i6 PACIFIC COAvST AVIFAUNA [No. i. 



almost covered by a flock of eiders and old-squaws, the latter usually predominat- 

 ing. This was around the first of July and most of the ducks seen off-shore were 

 males, the females at this date being left on shore with their maternal duties. I 

 saw no male old-squaws at Cape Blossom after July loth, and no old -squaws what- 

 ever were observed in the fall of '98 in the Kowak Valley. But in the following 

 spring, along the river and on the larger lakes in the vicinity of our winter camp, 

 this species became common. The first were seen on May 22nd. They arrived 

 in pairs, and several were often seen roosting together on an ice-cake in the river. 

 The beautiful mellow call-note of the male is aptly imitated by the native name of 

 the Old-squaw, Ar-hi'look. Although so common, I personally obtained no eggs 

 of this species. The eskimo along the coast were finding fresh eggs toward the 

 last of June. 



Histricvu'cns histn'oiu'cus (Linn.). 

 Harlequin Duck. 



Un June 9th, '99, as we were steaming down the Kowak and were just pass- 

 ing the mouth of the Squirrel River, a pair af Harlequin Ducks flew close around 

 the boat. They were so near, that a good view was afforded, and the identity 

 made satisfactory. 



Somafcria v-7iigra Gray. 

 Pacific Eider. 



This was the only species of eider met with by me in the Kotzebue region. 

 In July, Pacific Eiders were observed along the coast from Cape Prince of Wales 

 northeast into Kotzebue Sound. The males were often seen roosting in companies 

 on blocks of ice a mile or more from shore. I did not see any eiders at Cape 

 Blossom or in Hotham Inlet, but around Chamisso Island I saw quite a number. 

 At the Choris Peninsula, on the Escholtz Bay side of which the "Penelope" win- 

 tered, Mr. Rivers noted the arrival of the Pacific Eider in May, and on June 2nd 

 secured a set of five fresh eggs together with the female parent. 



Oidciuia aDiciicaiia Swains. 

 American Scoter. 



This species was first seen on June 3, '99, when a male was shot. This was 

 at a lake on the tundra back from the Kowak river near our winter quarters. Sev- 

 eral more were subsequently noted in that locality. In the Kowak delta from 

 June 12 to 26, this scoter was frequently seen. Parties of four to eight were often 

 met with on the river channels, and pairs were noted about the isolated lakes back 

 on the tundra, where they were undoubtedly nesting. I saw a number of Ameri- 

 can Scoters in July in the vicinity of Cape Blossom, and on June 30th, '99, one 

 was found dead tangled in our fish seine three feet beneath the surface of the 

 water. 



Oidcmia deglandi Bonap. 

 White-winged Scoteu. 

 I saw a single male of this species in the Kowak delta on June 12, and at 



