INTRODUCTION. 



The Kotzebtie Sound Region, as here understood, includes the dis- 

 trict coastwise between Cape Prince of Wales and Point Hope, and thence 

 eastward to the headwaters of the streams flowing into Kotzebue Sound. 

 This hydrographic basin, as indicated in the accompanying map, thus consists of 

 the valleys of the Noatak, Kowak, Selawik and Buckland Rivers, as well as sev- 

 eral smaller streams, all of which empty into Kotzebue Sound. 



In the spring of 1898 the writer joined a company of prospectors who in- 

 tended to explore the Kowak Valley for gold or any other valuable resource this 

 little-known country might aftbrd. We were thoroughly outfitted for such a ven- 

 ture, owning our own schooner-yacht, the "Penelope," and taking with us lumber 

 and machinery for a stern-wheel river steamer to be used on the larger streams of 

 the region. The expedition proved a disappointment in the matter of the hoped- 

 for gold, but this fact was rather fortunate for the writer and his ornithological 

 pursuits, for he was enabled to devote almost his entire time during the year spent 

 in the Kotzebue Region to collecting specimens and notes on its avifauna. The 

 resvilts constitute a part of the present paper. 



Our expedition left San Francisco on May ig, 1898, and on the 27th of June we 

 entered the Arctic Ocean through Bering Straits. On the 27th and 28th of June 

 landings were made a few miles northeast of Cape Prince of Wales, and on July 

 ist, near Cape Lowenstern. We arrived in the vicinity of Cape Blossom on the 

 9th of July, and remained there until the 12th of August, when we left on our 

 river-steamer for the Kowak. The site of our winter quarters on the Kowak 

 River was reached on the 20th of August, and here a part of our company, includ- 

 ing myself, built a large cabin and remained through the winter. Our camp was 

 situated in a stretch of spruce woods on the south side of the Kowak opposite the 

 the mouth of the Hunt River, which heads in the Jade Mountains on the north side of 

 the Kowak Valley. Several short trips were made during the fall and spring into the 

 surrounding country, so that a fair knowledge of the local geography was acquired. 

 On the 7th of June, 1899, we broke camp and steamed down the Kowak to the 

 Delta whe-e we camped until June 27, when the ice opened enough to allow us 

 to cross Hotham Inlet to Cape Blossom. The "Penelope" had wintered in Hs- 

 choltz Bay, and she arrived off Cape Blossom on the 3rd of July. We took final 

 leave of Cape Blossom on the 8th, put in at Chamisso Island for a part of the 9th, 

 and rounded Cape Hspenberg through the scattering ice-pack on our way out of 

 Kotzebue Sound on the loth of July, 1899. 



At all the points visited I made collections whenever opportunity afforded, 

 and about seven hundred bird skins and as many eggs were i)reserved. The 

 greater part of these specimens were obtained in May and June, in the Kowak 

 Valley and Delta, those months being the most favorable for such work. 



The immediate coast district bordering Kotzebue Sound is chiefly level or 



