Nov., 1900] BIRDS OF THE KOTZEBUE SOUND REGION. 17 



Ca^De Blossom a pair were seen on June 30, '99, and another on August ist, '98. 

 As these were the only instances of its notice by anj- of our party, the White- 

 winged Scoter cannot be considered as of common occurrence in the Kotzebue 

 region. 



Oideviia pcrspicillata (L,inn.). 

 Surf Scoter. 



This was by far the conmionest scoter in the Kotzebue region, where I 

 observed it from Cape Blossom through Hotham Inlet and up the Kowak Valley. 

 Numbers of the males of both this species and the American Scoter were seen in 

 flocks off' Cape Blossom on July 10, '98. The arrival' of the Surf Scoter was noted 

 in the vicinity of our winter camp on the Kowak on May 22nd, '99, when a speci- 

 men was shot and at least a dozen others were seen about the open margins of a 

 big lake. From this date on until we left the countrj^ Surf Scoters were met with 

 numerously. In June they were common in the delta and on the lake-dotted 

 lowlands bordering Hotham Inlet. Up to the 20th of June they were still in pairs 

 and small companies, and I failed to find a single nest. I doubt if this duck began 

 incubation before the last of June. The native name for the Surf Scoter is 

 Dob-nar'uk, do'b'nak meaning evil spirit or devil. 



Chen hyperborea (Pall.). 

 Lesser Sxow Goose. 



Four Snow Geese were seen flying along the Kowak near our winter camp 

 on May 23, '99. On the 25th several small flocks were flying west low over the 

 valley, and on the succeeding three days many flocks were observed flying north- 

 ward. On the 27th, while on a short trip to the Jade Mountains, some twenty 

 miles north of our winter camp on the Kowak, I saw many vSnow Geese circling 

 upwards as they encountered the mountain ranges, and finally disappearing north- 

 ward over their summits. Near midnight of the 28th, I met with a flock of fifteen 

 alighted out on the open tundra. They were slowly walking about, evidently 

 feeding on berries, which were numerous in the localit5% being left from the 

 previous year's crop and but recently uncovered by the melting of the snow. I 

 saw no Snow Geese in the fall of '98. An eskimo at Cape Blossom on July 26, '98, 

 brought me an adult of this species, probably obtained further down the coast 

 toward Escholtz Bay. The specimen was in moulting plumage, the wing quills 

 having all been lost. This instance might seem to indicate that the Snow Goo.se 

 passes the summer on the coast of Kotzebue Sound, but if so, only in limited num- 

 bers, as this was the only specimen seen. 



Anscr albifrons gambeli (Hartl.). 

 American White-fronted Goose. 



This was a ccnmion goose throughout the region under consideration. It was 

 observed among the lakes in the hills -back of Cape Blossom in July. During the 

 last of August and the first week in September, it was numerous along the 

 Kowak in the neighborhood of our wintex^tamp. Flocks of 6 to 20 or more were 

 to be found at the margins of grass>^ lakes and on nuul-bars along the river. 



