BIRDS OF XORTHERN CANADA 359 



" One of the eggs is almost invariably a trifle larger 

 than the other. Several days, sometimes a week, pass be- 

 tween the laying of the eggs. Incubation lasts about four 

 weeks, and from personal observation (Major Bendire states) 

 I believe the male does not take part in this to any great 

 extent, but supplies his mate with food while she is so en- 

 gaged. The young when first hatched are covered with white 

 down, and grow very rapidly ; but it takes fully two months 

 or more before they are able to fly and leave the nest. They 

 remain in company with the parents but a short time and 

 are east oflF as soon as they are able to take care of them- 

 selves. The usual call note is a shrill ' Kee-kee-kee,' 

 uttered in a high tone; it is often heard in the early 

 spring before nidification commences. Another note, 

 not so frequently used — one of alarm — is ' Kiah-kiah,' 

 repeated a number of times. The eggs vary from an ovate 

 to a short ovate. Their shell is coarse, thick, and roughly- 

 granulated. The ground colour is a dirty white, in some 

 specimens approaching a pale cream colour. The markings 

 of these eggs vary greatly, one set in the IT. S. National 

 Museum collection being almost pure white, without a spot 

 of any kind on them, excepting a few stains. Others are 

 thickly blotched and spotted with various shades of brown — 

 claret, walnut, and ferruginous brown predominating. Some 

 are principally marked with fine spots and blotches of drab 

 colour and vinaceous rufous. In a few specimens pearl- 

 gray and lavender shell markings, sparingly overlaid with 

 darker tints, predominate, but in the majority of specimens 

 these lighter tints are entirely absent. Except the unspotted 

 eggs, no two are exactly alike. 



" The twenty specimens in the U. S. National Museum 

 collection — ^mostly from Arctic regions, excepting a few col- 

 lected by myself in Oregon — average 74.5 by 59 millimetres. 

 The largest of these eggs, from Fort Yukon, Alaska, measures 

 81 by 64, the smallest 71.5 by 54 millimetres. This was 

 taken at Anderson River Fort, Arctic America." 



