BIRDS. 139 



still left on the fore neck and the upper surface ; tail black with an indistinct white edge to the tips of the feathers, 

 and the outer rectrices white at the base for a very short distance. Wing, 200"'" ; tail-feathers, 117""" ; bill from 

 nostrils, 11""»; tarsus, 32"""; middle toe with claw, 85"'"'. 



First primary shorter than sixth : second longer th.au fifth and shorter than third and fourth, which are longest. 



The adult female does not differ materially from typical Lagopus rupestris in correspouding plumage. 



The designations of the colors in the above description refer to Mr. Ridgway's '•Xonicnclatiire of Colors." 



LAGOPU.S RUPESTRis ATKUENSis (Turucr). Tiiruer'.s Ptarinigaii. 



Among the spcciiueu.s secured by Mr. L. M. Turner, during lii.s residence iu tbe Aleutian 

 Islands, are two Ptarmigans, which, upon examinatioa, jjrove to represent a well-marked geo- 

 graphical race of rupestrk. His specimens were secured Jnue 7 and May 29 upon Atka Island, at 

 the extreme western end of the Aleutian chain. They are found upon this island and undoubtedly 

 also upon those adjoining. As compared with my specimens from Uualaska the 1)111 of this bird 

 is considerably broader at the base, and is somewhat longer and slenderer. In addition to this, 

 a striking difference is the very much lighter color of the western bird, which has a iiredominance of 

 ashy-gray and pale yellow. The dark rusty or bnffy-brown seen in the Unalaskau bird is re- 

 placed by a pale yellow ou the western variety, and the general shade of color is grayish in place 

 of brownish. The female of the Atka bird is more finely marked, as a rule, and has mtich less 

 of the grayish and buffy vermiculation which is exhibited by the bird from Unalaska. It is 

 undoubtedly to this race Mr. Dall refers in his contribution to the ornitholog'y of the western end 

 of the Aleutian chain, when he speaks of finding nine mnch-incubated eggs, on June 21. at Attn 

 Island, and chicks-which were hatched at Kyska, July 8.* 



PEDI0CM5TES phaluanellus (Liun.). Sharp-tailed Grou.se. 



This grouse is given by Dall as a not uncommon species at Fort Yukon and for 200 miles lower 

 down this river to the Ramparts, below which place it is not found. It may be called a bird of 

 Eastern Alaska, being limited to that portion of the Territory bordering on the British possessions. 

 Its nest was found by Mr. Kenuicott near Fort Yukon at the foot of a clump of dwarf willows, 

 with scattered spruces and other trees growing about. Other nests were afterwards found in sim- 

 ilar locations. The structure resembles that of the common prairie hen. The record of this bird 

 from Fort Yukon places its nesting range within the Arctic Circle, but how much beyond this 

 point it occurs to the north remains to be seen when future and more extended observations 

 are carried on in that region. Richardson found this grouse along the Mackenzie to the ilelta of 

 that stream in about latitude 09^, and it may occur to that point in the adjoining portion of 

 Alaska. 



Circus hudsonius (Linu.). Marsh Hawk (Esk. Xiilh-to-M-luk). 



Tliese hawks are numerous throughout Northern Alaska during the migrations. It is seen fre- 

 quently along the barren coast of Bering Sea, and has been recorded as rather uncommon in the 

 interior. It is a rare summer visitor to the Near Islands. It has been taken in Northeastern Sibe- 

 ria, and is found on the mainland throughout Arctic North America. It breeds on the Lower An- 

 derson and other northern rivers, and is one of the regular and common birds of prey in these 

 regions. The Marsh Hawks arrive later and depart earlier from the coast of Northern Alaska than 

 they do from the interior of the British fur countries. The last of JNIay, 1879, it was common at 

 the Yukon mouth, and on May G a specimen was secured by Mr. McQuesten at Fort Reliance, on 

 the upper part of this river. In autumn, from the middle of August until the end of September, 

 is the time of its greatest abundance, although it sometimes remains until November, according to 

 Mr. Dall. It is also .seen frequently from the middle of May until the first of June. 



While I was at the Yukon mouth, ou May 19, 1879, a pair of hawks was seen repeatedly 

 cro-ssing the river on different days at a certain point, the leader always performing, as he went, a 

 succession of curious antics; it would turn over and over a half dozen times in succession like 



''Lagopus leticurus has been killed iu British America, at Fort Halkett, on Liard's River, iu latitude 63^ north, so 

 close to the Alaskan boundary that it seems almost certain this species is to be found within the limits of Alaskii. 



