ANAKTUVUK PASS 45 



its largest egg 6 mm. in length. Two of the males had large testes 

 and were moderately fat. The female was very fat. The third male, 

 which was wounded, was not recovered until two days later, at which 

 time it had little fat remaining. Another male which I shot near 

 Pitaich Lake June 15, 1951, had little fat. 



Along the Killik River near Togoyuk Creek in the mountains, one 

 was observed on July 5, 1951, by Simon Paneak and William Irving. 

 They reported that on June 13 a flock of about 100 surf scoters landed 

 on Odrivik Lake, about four miles north of the mountain line, and 

 that 5 landed there on July 15 and 10 on July 16. 



I have no observations upon nesting in the Anaktuvuk or Killik 

 Valleys, but I consider that the report of young birds at Chandler 

 Lake and the numbers and conditions of the birds observed during 

 1951 indicate that surf scoters nest among the Endicott Mountains. 

 The irregular records indicate that the numbers of surf scoters which 

 reside or migrate fluctuate widely from year to year, and they are the 

 only birds I know to vary conspicuously in annual numbers at Anak- 

 tuvuk. 



The surf scoters I have eaten were the nearest to being objectionable 

 meat that I have encountered in a country where any meat is acceptable. 



Mergus serrator serrator Linnaeus 



nest witb eggs 



The first recorded red-breasted mergansers were seen June 2, 1948, 

 May 23, 1949, May 21, 1951, May 29, 1952, and May 18, 1953. In the 

 latter part of May, many of the lakes are occupied by a pair of 

 mergansers, which in spring regularly travel in pairs, as do many 

 mallards, teal, and harlequins. I did see one group of six mergansers 

 flying north on May 29, 1952. 



A nest with very large eggs was found by Thomas Brower among 

 low willows about ten feet from the shore of a small island. Only 

 one of the eggs showed signs of incubation. The nest was made of a 

 number of small dry leaves with down. In a hole nearby were many 

 remains of fish. The parent bird was seen, but it escaped. 



The young bird obtained August 29, 1950, was partly feathered, 

 but its primaries were still only an inch long. It seems late in the 

 season for so small a bird to be able to complete its growth, for the 

 lakes would be frozen over in a few weeks. Among the eggs found 

 on June 24, 1949, only one showed signs of incubation. Among three 



3 males 



May 26, 30- June 1 



weight (5), 992- 

 1077 g. 



1 young partly 



Aug. 29, 1950 





feathered 



June 24, 1949 





2 females 



May 30, 1951 



weight (3), 808-975, 

 average 918 g. 



