EAGLES AND HUMMINGBIRDS 207 



effect of their tones. Quaak! quaakl an old fellow 

 would call from the top of a Sitka spruce, and then sud- 

 denly change to a low, deep- voiced -woop I rolling it out 

 like an Indian war whoop. Again he would vary the 

 note to a milder yup-quook! with a persuasive, liquid 

 quality in his voice. 



They spend much time on the beaches where refuse is 

 plenty, and seem to lead happy, independent lives there* 

 with little to worry them and much to make merry over. 

 The raven is about two feet long and may be distinguished 

 from the crow not only by its much greater size, but also 

 by the distinct and pointed effect of the feathers of the 

 throat. Altogether I have found them among the most 

 entertaining and intelligent birds I have had the good 

 fortune to know. 



Another conspicuous and widely distributed bird, that 

 we encountered almost at the outset of our voyage and 

 which was ever a part of the landscape until we entered 

 Bering Sea, is the bald eagle. The adult, perched in the 

 top of a spruce or hemlock, its white head contrasting 

 with the black of its body, makes a striking picture and 

 seems peculiarly in keeping with the grandeur of the 

 scenery and the solitude of these wave-washed shores. 



If the eagle seems to belong to these solitudes of the 

 Northwest, another bird, which we found equally abundant 

 as far north as Juneau and Sitka, seemed singularly out of 

 place. Indeed, even after reading that the tiny rufous 

 hummingbird journeyed so far into the northern wilds, 

 it was with almost a shock of surprise that we saw the 

 dainty creature, which we instinctively associate with the 

 tropics, contentedly buzzing about the salmon berries and 

 appearing as unconcerned and happy as if his fine wings 

 had not carried him some thousands of miles from his 

 winter quarters in southern California or Mexico. I can- 

 not imagine a more wonderful instance of bird migration 



