210 NATURAL HISTORY CULLECTIOB^S IX ALASKA. 



scarcely credible that a bird of this group can successfully brave such extreme cold, yet the fact 

 is supported by ample proof. It is, perhaps, the only bird of its kind which winters within the 

 Arctic Circle. 



Although this Ouzel is found throughout Korth America from far within the tropics north to 

 within the frigid zone, yet a comparison of my scries of eight specimens obtained in Alaska with 

 specimens from Southern United States and Guatemala shows nothing but a trifling individual 

 variation. As usual, the fall and winter specimens have light-colored bills, and the secondaries 

 and the feathers of the lower surface are slightly edged with grayish. Although this bird is found 

 on the Aleutian Islands, it is not known to occur on the bleak, rocky islands elsewhere in Bering 

 Sea. It is resident wherever found in Alaska, although, strangely enough, it is partly migratory 

 in some portions of its range in middle latitudes. An allied species occurs in Eastern Asia. 



Troglodytes hiemalis pacificus Baird. AVestern Winter Wren. 



From Sitka, Bischoff sent in four specimens during his collecting there, which are mentioned 

 in Dall's paper as Troglodytes hyemalis, and others have been secured from Kadiak. Since then 

 nothing new concerning its northern distribution and habits in the Territory has been ascertained. 

 South of Sitka it is known to nest in abundance according to Cooper and Suckley. Specimens 

 from Sitka and Kadiak are identical with others from Chiloweyuck, Washington Territory, and 

 other localities to the south along the coast. Northern specimens appear to be alike, being some- 

 what more intensely colored, but the small series does not allow any definite statement in this 

 regard. The geographical race pacificus is very distinct from the eastern hiemalis. The dark tint, 

 which is so marked in birds from the northwest coast extending down to the middle Californian 

 coast region, is apparently constant. Its breeding range appears to include the entire extent of 

 its habitat in this region, and the National Museum has recently received its eggs from the 

 Coast Eange in the vicinity of Santa Cruz, Cal. ; the parent of these eggs cannot be distinguished 

 from specimens obtained at more northern localities. 



Troglodytes alascensis Baird. Alaskan Wren. 



The type specimen of this Wren was obtained by Mr. Dall at Saint George Island, Alaska, 

 during the explorations of the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, and is a young bird of the 

 year in its first plumage, and much darker than the adult, of which there is a considerable series 

 in the National Museum collection. It is an abundant resident on the Near Islands. 



On the Commander Islands Stejneger found the Alaskan Wren replaced by an allied species, 

 which Mr. Eidgway has named T. pallescens. At present, although there are many skins in the 

 collection from various localities throughout the known range of the bird, nothing definite is yet 

 known of its nests and eggs, except a statement made by the Aleuts, and recorded by Dall, that 

 it breeds in May, building a nest of moss in the crevices of rocks, where it lays six eggs, and a 

 similar record by Elliott, that it breeds in the holes and crevices of cliffs, where it lays from eight 

 to ten eggs in a nest which is made of dried grass and feathers roofed over, with an entrance 

 to the nest-chamber at the side. This last statement is from the natives of Saint George Island. 



It is found throughout the Aleutian Islands and upon the island of Saint George, of the^eal 

 Island group. Throughout this somewhat limited territory it is a common resident. One of the 

 most peculiar facts in its history is its abundance on the island of Saint George, which is about 180 

 miles north of the Aleutian Islands, whereas, on Saint Paul Island, only 27 miles distant from Saint 

 George, and apparently suitable in every way for its presence, there is not a single record of its 

 occurrence; and Elliott states that he searched carefully for it during his residence at that place. 

 He also tells me that, during exceptionally severe winters on the island of Saint George, large 

 numbers of these birds die of exposure, so that only the hardiest among them survive. But the 

 rapidity with which they multiply brings their numbers up to the former standard in a very few 

 seasons. 



On May 13, 1877, I landed, during a heavy gale, on the island of Akoutan, just east of 

 Unalaska, and was making my way cautiously along the rock-strewn beach, half expecting a fall 



