NO. 2 BIRDS OF ALASKA AND SIBERIA — HERSEY I9 



POLYSTICTA STELLERI 



Steller's Eider 



Never will I forget my first meeting with this handsome little 

 Eider. As we neared Lutke Island, in St. Lawrence Bay, the sand 

 was seen to be dotted with black and white birds which soon took 

 wing. Part were Pacific Eiders which passed us and flew out to 

 sea, but the Steller's remained and flew around the island in a great 

 cloud. I had put little faith in the stories I had heard of whalers 

 feeding their entire crews on these ducks, but I no longer doubt that 

 it was often done. We shot a number and found them very palatable, 

 being far superior to the other Eiders. The birds collected were 

 all moulting into " eclipse " plumage and were very fat. 



M^e found the species common during the summer from St. Law- 

 rence Bay, St. Lawrence Island and Teller Reindeer Station north- 

 ward on both sides of Bering Sea and along the Arctic coast to 

 Point Barrow. I understand they also occur for some distance to 

 the eastward of Point Barrow. At Point Hope I saw the remains 

 of these birds about the dog kennels, although the dogs are usually 

 fed on fish. 



ARCTONETTA FISCHERI 



Spectacled Eider 



This Eider is irregularly distributed and nowhere does it appear 

 to be common. The only locality where I personally saw the birds 

 in life was in the vicinity of St. Michael, but they also occur in small 

 numbers at St. Lawrence Island and on the Siberian coast at St. 

 Lawrence Bay. The heads of this species are often combined with 

 those of the Pacific Eider, by the natives, in various ornamental 

 articles, and these, of course, also served to indicate the distribution 

 of the species. They are apparently absent from the Seward Pen- 

 insula north of Norton Sound and I failed to find any signs of them 

 about the mouth of the Yukon. A trader whom I met told me he 

 had seen them between the Yukon and the Kuskoquim, but I had 

 no opportunity to test the truth of his statement. It is probable that 

 they occur there in small numbers as they did when Nelson visited the 

 locality. 



I did not observe them about Kotzebue Sound, and Kivalina was 

 the first point north of the sound where I saw any indication of their 

 presence. Here a native brought out a head and upon being ques- 

 tioned about the species he stated that they were not often seen or 

 shot. At Point Hope I was told that they occurred rather fre- 



