216 NATUEAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS IX ALASKA. 



Stejueger notes them as aiuoug the coaiiuoiiest siirumer birds in the birch and alder groves 

 abont Petropaulski, Kamchatka. He also found them on Bering Island, and on comparing his 

 specimens with those from Alaska finds that the Alaskan specimens are smaller than the Chinese 

 and Kamchatkan birds. The difference, he thinks, may prove constant enough to warrant sub- 

 specific rank for the Alaskan bird, in which case it becomes P. horealis l;ennicotti (Bd.). 



Eegulus satrapa olivaceus Baird. Western Golden-crowned Kinglet. 



The Alaskan records of this species are limited to the southeastern coast, where it has been 

 obtained at Sitka and Kadiak. Although this is a common bird at Sitka and Kadiak it is thus 

 far unknown to the north of the Alaskan mountains. The occurrence of satrcqm is to be expected 

 on the headwaters of the Yukon and adjacent parts of the wooded interior. 



Regulits calendula (Linn.). Euby-crowned Kinglet. 



This handsome species has been secured from various portions of the Territory, The various 

 Alaskan records include Fort Yukon, Nulato, and Anvik, in the north, with Sitka and Fort 

 Kenai on the southeastern coast. Its range is restricted to the wooded portion of the Territory, 

 and it has not been recorded from any part of the open sea-coast in the north. Various specimens 

 show a wide range of variation, which is merely individual, although the extended distribution of 

 the bird through North America might lead one to cx^iect geographical variation. This supposi- 

 tion, however, is not sustained by an examination of a large series in the National Museum col- 

 lection, although the peculiar form from the Guadalupe Islands is an exception. In the spring 

 of 18GS Dall found it abundant at Nulato, where it preferred the alder-thickets away from the 

 river. It was very coui'ageous, and a pair which appeared about to commence a nest in a small clump 

 of bushes tore to pieces a half-finished nest of the Kusty-headed Blackbird, and upon the return of 

 the female Blackbird the pair of pigmies attacked and drove her away. This was repeated sev- 

 eral times, and when Mr. Dall left Nulato on June 2 the quarrel was still unsettled. The Indian 

 name of this bird is said to be T'lilc. They say he is a little chief, and that the Golden-crowned 

 Thrush is his grandfather. The Ruby Crown is to be found to the tree-limit within the Arctic 

 Circle, but rarely approaches the damp, cold sea-shores of this region. 



TuRDUS alicIyE Baird. Gray-cheeked Thrush (Esk. Kii gi-u-cliuk). 



This species is common throughout all the northern portion of Alaska wherever willow and 

 alder thickets affoixl it shelter. Irs western range extends to Bering Straits and beyond, and it 

 has been recorded from Kamchatka, and probably occurs on the Chukchi Peninsula. Along 

 the entire Yukon, and other streams bordered by trees or bushes in this region, it is present in 

 great abundance during the breeding season. On the 1st of June, 1S79, as I came down the 

 Yukon by boat, large numbers of their old nests were seen in the leafless bushes along the river- 

 banks. A number of these nests were close to the ground — within 2 or 3 feet — while others were 

 from 8 to 12 feet high at the division of two stout branches where the compact structure of fine 

 grass and leaves was placed. The species reaches the mouth of the Yukon and adjacent coast in 

 large numbers the last of May or first of June. The earliest arrival whicli I have recorded is on 

 May 2i. They are soon found in evei-y thicket, whence their low sweet song is frequently heard: 

 but they are very shy, and, at the first alarm, dive into the dense bushes for shelter. As soon as 

 the breeding season is over they become less retiring and frequent the vicinity of villages and 

 more open spots, where many are killed by the native boys, armed with their bows and arrows. 

 Their skins are removed and hung in rows or bunches to dry in the smoky huts and are preserved 

 as trophies of the young hunters' prowess. In the winter festivals, when the older hunters bring 

 out the trophies of their skill, the boys proudly display the skins of these thrushes and hang them 

 alongside. 



On the sea-coast every aider-patch has a pair or more of these birds, and its presence at Sitka 

 and Kadiak is attested by numerous specimens in the National Museum collection. Dall records a 

 nest obtained from an elevation of about G feet in a small alder. This nest was made of hair, lined 



