HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA

BIEDS.

83

tliereisarankergrowtli of willows.

The

stomachsof thoseIexamined of this species contained willow

buds and

small twigs.

From

aSTugu-

meute southward

and westward

in the interior they are abundant according" tothe

Eskimo

stories, but which speciesisof courseimpossi- ble to say.

They

begin tochangecoloras soon as the

snow commences

ro melt, inlat. G7°N. about the middle of

May.

This change inplum- age is

more

tardy asone goesfarther north. I

was

informed

by

intelli-

gentGreenlanders that north of Upernavik, nearthe glacier, they

had

found ptarmigansnesting,

and

thatthe male

was

inperfectwinterplum- age. This

was

probably L. rupestris. Ifthisbetrue,itispossible that in sections

where much snow

remains during the

summer

thechangeis

verylate, or,perhaps, does not occuratall.

27. Lagopusrupestris,(Gmel.)Le.icli.

''Akagik,"CumberlandEslvimo. "Akeiksek,"Greenlanders.

I

am

unable tothrow

any

light on the distributionof these birds in Cumberland, asI

was

unable to i^rocure but a single specimenof this species

and two

of the preceding.

The

crop

was crammed

full of sphag-

num

moss.

28. .SIgialitissemipalmata,(Bp.)Cab*.

"Koodlukka'leak,"CumberlandEskimo,

Arrived at

Annanactook

about the middle of June.

By no means

rare. Breeds onthe

mossy

banksof fresh-water

ponds

along boththe

Kingwah

Fjords, as well as other localities in Cumberland. Itseems remarkablethat the

Cumberland Eskimo

should discriminatebetween

this

and

the followingspecies,

when

theyconfound all the larger gulls under one name.

They

told

me

that JE. hiaticiila

was

larger, flew faster,

and had

a stronger voice than semipalmatus!! All of which is true.

The

condition of the ice at the time these birds were nesting kept

me

from visiting their breeding-grounds, although but afewmiles away.

They

migrate southwardas soon as thefresh waterisfrozen.

29. ^gialitishiaticula,(L.)

"Tukagvajok,"Greenlanders.

I

am

^notawarethatthis specieshashitherto beenintroducedintothe North

American

fauna, though long

known

as a

common

bird on the Greenland coast, where

^.

semipalmataisrare. It is apparently

more common

thanthe preceding in Cumberland. Arrives about the

same

time,

and

breedsinsimilarlocalities.

Very common

aboutDiskoIsland, Greenland, where

young

bh-ds were procured. This bird is readily distinguishable from

^.

semipalmata

by

its greater size

and more

robust form, iu liavinga white patch above

and

behind the eje,

and much

widerpectoral

band

^{; it}will also befoundthat only the outer

and

middletoes areunited

by

a web.

30. Strepsilasinterpres,(L.)111.

"Telligvak," Greenlauders.

Common

about Disko Bay, Greenland,

and

northwardto 73° N. lat.

at least. Breeds on the Green,

Hunde, and Whale

Islands iu Disko Bay.

They

nest

among

the Sterna arctica,

and

it is impossible to dis- tinguishbetween the eggs of the

two

species.

Not

observed in

Cum-

berland Sound, nor ontheeast coast ofthe

Penny

Peninsula; stiU, the bird

was

instantly recognized

by

the Cimiberland Eskimo,

when

they

saw

iton theGreenlandcoast,

and

they

had

the

same name

foritas the Greenlauders.

31. Recurvirostrisamericana,Gm.

I enterthis bird

on my

list on

Eskimo

authority,

—

^poor autliority, it istrue, butI

have

in

my

possession a drawing,

made by

a wild Eskimo, that is so unmistakablythis bird that I do not hesitate to accept it,

especially

when

he gave

me

aperfect description,

and

thatwithout

any

attempton

my

partto

draw him

out.

He

sayshe

saw them

forthefirst

time in the

summer

of 1877, while reindeer hunting, south of

Lake

Kennedy.

32. Lobipeshyperboreus, (L.) Cuv.

"Shatgak,"CumberlandEskimo.

Arrives in

Cumberland

iu June. Largeflocks were repeatedly seen goingto

and coming

fromtheirbreeding-groundsin

Eangwah

Fjord.

Not

nearlyso

common

in

Cumberland

^asthe followingspecies.

The

remarks onthe habits of P.fulicariusas observed

by me

will applyto this spe- cies onlyin part. I

have

seen

them

asfarsouth

and

farther north,

and

nearly as far from land, as the following species, butonly a fewindi- viduals.

They seem

to preferthe shoremore, are often noticedrunning abouton the icecakes,

and when

they see anything iu the water they

want jump

in afterit.

Breed

plentifullyon the islands in Disko

Bay and

around Upernavik; ontheseislandstheynest

among

Sternamacrura, on the rocks; iu Cumberland, around fresh-water j^ouds, on grassy banks.

They

are apparently less gregarious than P. fulicarius,

and

preferthe smallerbaystothe

more open and

boisterous waters. Ihave oftenseen awholeflock alight

on

thedrift-ice

and

feed

by jumping

into thewaterafterthe food

when

seen; butfulicarius

would have

litinthe waterinthefirstplace.

Eggs

were procured on the Green Islands in Disko Bay.

BIRDS.

85

33. Phalaropusfulicarius, (L.)Bp.

"Sbatgak," Cumberland Eskimo. "VVliale-bird," or "Bowhead Bii'd," of whalemen.

These birdswere

met

with at great distances from land.

The

first

seen on our outward passage

was

on

August

4, 1877, in lat. 41° K., long.68°

W.

5 here largeflocks were

met

with.

As we

proceedednorth- ward,their

numbers

increased till

we

reached Grinnell Bay. Off the

Amitook

Islands, on the Labrador coast,

two hundred

miles from the nearest land, I

saw

verylarge flocks during astrong gale. Hardlya

day

passed but

some

were seen, either flyingaboutinarapid

and

vig- orousmanner, often rising toaconsiderableheight,

and

then suddenly darting off" in the direction of a spouting whale, or

swimming

about with that grace so eminently characteristic of the phalaropes.

They

followthe whales, and, as soonasa whaleisseen toblow, immediately start forhim, asaquantity ofmarine animalsarealways broughtto the surface.

Yery

few were seen north of Frobisher Straits, for the weather

by

this time

had

probably

become

too severe for them,

and

I think the birds seenon the passagewere migrating southward. I

am more

in- clined to thinkso, asthenextyear,ingoing over nearly the

same

route a

month

later, very few were seen.

They

arrive in

Cumberland

with the breaking-ux)of theice,

and

from this time till they begin breeding areseldom seen

on

the shore,but cruiseout in the sound.

Whalemen

always

watch

these birdswkile theyarewheeling around high in the airin graceful

and

rapid circles, for they

know

that as soon as they sightawhale blowing they start forhim,

and

fi*om theirelevated j)osi- tiontheycan ofcourse discernone ata

much

greater distancethanthe

men

intheboat. Idoubtif itbealtogetherthemarineanimalsbrought tothe surface

by

thewhalethat theyareafter,forif thewhale remains above the surface

any

length of timetheyalways settleonhisback

and

huntparasites.

One

specimenwas-brought

me by

an

Eskimo

that he

had

^killed

on

the

back

of an Orca gladiator_; theoesophagus

was

fairly

crammed

withLcernodipodiancrustaceans^ still alive, although the bird

had

been killed

some

hours; theylooked to

me

like CapreUapliasmu

and Cyamus

ceti. Accordingtothe

Eskimo who

killedit,thebirdswere pickingsomethingfrom the whale's back. I haveoftenseen

them

dart

down among

aschool ofDelpJiinaj)terons lencas

and

follow

them

as faras

•Icouldsee.

On

oneoccasiona pairsuddenlyalighted astern of

my

boat,

and

werenot threefeetfrom

me

attimes; theyfolloweddirectly in the

wake

of the boat,

and

seemed so intenton jiicking

up

food that the^-

paid no attention Avliatcver to ns.

They had

probably mistaken the boatfor awhale.

They

arcwithoutdonbtthe

most

j^racefulofallbirds onthe water,so light

and

buoyant that they do not

seem

to touch the water.

While

swimming', they are continually noddingthe head

and

turning from one side to theother.

They

havegreateri)owersofflightthaneither hjper- horeusorwilsoni,

and

fly

much ^more

^{swiftly. In}Cumberland,as well as onthe Greenland coast,theynest withhyperhoreus.

Governor Fenckertells

me

they are not found as farnorth ashyper- horeus; probably few breed above ^75°N.lat.

Are common

on theout- lying islands between

Nugumeute and

Hudson's Straits.

About

the entrance of Exeter Sound, on the east coast of

Penny

Peninsula, are

some

islands which the

Eskimo

call

"Shatgak nuna" —

^Phalaropes

land

—

^{sothey are probablyxevy}

^common

^there.

When

^{they begin} nesting theylive

more

on shore,

and

probablyget their food along the beaches at lowtide. There is great variation in plumage, even

among

the apparently adultbirds, in spring. I thinkit quiteprobablethattheydo notattain theirfull

plumage

thefirstyear.

34. Tringa miuutilla,Vieill.

Noticedin Niantilic, September,1877,

and

in DiskoPjord, Greenland, August,1878.

35. Tringa fuscicollis,Vieill.

Breedsin

Kingwah and

KingniteFjords,

and

probablyin othersuit- ablelocalitieson both shores of

Cumberland

Sound. Considerable

num-

bers were observedalong the beach near Nuboyant, on the westshore, inJuly^; they were^{in all} probabilitybreeding.

We

werecruisingclose to shore,butI couldnotland.

36. Tringa maritima, Briiuu.

''Sigcrcak,"CniuberlaudEskimo. "Sarbarsook,"Greeulanders.

The

purple sandpiper is the first

wader

to arrive in spring

and

the lasttoleave inautumn.

The

4th of

June

is the earhest date I

met them

atAnnanactook; this

was

during a

heavy

snow-storm,

and

the earliest datepossiblethattheycouldhave found

any

ofthe rocks bareatlowtide.

The

flock lit on the top of oneof the small islands inthe harbor,

and

shelteredthemselvesfromthestorm

by

creepingbehind

and

underneath ledges of rocks; they then huddled together like a flock of quails in winter. I haveoftennoticedthe

same

habit with

them

inlate autumn, while they werewaiting forlowtide.

They

remained ui thevicinityof

Annauactook

till

November, —

^{as late as they could}

^{And any}

^exposed

BIRDS.

87

sliore atlowtide; were very

commou

^{in all} the localities thatI visited on

Cumberland

Island.

Saw

a good

many

on theGreenland coast. It is saidthat

some

remain inthe fjordsofSouth Greenlandallwinter.

They

seemcompletely devoidof Itar,

and

can almost be caught with the hands.

Although

such lovers of therockysea-shore,they nest on theborders of fresh-water lakes.

Hundreds

were breedingafew miles fromour winter harbor,butit

was

impossible to reach the mainland on account of the treacherous condition ofthe floating- ice.

The

specimens collected

by me

on

Cumberland

Island differso

much

fromtheAlaskan, thatI conjecturethe probability of a westernvariety

when

a seriescan bebrought togetherforcomparison.

By

thelatter daysof

June

veryfewwereto

be

seenon thesea-shore, theyhaving-gone inlandto breed.

They

apj)ear verysociable,

and when

a large flock is togetherthey keep

up

a livcl}' twitter,

by

no

means

unxjleasant.

As

the breeding season approaches, themales

have

apeculiarcry,resembling-

somewhat

that ofAct^ifur us hartramius,but lower

and

not so prolonged.

When

thisnote isuttered they

assume

avery dignified strut,

and

often raise the wings

up

over the

back and

slowlyfold

them

again,liketheupland plover. After the breedingseason

commences

very fewareseenonthe sea-shoretillthe

young

arefull-grown.

They

are

somewhat

crepuscular in their habits.

37. Tringa subarquata, (Gould)Temm.

Not uncommon

ⁱⁿ North Greenland.

Eggs

were procured at Chris- tianshaab,Greenland,through thekindness ofGovernor

Edgar

Fencker.

Not

observed on

any

jjartof

Cumberland

that I visited.

38. Tringa canutus,Liund.

A

^{small flockliton} the schooner's deckin

November

aftertheharbor

was

frozenover.

Saw

noneinthe spring orsummer.

Seem

tobequite

•common

in North Greenland, but probably do not nest south of lat.