put together, and lined with a few 

 feathers. The eggs vary in number from three to six, being 

 generally four. They are pure white, with a delicate rosy blush 

 when fresh ; and measure .97 by .67 inch. The young break the 

 shell at the expiration of twenty or twenty-two days' incubation, 

 the laborof which is uotsharedby themale,who, however, brings 

 food to his mate, singing the while, as if highly elated by his 

 prospects of paternity. The chicks, at first, are sparsely cov- 

 ered with a sprinkling of dark-gray down, and in two or three 

 weeks gain their feathers, fitting them for flight, although they 

 do not acquire the bright rosy hues and rich brown of the 

 ])arents the first year. Between the old birds there is no out- 

 ward dissimilarity according to sex, the male and female being 

 exactly alike in size, shape, and coloration. 



" They feed upon various seeds and insects, as well as the 

 larvse which swarm on the killing-grounds. They are fearless 

 and confiding, fluttering in the most familiar manner around 

 the village huts. In the summer of 1873, a pair built their 

 nest and reared a brood under the eaves of the old Greek church 

 at Saint George's. 



"The nests, of which I collected fifteen or twenty, are very 

 neatly made np of dry grass and moss, thick, and compactly 

 interwoven, placed on the faces of the basaltic and breccia clifls 

 which rise from the shore-line of the islands. These disinte- 

 grating tufa and breccia bluffs afford a thousand and one little 

 pockets and crannies in which the pahtoshkie builds, secure 

 from molestation by prowling foxes. It has no song, but ntters 

 a low, mellow chirp, alike either when fl:\ing or sitting. It is 

 most abnndaut on Saiut George's, where hundreds may be seen 

 at any time during a short walk along tlie north shore. It con- 

 sorts in pairs throughout the year, never going iu flocks, and 

 seldom flying or feeding alone." 



]Mr. W. H. Ball remarks upon the abundance of the bird on 

 the Aleutians as well as on the Prybilov Islands. In August, 



