174 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 217 



Bucephala dangMila americana (Bonaparte) 



1 male June 13 weight 1024 g. fat testes 11x18, 9x13 mm. 



The single specimen of American goldeneye was shot from a flock 

 of 25 flying over the river. The testes appeared to be less than breed- 

 ing size. During the hour about the time when the specimen was 

 obtained a flock of this same size was observed three times as we 

 traveled along the river and we suspected that these were sights of 

 the same flock. In it we distinguished male birds to form the majority, 

 but we could not determine that there were no females. In our rec- 

 ords a pair of goldeneyes was reported on the lake back of the village 

 and three were reported seen on the river on June 14. 



Because of our unfamiliarity with goldeneyes and their reported 

 rarity in Yukon (Eand, 1946) we were at first reluctant to accept 

 reports by Indians that they had seen goldeneyes. Eobert Bruce 

 recognized the specimen when it was taken and Joe Kay named it 

 with an explicit Indian name, Tovi. Indians had spoken of seeing 

 goldeneyes at least as early as May 21 and we had been informed that 

 goldeneyes were rather common on Crow Flats. 



We were also reluctant to accept reports of the presence of golden- 

 eyes because we rarely found in the extensive forest the dead mature 

 trees which could provide holes for nesting. This was in part because 

 dead spruce are harvested for fuel along traveled routes, but even away 

 from lines of travel mature trees do not appear to stand long after 

 they die. 



Only one other report of an American goldeneye comes from Yukon, 

 a specimen from Forty Mile described by Grimiell (1909) , but Swarth 

 (1936) found them regularly in small numbers at Atlin, B. C. Nelson 

 (1887) remarked upon Ball's (Dall and Bannister, 1869) finding 

 American goldeneyes wintering on the Aleutians and passmg along 

 the middle Yukon among the earliest migrants. It was the first 

 duck killed at Nulato, on May 3, 1868. According to these migra- 

 tory schedules the goldeneyes on Yukon came from the western winter- 

 ing grounds. Those on the Porcupine Eiver might also have come 

 from the west. American goldeneyes are common in summer on the 

 Mackenzie Delta and have been reported first arriving on the Peel 

 Branch on May 20, 1934 (Porsild, 1943). Preble (1908) reported 

 American goldeneyes first seen at Fort Simpson on April 26, and 

 there are many records of them in that part of the Mackenzie Valley, 

 from which also migration to Porcupine Valley appears an open pos- 

 sibility. Past failure of our observations to distinguish the abun- 

 dance and migratory course of the two species of goldeneyes caused us 

 to miss valuable evidence bearing upon geograpliical distribution. 



In September 1958 we identified several American goldeneyes which 

 had been shot, and thought that some of the numerous migrating 



