22 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 66 



birds were seen now and then, but the total number so observed 

 would not aggregate a dozen individuals. No nests were found. 

 The natives' habit of driving these birds into nets duriug the season 

 when they have moulted their flight feathers, as described by Mr. 

 Nelson (Rept. on Nat. Hist. Coll. made in Alaska, p. 91), probably 

 accounts for their present scarcity in the locality. 



I was repeatedly told that Emperor Geese occur in large numbers 

 on the south side of St. Lawrence Island during the period when 

 engaged in the post-nuptial moult, and I believe that the center of 

 their abundance to-day is on this island. 



[I was several times told of swans being heard or seen at the 

 Yukon mouth, but I did not myself see the birds.] 



GRUS CANADENSIS 



Little Brown Crane 



Cranes were seen rather frequently both at St. Michael and at the 

 Yukon. At the latter place they fed on the broad mud flats that were 

 exposed by the falling tide. As there was no concealment in such 

 places they were safe from the approach of the hunter or collector, 

 and I never was able to get nearer than a quarter of a mile without 

 having them take wing. 



PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS 



Red Phalarope 



This species appears to be a more northern bird than lobatus. I did 

 not find it at St. Michael or southward during the nesting season, 

 but north of the Seward Peninsula it occurs commonly. On the 

 Siberian side it is abundant and apparently nests farther south than 

 on the Alaskan shore. 



A number of specimens collected at Cape Serdze on August 28 

 were all in winter plumage. Some were young birds, but only one, 

 of several adults, had any chestnut feathers of the nuptial plumage 

 remaining and these were scattered through the plumage of the 

 breast and belly. 



LOBIPES LOBATUS 

 Northern Phalarope 



On the barren Arctic tundra, level and monotonous, this richly 

 colored little bird finds a congenial summer home, where, lightly 

 swimming about the edges of the many marshy pools, its dainty,' 

 graceful motions, and gentle notes add a touch of life and beauty to 

 the otherwise dreary northern wastes. 



