34 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 217 



grayish plumage near Anivik Lake late in June. In fact a lone swan 

 of grayish color has now (in 1954) been seen a few times in each 

 summer. The summer occurrence and its appearance are so imusual 

 that it is spoken of as if it were one individual. 



Swans are not known to have nested recently in the mountains, but 

 Simon Paneak recalls that a swan's nest was found by his father 

 about 50 years ago on a lake near Akmalik Creek in the Killik Valley. 

 He also recalls finding swans nesting along the Colville Eiver from 

 the junction of the Anaktuvuk to its mouth. Swans are so conspicuous 

 on the tundra that their nesting would be observed. They are re- 

 garded as regular migrants which do not nest in the mountains. 



Branta canadensis tavemeri Delacour 



3 males May 18-20 -weight (1) 2551 g. 



3 females May 18-23 welgbt (1) 2150 g. 



Until clarification of the systematics of the Alaskan forms of Branta 

 canadensis^ by Delacour and Zimmer (1951), a single specimen from 

 Anaktuvuk was regarded as close to but not identical with specimens 

 marked leucopareia in the U.S. National Museum. 



With the aid of Herbert Friedmann I compared the single specimen 

 then available with a specimen obtained by John Krog at Amchitka 

 (J. Krog, 1953). By Delacour's definitions the Amchitka goose was 

 leuGopareia and the Tuluak bird was tavemeri. 



In August 1951, Jolin Krog and I collected 4 males and 2 females 

 along the Koyukuk and Alatna Rivers within about 100 miles of 

 Anaktuvuk. These were identified as tavemeri. They were among 

 family groups containing well grown young which were just achiev- 

 ing flight in early August. By mid- August families were beginning 

 to associate and a little later well formed flocks were assembling the 

 geese of the vicinity. 



In 1952 geese were collected by Tom Cade from among families of 

 that season along the Colville River and identified by Delacour as 

 tavemeri (Kessel and Cade, 1958). 



In 1963 five specimens were obtained from the flights which alighted 

 more frequently than in other years at Anaktuvuk. These are all 

 tavemeri. The testes of three males measured May 18-20, 1953, were 

 26 mm. long. Two of the birds were noted to have little and one much 

 fat. In a female examined May 18 the largest egg measured 22 mm. 



Charles Sheldon obtained a specimen for me from Kobuk village 

 on May 19, 1954. It was the male in breeding condition of a pair 

 and the specimen was identified by Dr. Herbert Friedmann. 



It is thus established that taverneri nests along the rivers of the 

 wooded southern watershed of the central Brooks Range. They mi- 

 grate through Anaktuvuk in spring, where they have been earliest 

 reported May 22, 1949, May 11, 1950, May 22, 1951, May 13, 1953, and 



