174 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ALASKA. 



latter part of the same month at Nushagak, on Bristol Bay. At the latter place it was very abun- 

 dant along the thickets that fringe the streams of the low grounds. It does not visit the Aleutian 

 Islands. The Eskimo name of this bird is Gha pang akh tu le d gale, and signifies the small Cha 

 pang iik, or Passerella iliaca. 



557. Zonotrichia ooronata (Pall.). Golden-crowned Sparrow. 

 A pair of these birds were shot in June, 1876, on the western end of Whale Island, near Saint 

 Michael's. They frequent the edges of thickets of alder which grow on the sides of steep hills 

 or hang over the brows of cliffs. They are also found at the bases of high cliffs near the water's 

 edge, seeking food among the decaying sea-weed thrown up by the waves. They are not common in 

 this vicinity, as these two were the only ones obtained at this place, although this pair would un- 

 doubtedly have bred here. In the interior they are not common, as I obtained only one specimen 

 from Fort Yukon, and none were seen in other parts of the country. Several individuals of this 

 species were observed near the village at the fishing station of Karluk, on the northwestern shoul- 

 der of Kadiak, in the early part of August, 1881. 



559a. Spizella monticola oohracea Brewst. Western Tree Sparrow. 

 The Western Tree Sparrow arrives at St. Michael's by the 1st of June and remains only two 

 and a half months. It breeds in the alder thickets that skirt the small lakes on the low grounds. 

 It is quite common ; and, in the breeding season the male has a beautiful twittering song. I observed 

 this Sparrow at Nushagak, Bristol Bay, in June, 1878. In the interior it is quite abundant. At 

 Fort Yukon and Nulato it is especially so. The Eskimo name of the Tree Sparrow is Mut clink uk. 



560. Spizella socialis (Wils.). Chipping Sparrow. 

 Several specimens of this Sparrow were obtained from Fort Yukon in June, 1876. It is not 

 found on the coast in the vicinity of Saint Michael's, nor was it observed at Nushagak in June, 



1878. It does not occur on any of the Aleutian Islands, to my knowledge. 



567. Junco hyemalis (Linn.). Slate- color ed Junco. 

 The Slate-colored Junco is rarely common at Saint Michael's. It is to be seen only in May or 

 November. In the interior it is quite common, breeding at Fort Yukon and Nulato. I do not 

 believe that it breeds anywhere along the coast of the Yukon district. It is not a resident of the 

 district, and has not been yet detected on Aliaska nor on the Aleutian Islands. 



567a. Junco hyemalis oregonus. (Towns.). Oregon Junco. 

 A single specimen (female) of the Oregon Snowbird was obtained at Unalashka Island, April 8, 



1879. The bird was shot by a native at the mouth of the creek back of lliuliuk village. It is ex- 

 tremely rare, as the native asserted it to be the first time he or his companions had seen such a 

 bird. It was undoubtedly a straggler, from the mainland, and blown to this place by the extremely 

 boisterous weather of that spring. 



I have not observed this bird anywhere else on the Aleutian Islands. 



Numerous individuals of this species were seen at Karluk, on the northwestern shoulder of 

 Kadiak. The birds were quite familiar, hopping about the village and among the stakes which 

 supported the stages of drying fish. 



582. Melospiza cinerea (Gmel.). Aleutian Song Sparrow. 



The Aleutian Song Sparrow is a constant resident of the Aleutian Islands, the peninsula of 

 Aliaska, and the adjacent islands lying on the south side as far eastward as Cook's Inlet. It does 

 not occur to my knowledge on the north side of the peninsula. It is strictly littoral in its habits, 

 never going far into the interior of an island or the mainland of the peninsula. It prefers the vicinity 

 of cliffs and precipices or the beach covered with immense bowlders. During the breeding season 

 it is found abundantly on the low swales which are heavily clothed with wild rye. 



Mating occurs late in April, and incubation about the first week in May. Young birds, able to 

 fly a few yards, were obtained as early as the 12th of May and as late as the middle of August. 



