292 XATUEAL HISTOEY COLLECTIONS IX ALASKA. 



30, and I liave fouud it at the Yukon mouth by the 11th of May, although the earliest record at 

 Saint Michaels is the 19th of this month. At Xulato it was found common by Dall, who records 

 its arrival on the 1st of June. In the Hudson Bay Territory Kennicott found it breeding abun- 

 dantly to latitude 05° north, and it is known to arrive on the Mackenzie Eiver by the 20th of April. 

 While I was camping at the Yukon mouth, the last of May, 1879, it was a common bird, and at 

 Kotlik it was found numerous about the trading post, searching the ground close to the doorstep 

 for food. Its occurrence at Saint Michaels is merely accidental during the migration, a few sol- 

 itary individuals being seen at considerable intervals. I did not find it there during the fall. A 

 specimen taken May 24. by Murdoch, extends its range to Point Barrow. 



One of my collectors brought me a nest from Xulato, obtained the 1st of June, 1880, which 

 was built on the ground and contained five eggs. The nest is made of fine dry grass-stems, and 

 measures 2 inches deep by 3 across the top. The cavity is 2 inches across the top and IJ inches 

 deep, and is lined with reindeer hair. 



The eggs measure respectively .75 by 58, .75 by .57, .75 by .59, .76 by .59, and .75 by .57. They 

 have a pale clayey-white ground dotted over with a varying amount of fine rusty or reddish brown, 

 which forms a close well-marked ring about the large end in sharp contrast with the sparsely- 

 marked larger ends. 



This bird extends its summer range along the Xorton Sound shore of Bering Sea and the 

 coast of the Arctic about Kotzebue Sound, yet there is no record of its having been taken on the 

 coast of Southeastern Alaska, nor does it occur on any of the islands in Bering Sea. 



Jtjnco hye^ialis oebgontjs (Towns.). Oregon Junco. 



The occurrence of this bird in Alaska was first made known by the capture of eight specimens 

 at Sitka by Bischoff. It was again found at Sitka by Bean. It has not been taken elsewhere in 

 the Territory, to my knowledge, though it is very likely to be found along the timbered coast of 

 the southeast part of the Territory reaching Kadiak Island and the adjoining mainland. Like 

 many species of southern or middle latitude its northern distribution has not been definitely 

 settled. The fact that in Southeastern Alaska southern birds occupy only a narrow strip of ter- 

 ritory, 20 to 30 miles in width, along the coast, and on the other side are replaced by a Canadian 

 and subarctic avifauna, is not well known even now, except to those who have made a special 

 study of the Alaskan region. The various larger Sitkan and Oregon forms extend their range 

 and are resident along this portion of Alaska, which is to be classed with that rainy northwest 

 coast country which produces such a marked and characteristic influence on its animal life. The 

 skin of a Junco brought me from Anvik in spring had a well-marked dull-rusty area on the back, 

 as also a shade of rusty on the flanks, suggestive of oregonus, but the specimen was so badly 

 damaged that it could not be ascertained just what its relations were. 



Melospiza pasciata kupina (Bonap.). Sooty Song-sparrow. 



In the wooded coast region of Southeastern Alaska, including Sitka, and thence northwest to 

 Litnya Bay and Kadiak, this bird is abundant; but beyond this limited region it is unknown at 

 present. The few specimens in the National Museum collection from the points named are typical 

 of this race. In the History of North American Birds (vol. 2, p. 29), Melospiza guttata is cited 

 as an abundant species at Sitka. This is evidently a slip of the pen, and refers to the present 

 species, rufina, since guttata has never been found anywhere in this or the adjacent region. 

 Nothing is known of the habits of the Eufous Song-sparrow in its northern range, nor have 

 we any knowledge of its relationship to its gigantic relative, cinerea, to the westward. 



On June 19, 1880, at George Island, on the southeastern coast of the Territory, Dr. T. H. 

 Bean secured the only nest known of this bird. Unfortunately the eggs were hatched. It is a 

 large, extremely loose structure, made externally of coarse grasses and stems of other plants 

 mixed with broad strips of bark armed with thorns, and probably taken from the Panax horridum; 

 this forms the bulk of the nest. The interior is prettily lined with flue, soft, light-yellow grass. 

 The nest was built in a large plant 2 feet above the ground and was hidden by the surrounding 

 grasses. 



