124 THE WILD FOWL AND GAME ANIMALS OF ALASKA 



wings a few yards above the snowbanks and then glide down, 

 uttering loud harsh notes. Every now and then the efforts of 

 some gallant cock become too obnoxious for his neighbor, who 

 starts full tilt for his detested rival. " The latter likes nothing 

 better and meets the enemy in mid-air. They clinch and fall 

 to the ground, apparently using beak, wings, and claws in the 

 encounter. During such times the moult of white feathers is 

 profuse and the combatants are the center of a perfect blur of 

 whirling plumage. Directly one of the birds gets enough and 

 starts off in hasty flight, pursued for thirty or forty yards by 

 the victor, who then gives up the chase and fairly splits his 

 throat with exultant notes. The Eskimos take advantage of 

 this belligerency and snare many ptarmigan by means of fine 

 sinew nets placed on small stakes set on the snow around stuffed 

 skins of male birds. The hunter conceals himself and imitates 

 the challenge cries until a neighboring grouse dashes blindly at 

 his supposed rival and becomes enmeshed in the net. 



Aside from the birds which have a definite value as food are 

 numerous smaller species, among which the '" whisky jack "will 

 become a familiar character to the miners. He is a kind of jay 

 with a dull, smoky-brown coat and bright inquisitive eyes, and 

 is withal an intelligent and companionable little chap, who has 

 no hesitation in sharing your camp for the gratification of a 

 frank curiosity and sound appetite. His impish ways were 

 always highly entertaining to me and I do not doubt will fur- 

 nish amusement to many a gold-hunter in his lonely camp. 



Although I have dwelt upon the birds because they are more 

 numerous and more generally distributed than most other kinds 



SEA OTTER 



