CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ALASKA. 163 



The throat is white with irregular patches of blackish, having few spots of fulvous on each feather 

 not purely white. 



No. 70276, from Saint Michael's, has the bars finer and extendiug nearly across the under sur- 

 face of the body, with exception of throat, upper breast, and legs. The throat nearly pure white. 

 The jugular and upper breast with fewer blotches of blackish. The tail and its under coverts 

 finely barred with more decided brownish. Legs nearly uniform whitish-fulvous, with few irregular 

 markings of lighter brown than on abdomen and showing but little barring. Entire upper surface 

 and wings slaty brown, with very fine markings of white and fulvous, the latter in excess on ele- 

 vating the tips of the feathers, though nearly concealed when the feathers are arranged in order. 



No. 70277, $ , Saint Michael's. This example is strikingly different from all the others. The 

 ground color is grayish-fulvous above ; tail and wing coverts are the darker portions of the upper 

 surfaces. The back, shoulders, head, and rump show narrow lines transversely, with little dispo- 

 sition to form bars, the markings being very irregularly disposed. The tail above shows a slight 

 evidence of barring, and becomes nearly obsolete below, where the inferior surface of the feathers 

 show the bars only on the inner web and only obsoletely on the extreme half of the outer web. 

 The breast, neck, abdomen, and legs are nearly pure whitish ; bars of very fine lines are trans- 

 versely disposed on the sides and flanks. This example is a young male, in nearly adult plumage, 

 obtained in March, 1877, having been a bird of the previous year. 



There are no appreciable differences in the measurements of any birds of this species obtained 

 from those localities. The bill is blue-black ; cere dark greenish ; claws black, with lighter tips ; 

 iris yellow, with fine, brownish specks, especially nearer the pupil. 



376. Nyctea nyctea (Linn.). Snowy Owl. 



The Snowy Owl is a resident of all the northern part of Alaska, both interior and insular. 

 The first specimens seen by me were on a high piece of floatiug ice, far out at sea between 

 Saint Mathew's Island and Saint Lawrence Island, in Bering Sea. Several rifle shots were fired 

 at them, which had only the effect to make the birds walk to another place on the ice. At Saint 

 Michael's this owl was frequently brought to me. I have seen them on the hill just back of the 

 Redoubt and on the hills beyond the "Canal." A few miles in the interior it is quite plentiful at all 

 seasons of the year. It flies quite as well during cloudy days as at night but is at all times rather 

 shy. They are more often obtained when they are startled from some bunch of grass or straggling 

 willow patch. I know nothing of their breeding habits, but the natives assert that it breeds under 

 the overlapping grass on the edge of a low bluff; that it lays four white eggs early in April. 



This Owl is not rare on some of the Aleutian Islands. A fine specimen was shot by Mr. Rob- 

 ert King, the agent of the Western Fur and Trading Company, at Ilmliuk village, Unalashka Island. 

 The Owl had been observed for several nights on some of the buildings near the stable, doubtless 

 watching a convenient opportunity to pouuce on a pair of tame rabbits that lived under the stable. 

 The bird was sitting on the flag-staff but a few yards in front of the dwelling of Mr. King, who 

 immediately presented the bird to me. 



This is the only instance where I obtained a specimen from Unalashka Island. The natives 

 assert that it is only occasionally seen there. At Agattu Island it is quite common. It rarely 

 visits Attu, but few miles from it. Its rarity is, doubtless, due to the presence of foxes ( V. lagopus) 

 on the latter island. 



On Agattu Island this Owl is a constant resident. 



The food of this bird is composed of grouse, ducks, and an occasional stranded fish. The iris 

 is yellow ; bdl and claws white. 



The Eskimo name of this )wl is tfng puk, or Great Beard. 



[377.] Stjrnia ul'ula (Linn.). Hawk Owl. [See Plate VI.] 

 Above light browuish gray, darker on upper back; sides of lower neck, wings, and tail much 

 spotted with irregular, quadrate blotches of grayish- white, having a slight tendency to produce 

 undulating bars on the middle back ; the brown color predominating on the tail, wings, and lower 

 neck. Head and nape whitish-gray, with fine bars of light brownish-gray on the occiput, becoming 

 Jess in amount at the lower, posterior margin of the crown, Crown grayish, with numerous, irregular, 



