ALASKA. 197 



" I have seen but four or five examples of this species, whick 

 may be rated as an infrequent visitor. It may be found upon 

 the grassy uplands, where it will alight and stand dozing in an 

 indolent attitude for hours. No one of the three species of 

 Stercorarius was observed to breed here.'' 



Numerous eggs of this species from the barren grounds of 

 the Anderson Eiver region, and the arctic coast to the east- 

 ward, offer the following characters : The ground color is as 

 various, and of the same shades, as that already mentioned 

 under head of I^umenhts borealis, and in fact the whole aspect 

 of the egg, markings included, is quite similar. But although 

 pointed, they have not the peculiar pyriform shape usual among 

 Limieolce. I find no specimens heavily marked -at the butt, 

 thougli the tendency is to a wreath by confluence around 

 the larger end. In some specimens the markings are all small 

 and scratchy, and distributed with "uniform irregularity "over 

 the whole surface. A certain proportion of stone-gray shell- 

 markings always appears to accompany the various chocolate 

 and other browns of the surface. Specimens range from 2.40 

 ' X 1.70 to 2.00 X 1.50, averaging nearer the former dimension. 



The eggs of the next species cannot be distinguished from 

 those of the i^resent with certainty, since, though they average 

 less in size, the larger specimens overlap the measurements of 

 even average parasiticus. A fair specimen is 2.10 x 1.50 ; the 

 smallest examined measured only 1.90 x 1.40. 



542. Stercorarius bllfioni, (Boie.) Col-es— Long-failed Jiijei: 

 f Cutharacta eeppluis, BiittNN. Orn. Bor., 36, (,1764.) 

 Leatrls eeppkm, Keys et ,Blas. AVirl). Eur., i, 240, (1840.) 

 Stercorarius cepplms, Gray. Gen. of B., iii, 652, (1849.) — Lawk. 



B.N. 

 A., 840, (1858.)— CorES. Proc. Pliila. Acad., 243, (1861.) 

 ? Stm-us parasiticus, Lath. lud. Oru., ii, 819, (1790.) 

 Lestris parasiticus, Temivi. Man. Orn., If, 501, (1S40.)— Sw. & 



Rich. F. B. A., ii, 430, (1831.) 

 Stercorarius longicandatus, Beisson.— Vieill. Nouv. Diet., 



xxxii, 157, (1819.) 

 Lestris longicauclatus, Thojip. Nat. Hist. Ireland, iii, 399, (1851.) 

 Cataractis longicaudatus, Wacgill. Man. Orn., ii, 258, (1842.) 

 Lestris luffoni, BoiE. Isis, 562-576, (1822.) 

 Stercorarius iuffoiii. Coves. Proc. Phila. Acad., 136, (1863.)— 



Dale et Ban.x. Trans. Chic. Acad:, i, 304, (1869.)— Coues. Key 



N. A. Birds, 310, 1872. 

 Lestris lessoni, Degland. Mem. Soc. Eoy. Lille, ('1838.) 

 Lestris crepidata, Brehm. Naturg. Eur. Vcg., 747, (1823.) 



^'Seldom seen. The specimen in my collection is one of 



