ARCTIC AMERICA

BIRDS. ^'

75

oat of range.

At

the time I pronounced it undoubtedly the female oiPyrrhula enropea,which it resembled very nuich indeed, but

now

I incline tothebeliefthatit

was more

likelythemaleof Pyrrliulacassiniij

and

that the female

was

sitting. I

made

alife-sizedrawingof it,

and showed

ittoall the

Eskimo

in thevicinity.

None

could recognizeit

;

but

some

saidthey

had

seensucha bird at

Lake

Kennedy, butthatthey were

"tummumik

abertook," allred. This

may

have beenFinicolaenu- cleator, Carpodacus purpureus, orPyrrhula europea^ as I doubt not but thelastspecies

would

be called ^''allred"

by an

Eskimo.

The

red part wouldcertainl}'

make

the mostlasting impressionon hismind. I tried for

some

hoursto x^rocure this bird,but atlastitflewoveraravine that I could not cross. I never got

an

opportunityto revisit the locality,

and

this interestingdiscovery

had

to be left unsettled.

The

bird

was

apparently s7cffe-coloredon the breast, the upj)er

and

lower tail-coverts consi)icuously white, the to^) of head

and

throat

much

darkerthanthe back.

The

flight

was

undulating. It kei)twhistling almostconstantly, which led

me

tothink it

was

amalebird.

9. Carpodacus purpureus, (Gm.) Gray.

During

a dense fog, September 1, 1877, off"Eesolution Island, north of Hudson's Straits, one of these birds

was

caught on board the Flor- ence.

The Eskimo

describe a bird about the size of the purple finch that occursin theinterior,

and

is "all red."

Such

information is,how- ever, inno

manner

reliable,as "abertook"

may

be

any

colorfrom

umber

to vermilion,

and

"all,"especially

when

^it

comes

to red,

may

be but a smalli^art of theplumage.

10. Loxialeucoptera, (Wils.).

Caught

on boardtheschoonerin a fogoff

Bonne

Bay,Newfoundland,

August

15, 1877.

Very common

in the low pines at theheadof Con- ceptionBay, Newfoundland, October, 1878.

11. ^giothuslinaria, (L.) Cab.

''Auaiak,"Cmnberland.Eskimo. "Orpingmatook,"Greenlauders.

Arrivein

Cumberland

as soon as the

snow

begins to disappear from themountainsides. I found

them

about Niantilic

and

the Kikkerton Islandsin September

and

October,but veryfewat our winter harbor.

They

are

now common

fi'om

Nugumeute

toHudson's Straits,

and

inland toward

Lake

Kennedy.

Wherever

thereisavalley with anyconsider- ablevegetation, especiallylowwillows,theyarealmost suretobe found.

Observed abundantly on DiskoIsland, Greenland,whereI found half-

fledged

young

inthelastdaysofJuly.

The

nest here

was

builtinsmall willows, likea Chrysomitris.

Although

they seemedto bemigratingin October, Ididnotsee

any

flocks, butonly afewstragglingindividuals.

They seem

to

wander

from theland veryofteninfogs. I

have

counted adozen or

more

intherigging atone time from Hudson's Straits to

M-

antilic. Off Kikkertarsoak Islands, on theLabrador coast, as

much

as one

hundred

milesfromland, these birds

came

aboard of theschooner inagale.

They

were all

young

birds.

12. iBgiothus holboUi,Reiulidt.

A

^largelinnet

was

caught in athick fogin

GrinneU

Bay, September

3,1877. It

measured

6.25inchesinlength.

The

specimen

was

^"picked"

by

oneofthe ship's

company

whileI

went down

intothe cabinafter

my

skinningtools.

The body

(without feathers)

was

preservedin alcohol,

and

Mr.

Eidgway

pronounces ^it

^.

holbolli. It

was

the only si)eci-

men

Iprocuredthatdifferedintheleastfrom atypicallinaria.

13. Chrysomitristristis, (L.)Bp.

An

adult male caught on shiiDboard,

August

22, 1877, off

Cape Mug-

ford, Labrador.

14. Plectrophanesnivalis, (L.)Meyer.

''Kopemiiak,"CumberlandEskimo. "Kopauauarsuk,"Greenlanders.

The

first snowbird seen at our winter harbor

was

^April 5,

an

adult male.

The

weather

was

quite severe,

and

there

was no

bare gTound, Itstaidabout the vessel

some

days, gleaninga scanty subsistencefrom thecook's rubbishpile. AfterthisdateI

saw none

until

May

8.

They

then

began

to appear around the

Eskimo

encampments,

and

werein fullsong, and a verybeautiful song theyhave.

Never

didI soenjoya

bird's songasI didtheir livelyditty afterthelong,silent,drearywinter.

By

the 13thfive pair

had

arrived in the neighborhood,

and

themales

seemed

totry

and

outdo eachotherintheireffortstobemusical.

Such

companions were theyfor

me

thatI

had

no heartto destroythem,

much

as I

wanted

specimens in full plumage.

The young Eskimo had

no such ^scruples, however,

and

supplied

me

with specimens ^killed with theu?

bows and

arrows.

By'thelast daysof

May

they

had

paired

and

chosen theirbreeding- places.

The

firsteggswere procured

June

20.

The

nests areveryoften insuch deepfissures inthe rocks that it is impossible to get atthem.

They

are obligedto hide

away

theirnests in this

manner

to escape the ravens.

One

ofthe

most

favoritepositions forthe nest is insideof an

BIRDS.

77 Eskimo

grave; i.e.,insidethe stone cairnthat theyerectover the body.

I have even seen a nestbuilt inan

Eskimo

cranium.

The

nest is large

and

bulky, nearlythe entire structure being

composed

of

Foa

arctica

and

othergrasses,

and

invariablylinedwith feathers orhair.

One

nest,

found July 11, that contained small young,

was

thickly linedwith the hairof Vulpcslagopiis.

Some

containonlyfeathers; othersbothhair

and

feathers.

The number

ofeggsin allthe nests I found

was

six.

They

present an almost endlessvariation in size

and

coloration, greatdiffer-

ence beingobservable eveninthe

same

nest.

The snow

bunting is generally distributedon both sides of

Cumber-

land, butis

nowhere

abundant.

Almost any

locality is suitable, but I doubtifthe foodsupx^ly

would

besufficientif they did notscatterwell over the country.

They

are very

common

onDiskoIsland

and

around

Disko

Bay. Half-fledged

young

were taken near

Godhavn August

2.

The

first

plumage

ofthe

young

is a uniform ashygray.

The

food of the snowbird in

summer

consists largelyof aquatic dipterouslarvae.

For

thesetheyareconstantly searching

among

the grassattheedgesoffresh- water ponds.

During

the

autumn

theyfeedmostly on variouskindsof seeds.

They

arevery fondoftheberriesof

Empetrum

nigrum

and

Vacci-

nium

uliginosum.

As

soon as the

young

are full-grown,they beginto congregateinsmalllooseflocks,

and move

southwardwith thefirstsnows ofSeptember.

The young have by

thistime

become

^{lighter in}plumage,

and

the russet

wash

beginstoappear onthe

head and

neck.

They

were oftenseenon board the schooneron the passage, at one time two hun- dredmiles atsea, off

Cape

Chidly. There seemstobe astriking difference inthesizebetween Greenland

and Alaskan

specimens, the latterbeing thelarger.

15. Plectrophaneslapponicus,(L.)Selby.

" Kioligak,"CumberlandEskimo. ''Narksormutak,"Greenlanders.

Not

nearly so

common

as the preceding in Cumberland. In the

autumn

of 1877, I found a

good many

in the vicinity of Niantilic,but

nowhere

else;

saw

no males in thebreeding

plumage

after September.

During

the

summer

of 1878,Iprocured onesingle specimeninJune. I thinkthey breedinthe interior onthe level land,

and

do not frequent the sea-coast so

much

as P. nivalis. I found

them

very

common

on DiskoIsland,

and

procured eggs

and young

inJuly

and

August. TJieir foodat thistime

seemed

to be entirely dipterous larva?, forwhichthej' searched about fresh-water pools. In

autumn

theyfeed on seeds

and

berries.

Many

lit onthe schoonerduringfogs and storms all thewaj'

fromCsq)eChidlyto Niantilic. Accordingtothe

Eskimo

they are

more common

than nivalis from

Nugumeuto

soutliward

and

in the interior.

There appearstohe quitea

marked

difference inspecimens fromGreen- land

and

fromAhiska,

and

acomparisonofalargeseries

may

give

some

interesting results.

The Eskimo

saytheywill eat hliihher

and

meatif theirfood getscovered

by

snow. I

have

seen a specimen that

was

so coveredwith

some

oily substance that the feathers on the breast

and

belly weremattedtogether. I

am

^told

by Nugumeute Eskimo

thatin

summer

themales ^"

akapok

amasuit" (talka greatdeal).

From

thisI infer thattheyareprobablylivelj^songstersduringthebreedingseason.

16. Juncohyemalis, (L.)Scl.

Once

obtained onshipboardoff BelleIsle, October, 1878.

17. Scolocophagusferrugineus, (Gm.)Sw.

Caught

onshi^iboard during a galeoff the northcoast of

Newfound-

land, October, 1878.

18. Corvuscorax,Liun^.

"Tudluak,"CumberlamIEskimo. ''Keruetook," Greenlanders; Irntalsocalled ''Tulluak."

The

ravenis extraordinarily

common

on both sliores of

Cumberland and

onthe eastern shore of the

Penny

Peninsula. Inwinter theycon- gregate about the

Eskimo

encampments,where thej'can almostalways getdead dog, if nothing more. All the specimens collected

by me

in

Cumberland

are ofremarkablesize,

much

largerthau

any

Iever

saw on

theGreenland coast.

The same was remarked by

GovernorFencker, of

Godhavn, who

said he never could see

any

reason

why

the

American

ravenshouldbe calleda variety of the

European

till he

saw my

speci-

mens

fromthe western_{coast of} Davis Straits.

When

theravengetsclosely pressed

by

hunger,he will attackalmost anythingbutman.

Young

reindeer fall

an

easypreytothem.

When

theyattacka

young

deer,there aregenerally sixorseven in company,

and

about one-half the

number

act as relays, so that the deer is given no rest.

The

eyes arethefirstparts attacked,

and

aregenerally speed- ilypluckedout,

when

the poor animal will thrash

and

flounder about

tillitkillsitself. In the capture of the

young

of

Pagomys

fcetidusthey evince aconsiderable degree of intelligence. Ihave, on different occa- sions,witnessed

them

capture a

young

sealthat laybaskingin thesun nearitshole.

The

first manoeuvre of the ravens

was

to sail leisurely over the seal,gradually loweringwith eachcircle,tillatlastone of

them

BIRDS,

79

sutldenlydropped directly intothe seal's hole, thus cuttiug off its re- treat from the water. Its

mate would

then attack the seal,

and

en- deavortodrag ordriveit asfar

away

fr^om the hole as possible.

The

attacking raven

seemed

to stril-ethe seal

on

the top of the

head

with

its powerfulbill,

and

thusbreak the tender skull. In two instancesI allowed the

combat

to proceed untilthe seal

was

killed,

and

then drove the ravens away. I found no

marks

on the seal, except the blowson the head, which

had

fracturedthe skull in

two

places.

December

13, 1877, I witnessed avery

amusing

chase after a Lepus

glacialis. Therewere

two

ravens,

and

theygave alternate chaseto the hare. Sometimestheraven

would

catch thehare

by

theears,

and

hare

and

raven

would

roll

down

the mountain side together thirty orforty feet, till the raven lost his hold,

and

thenits companion would be on

hand and

renewthe attack.

They

killedthehare ina short time,

and

immediately

began

devouringit.

TheJ

^are extremely destructive to the eggs

and young

of all birds that have an open nest.

They

breed so early in the season that the

young

are fullyfledged by the time the eiders begin laying,

and

the entire ravenfamilythentake

up

their abode onthe

duck

islands,

and

gorge themselves with eggs

and

young. JSTor is itonly the eggs they

eat,but theirmischievousnature

must

out,

and

Ihave seen

them

drive the

duck

from her nest

and

deliberatelybreaktheeggs.

The Eskimo

accuse theravenof warningthe deer of the approachof thehunter

by

^{a^} peculiar croak not uttered at othertimes. This helps to

add odium

to their not over-enviablereputation.

They

areconstant attendants of the

Eskimo

while seal-hunting. If the hunter procures

more

seal thanhe cantakeback with him,hewill covertliemwith

snow and

returnfor them; butthe operationhas been watched

by

theblack robbers fromtheneighboringcliffs,

and

agood

number

of

them

aresoon

made

acquaintedwith the discovery,

and

as soon as the

Eskimo

isgone the sealis

exhumed and

soon reduced tothe

mere

skeleton. Itriedon several occasionsto catch

them hj

baiting a

hook

with apieceof meat,

and

carefuUy concealing thestriiigin the snow.

They

took holdof the

meat

verycautiously,

and

liftedit tillthey

saw

the string,

and

thenflew

away

in greathaste.

During

thewinter,while

making

skeletons,Iusedto throwtherefuse outside of the observatory;

and

Ihave repeatedlywatched the ravens

sit around

and

wait tillI

went

todinner, abouto,3()p. m. It

was

then, of course, quite dark; but as soon as I leftthe hut they

came and

got their meal, butwere extremelycautious, oftenturning the pieces over

many

times before tlieyswallowed them,

and

even tlirowiug-

and

tossing them, to be sure that there

was no

trap about it.

Some

pieces that looked suspicious they

would

not eat, but

walked

around

them

and turned

them

over, but could notbe convincedthat therew^as not

some

trickery about them. I

have

oftenfound

them

hunting about the ob- servatory after

some

^straj"scraps, even on

my

returnfromdinner,

when

it

was

sodark thatIcould not see

them

but afewfeet away.

On

moon- light nightsI

have known them

to

make

visits to the rubbishpile out- sideour observatory; but such cases are rare,

and

onlyat the season

when

they cannot get

any

food without the greatest difQculty.

At Annanactook Harbor

they

began

building as early as

March

20, butI

saw some

carryingpiecesof skin

and

hairfromthe

Eskimo encampments many

days earlier than this,

and when we had

atemperature of

—40°

Fahr.

They

nest onlyon thesouthsideof the highest

and most

inaccessible cliffs, sothe nestcan seldom bereached. I

examined

onenest builton alittleshelfof ahighcliff. It

was composed

almost entirely of pieces of

Eskimo

skin clothing,

among

which were scatteredthe larger wing- bones of gulls, the larger jnlmaries of several speciesof birds, twigs of salix, &c.

The

^inside

had

a good lining of

Poa

alpina^

and

aconsider- able quantity ofreindeer,fox,

and dog

hair,thewholei>resentingavery cozyappearanceindeed.

As

soonas the seals begin to

pup

under the

snow on

theice,theyfollowthefoxes,which findtheseal

and

drag

them

out.

Now

theravenscan farewellontheleavings.

The Eskimo

^firmly behevethatitdoes not hurt the ravens' eggsto freeze.

They

say the shell cracks, butthe inner

membrane

is verythick

and

tough. Ifound that the Scotch whalers are alsoof this opinion,

some

positively assert- ing thatthey

had

knowTi/rosewravens' eggstohatch!

The young

are full-fledged

by

the latter i)art of

May. During

the

autumn months

theyfeedlargely ontheberries of Vaccinium ulujinosum

and Empetrum

nigrum. Ihave oftenobserved

them

fishingat low tide

among

the stones. I killeda coupleto ascertainthe nature of the food they got. Ifouud ittobe Cottus scorpius

and

Liparis vulgaris?, with a fewsmall crustaceans.

They

are resident in

Cumberland

the entire year, but appear

more numerous

in winter, from theirhabit of staying about the

Eskimo

en- camiiments.

The

ravenisconsidered asworse than useless

by

theEskimo.

They make no

use of

them

except to w'ipe the blood

and

grease fromtheir

hands and

face withthe feathers.

BIRDS. 81

19. Empidonaz:flaviventris,Bd.

Taken

at sea off

Cape

Farewell, Greenland, September, 1878. This

is, I think, the firstrecorded instance ofitsoccurrenceinGreenland.

20. Brachyotuspalnstris, (Bechst.)Gould

"Sutituk"(?), Greenlanders.

Apparentlyrare.

Found

breedingintheKingnite Fjordinthe

Penny

Peninsula; alsointheGreater

Kingwah.

Probablywillbe found

more common

in theinteriortowardthesouthwestin Hall'sLand,if itbethe species describedto

me by Eskimo

fromthere.

They

sayitnests under- neathan overhanging shelfofrock

on

ornearthe ground.

Appears

to berareon the coast of Greenland. Isfound as farnorth as 70° I^. lat.

21. Nycteascandiaca, (L.)Newt.

"Opigjuak,"CumberlandEskimo. "Opik^"aud ^"Opivksook," Greenlanders.

I

was

very

much

surprisednotto find this owl

more common. At

the KikkertonIslands

and

uj)Kingnite FjOrdweretheonlylocalities

where

I

met

itonthewestcoast.

From

Hudson's Straits to

Nugumeute,

in Hall's Land,itis

more common,

probablyon accountofthe greater

abundance

of hares

and

ptarmigans in this region. It probably breeds on the

Hunde

Islands inDisko Bay,

and

onthe " islands"(therocks projecting throughthe glacier)in theglacier

on

themainland, to the eastwardof Eittenbenck, Greenland.

They

are

by no means

strictlynocturnal. I

haveseen

them

chasing i^tarmiganat

midday

in October,

when

thesun

was

shining brightly. I haveseen

them

coursingalongthe shoreatlow

tide,apparentlyyis/w»?</; butwhether they were huntingforsnipe orfish I

am

unableto saj^, astheywere soshy thatIcouldnot get withinrifle

rangeofthem.

The

primaries arehighly prized

by

the

Eskimo

for their arrows. Thesebirdsmigrate to thesouthward aboutthe

same

time as the majority of the waterfowl.

22. Falco candicans,Gm.

"Kirksoveasuk," Greenlanders.

During

thewholeyear's collecting on

Cumberland

Island I

saw

but onesinglespecimen, late in

November,

1877.

He was

beset

by

alarge concourse of ravens thatwere teasing him, as the jaysdo

hawks and

owls at home. According to the

Cumberland

Eskimo, they are very

rare,

and

seldom seen exceptin winter.

Many

donot

know them

atall.

On

Disko Island, especially in the

Godhavn

district, they are coinmon

and

resident. These

hawks seem

to prefernesting inthe vicinityof

"bird rocks,"

where

theycan procure plenty of birds with verylittle Bull. Nat.

Mus

No. 15 G