44 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 24 7 



and it appears that they come in principally to nest. At any rate, 

 there are white-winged scoters on many of the larger lakes in the 

 Valley and upon some of the smaller ones. A female with nine small 

 downy young was seen July 26, 1950, on the landing lake near Imaigi- 

 nik. On a small lake near Akmalik Creek in the Killik Valley the 

 female and two downy young were collected from a group of five on 

 August 6, 1950. This was one of the deep round lakes about 200 yards 

 across, sunk like a limestone sink in the terrain of wind blown sand 

 on river gravel. The scoters swam always near the opposite shore, 

 but by running around the lake it was possible to approach them, for 

 the young, which would weigh about 500 grams, swam very slowly. 

 The young could dive well and swim some 50 yards under water, but 

 the devoted female did not leave her escort duty even when the young 

 dived and scattered. 



These ducks, fewer in numbers than scaup, are well known as 

 Tongargagruh^ meaning "devil" in Nunamiut. As a few are known to 

 range far north to the arctic coast, some of these observed in spring 

 are undoubtedly migrating northward. Eggs contained in one female 

 bird measured 30 and 20 mm. in length on June 5, 1951. 



I could not distinguish my specimens from specimens of white- 

 winged scoters from the east and west coast of America. It was also 

 apparent that the bills of my scoters, which were taken while soft and 

 perhaps distended in early summer, had warped into shapes influenced 

 by conditions of drying. Accordingly, I could not assign them to a 

 western form on the basis of small variations in size and shape of bill 

 and I could see no other distinction warranting their assignment 

 among specimens of eastern or western origin. 



Melanitta perspicillata (Linnaeus) 



1 male 



May 20, 1961 



weight (5), 964-1006, 

 average 987 g. 



1 female 



May 20, 1951 



weight 980 g. 



Until 1951, my knowledge of surf scoters in the mountains was 

 limited to Nunamiut accounts, which gave clear descriptions of their 

 appearance and habits, and the Nunamiut name Avilyuhtoh. It was 

 reported that a number of these scoters regularly spent the summer on 

 Chandler Lake and that young birds were seen there. None were re- 

 ported in Tuluak or adjacent valleys during 1948, 1949, and 1950. 

 From their conspicuous appearance and common choice of the open 

 and deeper lakes, I believe that very few could have been present if 

 they escaped the keen observation applied to the country often with 

 the aid of 15-power binoculars and strong telescopes. 



In 1951, four were observed on Tuluak Lake on May 20. These were 

 collected and proved to be three males and one female, the latter with 



