ALASKA. 191 



fall. The mallard was also noted on Saint George's Island, but 

 it is certainly not a regular visitor of either island." 



492. Mareca penelope, (L.) Br.— JI'idgeon. 



It is an interesting fact that the widgeon which visits the 

 Prybilov Islands is not M. americana, which would have been 

 anticipated, but the true 31. penelope, as Mr. Elliott's specimens 

 attest. 



"It is seldom seen, never in pairs, does not breed on the 

 islands, and apparently the few individuals noted during two 

 years' observation were wind-bound or astray. 



508. Harclda glacialis, (L.) IjEacii.— Long-tailed Duck. " Saafka." 



"Common and resident. It breeds on the lakelets and sloughs 

 of Saint Paul's, in limited numbers. 



"This is a very noisy bird, particularly in the spring, when, 

 with the breaking up of the ice, it comes into the open reaches 

 of water with its peculiar, sonorous, and reiterated cry of ah- 

 naah-naahyah, which rings cheerfully upon the ear after the 

 silence and desolation of an ice-bound arctic winter." 



The eggs of this species, according to the sets before me, are 

 six or seven in number, of the usual shape and smooth texture 

 of shell ; one set is more decidedly pale greenish than the other, 

 which is lighter, and rather gray, slightly inclining to creami- 

 ness. They measure 2.20x1.50, down to 1.90x1.40. One set 

 was taken June 22, the other July 5. 



510. Histriouicus torquatus (L.) Br.— Harlequin Duck. 



" Common on and around the island shores, idly floating 

 amid the surf in flocks of fifty or sixty, or basking and preen- 

 ing on the beaches and outlying rocks. It may be seen all the 

 year round, excepting only when forced away by the ice-floes. 

 Its nest, however, eluded my search ; and, although I am quite 

 confident that it breeds on either the rocky beaches or the high 

 ridges inland, the natives themselves were equally ignorant of 

 its eggs. 



" My experience of this bird, it will be observed, differs from 

 Mr. Ball's, who states that it ' is an essentially solitary species, 

 found, alone or in pairs, only in the most retired spots, on the 

 small rivers flowing into the Yukon, where it breeds.' {Trans. 

 Chicago Acad., i, 298.) I did not find it particularly wild or 

 «hy, and numbers are killed by the natives every fall or spring. 

 It is a remarlfubly silent bird ; I heard from it no ciy what- 



