CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ALASKA. 145 



least effort. This is supported by the fact that I never saw Swans, at any season of the year, 

 migrating to the southward. 



The Swan is found on the extreme western islands of the Aleutian Chain in wiuter, and occa- 

 sionally it is reported as having been seen in winter on Sannakh Island. At Attu Island a large 

 flock was seen iu a lake, just back of Massacre Bay, on the south side of the island, iu April, 1881. 

 They were very wild and remained for only a week. 



In former years quite a number of swan skins were annually exported from Saint Michael's. 

 The flesh of this bird is not palatable. A young bird is only tolerable. The eggs are coarse, oily, 

 and rank. The feet, bill, and iris are black. The bill has a yellow spot on it. 



205. Grus canadensis (Linn.). Little Brown Crane. 



The Little Brown Crane is one of the earliest arrivals at Saint Michael's, it being in advance of 

 the Geese and nearly contemporary with the Swan. The earliest date of its arrival was May 2, 

 1875. A few birds usually come in advance of the main body; where, if they reach the grounds too 

 early, they pass most of the time on the wing. By the middle of May hundreds of them may be 

 seen on the low grounds. 



During the mating season they execute the most surprising antics. They assemble on some 

 level place; aud, amid their deafening croaks, there perform a series of motions very similar to a 

 quadrille as danced in the rural districts. 



The nest is placed on a tussock of grass, which may grow on an islet of some pond. The num- 

 ber of eggs is one or two. The young are hatched by the 10th of July. The young remain in the 

 downy stage until the autumnal moult. They remain in this locality until the latter part of Sep- 

 tember. Their flesh is considered tolerable eating, though it is strong unless the bird is young. 



I have been informed on good authority that these birds pass over the entrance of Cook's 

 Inlet in thousands, in April, on their way to the northward. 



I have never seen nor heard these birds on any of the Aleutian Islands. The natives of Attu 

 assert that several years ago one was killed in October on that island. It was doubtless a storm - 

 driven straggler. 



222. Crymophilus fulicarius (Linn.). Bed Phalarope. 



The Red Phalarope arrives at Saint Michael's about the 1st of June. They are not abundant 

 at any time, except during the early part of June. They are more frequently seen on the mainland, 

 opposite the Redoubt, than on the island of Saint Michael's. They depart from this locality by 

 the end of August. They breed near here, but eggs and nest were not found. In the neighbor- 

 hood of the Yukon Delta they are abundant throughout the summer. Their habits, on the land 

 and lakes, are identical with that of P. lobatus. Iu the early part of June, 1878, I was on a vessel 

 going to the Kuskokvim, Bristol Bay, and other places in that vicinity. I frequently saw large 

 flocks of these birds alight in the sea to pick up such food as minute mollusks, or following the 

 wakes of sea-lion troops, or that of a whale. At times they were so close to the vessel that they 

 could have been caught with a dip-net. When seeking a locality abounding in food the flocks of 

 these birds are constantly wheeling spirally upward and outward tor two or three hundred yards, 

 and again dart to the water or again start upward in the same manner. 



They utter all the while a sharp ticeet, and when sitting on the water are exceedingly graceful; 

 their bodies so buoyant as seemingly not to touch the water. They rarely progress on the water 

 in a straight line, a few inches forward and a turn to right or left, and again to right or left. 



I saw but few of these birds at Nushagak. At the mouth of the Ugasik River, and the 

 low grounds surrounding it, I saw hundreds of these birds. 



I have no record of their occurrence on the Aleutian Islands. They may occasionally occur 

 there with the other species. 



A belated individual of this species was killed October 14, L876, at Saint Michael's. A fierce 

 snow-storm was raging at the time. The specimen was in the winter plumage, and as it flew by 

 me its bewildered actions reminded me of a bat. 



The iris is reddish-brown, tarsi, toes, and lobes of web flesh colored, joints bluish. Bill yel- 

 lowish, tipped with black. 

 S. Mis. 155 19 



