BIEDS AND MAMMALS OF THE SKEBNA 

 RIVER REGION OF NORTHERN 

 BRITISH COLUMBIA 



BY 



HAEEY S. SWAKTH 

 (Contribution from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California) 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Introduction 315 



Itinerary and descriptions of localities 316 



Zonal and faunal position of the upper Skeena Valley 320 



Check Ust of the birds 323 



General accounts of the birds 325 



Check Ust of the mammals 372 



General accounts of the mammals 373 



Literature cited 386 



INTRODUCTION 



In pursuance of the plan of zoological exploration which tho 

 Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, since its inception, has had under way 

 in northwestern North America, a field trip was made into that region 

 during the summer of 1921. The expenses of this trip, as of the 

 preceding ones, were defraj^ed by Miss Annie M. Alexander, whose 

 interest in the zoology of the northwest was the determining factor in 

 directing the activities of the Museum toward that part of North 

 America. The* locality chosen for the 1921 expedition was the valley 

 of the upper Skeena River, northern British Columbia, centering at 

 the town of Hazelton. Our party consisted of two, the writer and one 

 . assistant, Mr. William Duncan Strong, a student at the University of 

 California. The material collected consists of 265 mammals, 687 birds, 

 and 50 reptiles and amphibians. 



Acknowledgments are due to several institutions and individuals 

 for aid, both in prosecution of the field work and in the subsequent 

 studies of the material collected. From the Dominion Parks Branch, 

 Department of the Interior, Canada, and from the Game Conservation 

 Board of British Columbia, Vancouver, permission was received to 



