BIEDS. 71 



away close to the ground from 100 to 300 yards without a siugle wing-stroke. The sound produced 

 by this swift passage through the air cau ouly be compared to the rushing of a gale through tree- 

 tops. At tirst it is like a murmur, then rising to a hiss, and then almost assuming the proportions 

 of a roar as the bird sweeps by. 



Toward the end of August they unite in flocks of from fl%'e to fifty or more, and the end of 

 September finds but few remaining of the large number of a few weeks i^revious. A few remain 

 until the 8th or 10th of October, and then the wintry blank follows. 



This duck is not common at Point Barrow, where they are seen mostly during the migrations. 

 They are numerous on the Commander Islands in summer, according to Stejneger. 



Atthya vallisneeia (Wils.). Canvas-back. 



The Canvas-back is recorded by Dall as a common siJecies in the vicinity of Fort Yukon, 

 breeding there in abundance. He did not observe it elsewhere in the Territory, nor did I find any 

 evidence of its presence anywhere along the west coast. 



The Fort Yukon record places the breeding limits of the Canvas-back within the Arctic Circle. 

 It should be looked for on the marshes about Kulato. 



Aythya MARiLA NEAEOTiCA Stejn. American Scaup Duck (Esk. A-liltg-u-niiTc). 



Everywhere, in suitable locations, over all the mainland portions of Alaska, this is a common 

 and frequently an abundant summer resident. 



Dall found it a common species along the course of the Yukon, and Bischofi" obtained many 

 specimens from the Sitkan region. 



From the Y^ukou mouth to the northern shore of Kotzebue Sound, I found it plentiful. This 

 species is a common resident of the IS&av Islands. Dall rightly records it as an early arrival in 

 spring, as a specimen taken May 1 at Fort Eeliance, on the Upper Yukon, was brought me by a 

 fur trader. At Saint Michaels and the Yukon delta the season is later, and they rarely arrive 

 before the 8th or 10th of May. From May 13 to 16 they generally become numerous, and are found 

 scattered over the marshes, usually gathering in parties on the larger ponds until the end of this 

 month they divide into pairs and set about rheir nesting. In fall they remain late, the last ones 

 leaving from October 7 to 15, just as severe weather sets in. 



The nesting sites chosen are such as the Pintail and most other ducks choose — a dry, grassy 

 tussock or knoll close to some pond — the only diflereuce being that the present species appears to 

 desire a position nearer the water, if anything, and the nest is frequently at the point of some 

 small jutting cape and so near the water that the parent can swim to and from the nest. 



The eggs are large for the bird and rarely exceed eight in number. The nest is composed of 

 dry grass stems, gathered close at hand, and a large flufl'y bed of down plucked from the parent's 

 breast. The first days of June is the time usually chosen for depositing the first eggs, and some are 

 not laid until nearly a month later. On August 10, 1878, several broods of young, from one-half 

 to two-thirds grown, were seen, and on August 30, half-grown young were found in company with 

 the female, whose primaries and secondaries were just starting after her summer moult. 



In the north as in the south these birds show a predilection for the larger bodies of water, 

 and at once after the young are hatched they are marshaled off to the largest pond in the vicinity, 

 so that it is a common occurrence to find a pond with six or eight broods of these ducks united in 

 a large flock, whereas the other fresh-water ducks keep in the smaller pools and more than a single 

 brood in a pond is the exception. 



Aythya affinis (Eyt.). Lesser Scaup Duck. 



This species is recorded by Hartlaub, from Portage Bay, near Chilcat Eiver, May 23. 



In his paper upon the birds of the Territory, Mr. Dall records the Little Scaup Duck (.1. affinis) 

 as not uncommon at the Yukon mouth, where he also writes that he secured its eggs. This record 

 is extremely doubtful, since during my visit to the Yukon mouth the spring of 1879, and my long 

 residence only GO miles north of there, not a single example of this bird was obtained or seen, nor 



