166 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 217 



islands off the Mackenzie Delta (Porsild, 1943), and for a short dis- 

 tance eastward along the Arctic coast (Snyder, 1957). 



At about the time when black brant were named from a specimen 

 taken at Egg Harbor, N. J. (Lawrence, 1846), Alexander Murray, 

 the venturesome and observant founder of the Hudson's Bay Com- 

 pany Post at Fort Yukon wrote to Sir John Richardson (1852, p. 

 304), "there are also black geese which I presume you have never 

 seen," and gave a description which by Sir John's comment "applies 

 pretty well to the brent goose." Murray added that the "black geese" 

 breed only on the shores of the arctic sea. 



Preble (1908, p. 308) wrote, "though keeping strictly to the seacoast 

 east of the Mackenzie during migration, many of the flocks (probably 

 all of the eastward breeding birds) strike across Alaska from near 

 the mouth of the Mackenzie to the North Pacific." The Indians re- 

 marked that brant were not seen near Old Crow on their return, and, 

 in agreement with Cade's (1955) survey, I have not been able to obtain 

 reports on the return of brant across interior Alaska. Since Murray 

 observed that white and black geese returned in September and Octo- 

 ber flying high, Preble's view of an overland return from the Mac- 

 kenzie is confirmed. Murray also observed that a few black brant 

 "pass down Peel's River," and the Porcupine may not be the only 

 overland course by which the western black brant pass from the Pacific 

 coast to the Mackenzie Delta and eastward. 



The Indian name for the brant is Ttsun tratesit. 



Anser albifrons frontalis (Baird) 



We did not distinguish many or large flocks of white-fronted geese 

 migrating through Old Crow, but those we saw were flying eastward. 

 The first flock of seven was seen on May 16, Reports of the Indians, 

 who call this bird Techyo^ indicate that some white-fronted geese nest 

 around the lakes on Crow Flats, but we did not get certain informa- 

 tion as to whether they nest along the Porcupine. 



In 1867-8 Dall (Dall and Bannister, 1869) found white-fronted 

 geese arriving at Nulato about May 6-10. In 1849 Murray wrote to 

 Sir John Richardson (1852, p. 305) that they arrived at Fort Yukon 

 from April 27 to 29 and nested on the lakes "north of the Porcupine" 

 where they are "more numerous than any other kind; and the number 

 that pass northward there are perhaps equal to that of all the other 

 species together." White-fronted geese are still numerous in migra- 

 tion at Anaktuvuk and Kobuk about May 15. Rand (1946) reports 

 the banding of one by Olaus Murie at Old Crow as the only record in 

 Yukon Territory south of the arctic coast. From these reports and 

 our rather few observations it seems that the spring migration of 

 white-fronted geese along the Porcupine River represents the east- 



