BIRDS. 155 



by the characters given. From the material I have been able to examine these two owls appear 

 to form very good races. The only record of the ,i)resence of the American form in the Old World 

 appears to be that of its capture in England. 



SuRNiA ULULA OAPAROCH (MiiU.). American Hawk Owl. 



This is perhaps the most abundant resident bird of prey throughout the entire wooded part 

 of K"orthern Alaska. It is rather closely limited to the region of spruce and pine forests of the 

 interior, and occurs along the open coasts of the Arctic and Bering Sea merely as a straggler, and 

 it is unknown from the various islands of Bering Sea. It is found also along the southeast coast in 

 the Sitkan region. Ou May 5, 1868, Mr. Dall secured six eggs of this bird from the top of an old 

 birch stub about 15 feet high in the vicinity of Nulato, on the Lower Yukon. The eggs were laid 

 directly upon the wood and the male was sitting. When he climbed to the nest the sitting bird 

 dashed at him and knocked off his cap, thus showing their fierce and bold character, which is 

 shared by their Old World representative. The eggs were smootli and clear white. 



Their food consists mainly of mice, and the bird itself forms food for the old Indians of the 

 Yukon. Although it is very rare on the sea-coast, yet stray individuals make their appearance 

 now and then. According to the evidence of various authors these birds nest from April until 

 June. 



There is considerable variation in the amount of white marking, and one Saint Michaels skin 

 secured by me is about midway between the two recognized forms. 



Ceeyle alcyon (Linn.). Belted Kingfisher. 



Several specimens of this bird were brought me from the Lower Yukon, where it is a regular 

 summer visitant. It is found along the entire course of this river, reaching the shores of Bering 

 Sea from the Yukon mouthnorth to the head of Norton Bay. It has been taken at Sitka and fre- 

 quents all the clear streams of the interior, nesting, as it does elsewhere, in a deep burrow in a bank. 

 Towards the end of June Mr. Dall saw a male bird digging short tunnels into a bank near its nest. 

 These tunnels were not deep and apparently were made as a pastime by the bird, which was seen 

 to use them only upon one occasion when he entered one to devour a fish which he had just caught. 

 The Eskimo brought me Kingfishers from several places on the shore of Norton Sound, and the 

 Eskimo of the north coast brought specimens of the Kingfisher to MacEarlane from the shore of 

 the Arctic, between the Mackenzie and Anderson Eivers. Prom its mode of life, however, it is 

 forced to retreat before the fast-closing streams of the far north as winter advances, yet the King- 

 fisher can brave a very low temperature provided its food supply is not shut off. I have seen 

 these birds along Western rivers among the Rocky Mountains in January, when a deep layer of 

 snow covered the ground and weighted down the bushes overhanging the streams. Even on the 

 Saskatchewan it holds its own until into October, but is forced south when winter sets in. It 

 does not appear to be a bird much addicted to wandering beyond its usual range, which is pretty 

 •wide, as it extends to the shores of Hudson's Bay and thence across to the vicinity of Bering Straits, 

 and from the coast of the Arctic Ocean south to the tropics in winter. The Californian and west 

 coast birds are said to be larger than those found in the interior and Eastern United States. It is 

 probably this form which extends its range to Sitka during the summer and perhaps even winters 

 along the sea, which there is never frozen. 



Dryobates villostjs (Linn.). Hairy Woodpecker. 



Strangely enough, although the distribution of the present bird is eastern, and although in 

 Northern Alaska and the interior of British America it is replaced by a large northern form, yet 

 the typical villosus also occurs in British Columbia and thence north along the southeastern 

 coast of Alaska ; how abundantly it is found there is not known. It is probably this form which is 

 recorded by Hartlaub under the name Picus villosus Jtarrisii Aud., as seen in great numbers around 

 Portage Bay the last of August. 



