90 NATURAL niSTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



During my residence at Saint Michaels, .stray i)arties of Emperor Geese were seen now and 

 tben, being more cooimon in fall than earlier in the season. Toward the end of September or first 

 of October each fall, a few are taken by Eskimo on the broad marshes about 10 or 15 miles south 

 of Saint Michaels. At this season they are in flocks of from ten to fifty or more, and are rather 

 shy. During the last of May aud lirst of June, 1870, the writer camped on a lonely islet in the 

 middle of the Yukon delta for the purpose of gaining some knowledge regarding the habits ot 

 these geese and the other water-fowl. There, under the chilling snow-squalls of a backward 

 spring, the coming of these fine birds was impatiently awaited. 



On May 22 my Eskimo hunter brought in the first one, a magniticeut male in line plumage. 

 From that time on they became more common daily until the first of .Tune, when they had arrived 

 in full force, aud their form and notes became as familiar as those of the White-fronted aud White- 

 collared Geese {gambelii and minima). The river was still under a firm sheet of ice, and heavy 

 snowbanks covered half the earth when the first arrivals appeared and sought a feeding place ou 

 any muddy flat just appearing from its snowy covering. 



The early-comers were more shj- than those later in the field, and in spite of continued eft'ort 

 the number of skins in my box did not increase rapidly. It was not long before they began to 

 arrive in flocks, and were less shy. They were easily distinguished at a long distance by their 

 heavy bodies, short necks, and short, quick wing-strokes, very much like those of the Black Brant. 

 Although not as agile on the wing as the latter bird, nor, in fact, as the other geese, yet when under 

 way they are swift flyers. 



While passing from one feeding ground to another they commonly utter a deep, rather hoarse, 

 and strident cliV-ha, cla'-ha, cla'-ha, which is very dilierent from the note of any other goose with 

 which I am familiar. At times, though rarely, a flock may be brought within gunshot by imitating 

 this note. 



Soon after their arrival they began to pair, and were seen flying about in couples, keeping close 

 to the ground, rarely flying over 20 or 30 yards high, and often barelj' keeping clear of the surface. 

 The males are extremely jealous and pugnacious, never allowing one of their kind to approach 

 within a number of yards without making an onslaught upon the intruder. The same belligerent 

 spirit is shown to the other species of geese should one of them chance to draw too near. 



While a pair is feeding the male keeps moving restlessly about, with eyes constantly ou the 

 alert, and at the first alarm they draw near together and just before they take wing both utter a 

 deep, ringing ii-lugh, u-liigh. As in the case of the call note, this has a peculiar, deep hoarseness, 

 im])Ossible to describe. 



The first of June they began depositing.their eggs on the fiat, marshy islands bordering the 

 sea. At low tide the broad mud-flats on the shore were thronged with them, and after feeding 

 until satisfied they congregated on bars until the incoming water forced them to disperse. They 

 nested most abundantly ou the salt marshes adjacent to these feeding grounds, and the eggs were 

 often plac;ed among fragments of drift-wood below the mark of the highest tides. Stray pairs were 

 found nesting further inland ou the marshy meadows, also frequented by the other s])ecies of geese, 

 but on the salt flats, near tide water, the Emperor Geese held undisputed possession. 



On June '> a female was found .setting upon her eggs on a little knoll, with a small fragment 

 of bleached driftwood within a few yards of her, and as she lay with extended neck, altliough the 

 ground was almost bare, my Eskimo aud I passed within a few feet of her on either side, without 

 seeing her. Wo were about 20 .steps beyond when she left the nest with a startled cry, thus draw- 

 ing our notice. The three eggs were in full view when we turned. They rested in a depression 

 with no sign of a lining. The same ruse caused us to pass other nests, but the birds betrayed them 

 each time by flying oft' with a loud outcry almost as soon as our backs were pi'e.sented. 



The majority of the nests found contained from three to five eggs, the full complement usually 

 ranging from five to eight. The eggs are absolutely indistinguishable from those of the White- 

 fronted (loose, and inform and measuremeuts ])rcsent a wide range of variation. Thus some are 

 much elongated, while others are slightly pyriform, xVs usually taken from the nest they are of a 

 dirty-brownish white, but when fresh are of a nearly pure white. They vary in size from .'i.'JS by 

 2.22 to ;j.03 by 2. As the complement of eggs approached completion, the parent made a .soft 

 bed of tine grass, leaves, and feathers plucked from her own breast. As a rule, when driven from 



