Eighteen species of birds new to the Pribilof Islands, including four new to North America

^°19lif'^]

EvERMANN,

Birds

New

tothePnbilofIslamls.

15

gardedasa tanager. Itistrue that thebillisnottypicallytana- grine

but

hereagain thereisacloseresemblance toMifrospingus.

It is a natural conclusion therefore that

RhocUnockhla

is to be regarded asatanagerM^hich has

become more

orless specialized foraparticular

manner

of life.

As

the

stomach

contentsindicate a

ground

feeder, it

may

be that that

method

offindingitsliving has

been

thefactorassociatedwithitsspecialization.

EIGHTEEN SPECIES OF BIRDS NEW TO THE PRIBH^OF ISLANDS, INCLUDING FOUR NEW TO

NORTH AMERICA.!

BY BARTON WARREN EVERMANN.

With

the

appointment

of a naturalist in the fur-seal service July1, 1910,

and

the organization,inthe

Bureau

ofFisheries, of the

Alaska

Fisheries Service,July1,1911,the

Bureau

atonce

began

the formation ofplans for a

comprehensive and

thorough study not onlyofthelifehistoryofthefur seal

but

also ofthescientific

management and

conservation of the fur-seal herd that has its breeding

grounds on

thePribilofIslandsinBeringSea.

The

plan

is

broad

initsscope

and

contemplates a thorough studyofallthe species ofanimals

and

plants

found on

or

about

thoseislands. Dr.

Walter

L.

Hahn,

atthat time

head

ofthe

department

ofbiology inthestate

normal

school atSpringfield,

South Dakota, was

ap- pointednaturalist inthe

summer

of 1910.

He

^arrivedatSt.Paul Island

August

24

and immediately

entered

upon

his dutieswith an energy

and

intelligence

which

could scarcely be excelled. His untimely death

on May

31, 1911,

from

exposure in the ice-cold

water

ofthevillagelagoon,resulting

from

the capsizingofaboat,

was

a severeloss tothefur-seal service

and

to biological science.

During

his

few months on

St.

Paul

Island Dr.

Hahn, from

the

«PublishedwiththepermissionoftheU.S.Commissionerof Fisheries.

16 EvERMANN,

Birds Neivto (he Prihilof Islaiids. [f^n.

voluminous

notes

and

records

which

heleft, appearsto

have been

indefatigable in his field

work and

marvelously painstaking in recordinghisobservations. Hisnotes,typewritten

up

to

noon

of the very

day

of hisdeath,record a vast

number

of

new and

impor- tantobservations

on

thefur seals

and

bluefoxes.

They

also

teem

with records of interesting observations

on

the birds

and

other animals of the islands.

Mr.

Millard C.

Marsh,

pathologistofthe

Bureau

of Fisheries,

was

appointedto the

vacancy

caused

by

thedeathofDr.

Hahn.

He

reached St.

Paul

Island,

August

23, 1911,

and

took

up and

continued with

commendable

industry

and

intelligence the

work

soably

begun by

hispredecessor.

Among

theobservations that areofspecial interest tothe readers of^'

The Auk

^'arethoserelatingto birds.

Inthis

communication

Idesiretorecord thespecies

which

their observations

have

thusfar

added

tothePribilofIslands

and

tothe avifauna of

North

iVmerica.

In Palmer's^'

Avifauna

of the Pribilof Islands,'^{^} 69species of birds are recorded.

To

these,

one

species, the

Northern

Flicker, Colaptesauratusluteus, hassince

been added by

assistant fur-seal agent

James

Judge,

and

recorded

by Mr.

Austin

H.

Clark.

^

To

this

number

I

am now

ableto

add

18species,fourof

which

are

new

to

North

America. Allthespecimens

mentioned

are

now

inthe

United

States National

Museum.

For

assistance in verifyingtheidentificationsofthese specimens I

am under

obligations to

Mr. Harry

C. Oberholserofthe

Bureau

ofBiologicalSurvey.

1.

Rhodostethia

rosea (Macgillivray). Ross's Gull.

— A

fine exampleinadultplumagewasshoton oneofthe smallfreshwater lakesof St. GeorgeIsland,

May

25, 1911,

by

oneofthenatives.

The

specimen waspreservedbyAssistantAgentA.H.Proctor

who

forwardedittothe Bureauof Fisheries.

ThisspecieswasfirstobtainedinAlaskabyNelson,October10, 1879.

Sincethenithasbeenrecordedby

Murdock

fromPointBarrow.-*

»TheFurSealsand Fur-SealIslands oftheNorthPaciflcOcean, Part3,pp.

355-431,1899,GovernmentPrintingOfflce.

2Proc.U.S.Nat.Mus..Vol.38, p. 60,1910.

3Nelson,ReportuponNatural HistoryCollectionsmadeinAlaska betweenthe years1877and1881,GovernmentPrintingOfflce,1887.

^°191?''^]

EvERMANN,

Birds

New

tothe Prihilof Islands.

17

2.

Mergus

serrator Linnceus. Red-breastkd

Merganser. A

female (No.55)' shotbyDr.

Morgan December

16,1910,onthe lagoon, St.PaulIsland,andpreservedbyDr.Hahn.

Althougha

common

species in

many

partsof Alaskaithad notbeen previously notedonthePrihilof Islands.

3.

Chaulelasmus

streperus {Linnceus).

Gadwall.— A

female in good plumage (No. 101) wasshot on the lake near Polovina,St. Paul Island,

November

13,1911,by Mr.

Marsh who

thinks thespeciesisproba- blynot

uncommon,

butthatmostofthe nativesdonotdistinguishitfrom the female Mallard.

Among

theduckscollectedbyDr.

Hahn

isalsoafinemale(No. 66)ofthe European Widgeon,Marecapenelope,takenApril30,1911,which, however, had beenpreviouslyrecordedfromtheseislands.

4. Spatula clypeata {Linnmis).

Shoveller.— A

male (No. 74) in excellent plumageobtained

May

24, 1911,onSt. PaulIsland,byDr.

Hahn. Stomachcontainedlarvaeandsmallseeds.

5. Dafila

acuta

{Linnceus). Pintail.

— Two

males (Nos. 178 and 179)inperfectplumage, wereobtainedby Mr.

Marsh May

24,1912, atthe villagepond,St.PaulIsland.

6. Marila

marila

{Linnceus). Scaup

Duck. — A

fine specimen, a male (No. 153) oftheScaup

Duck

orBig Bluebill.wassecuredon the villagepond,St.PaulIsland,by Mr. Marsh,April27,1912.

7.

Marila

fuligula {LinncBus).

Tufted Duck. —

This interesting duckI

am now

able toaddtotheNorth Americanavifauna.

A

female (No. 69)wasobtainedonSt.Paul Island

May

9,1911,byDr.

Hahn who

wasat^firstinclined to identifyitasan exampleoftheLittleBluebillor LesserScaupDuck, Marilaajfinis.

Dr.

Hahn

statesthat thestomachwasfullof grass, cress(?),small seeds andafewlarvae. Therewas butlittlefat.

The

eggsmeasured4

mm.

in diameter.

The

birdwas accompanied bythemale whichescaped.

8.

Marila

ferina {Linnceus).

European

Pochard.

— A

male (No.

158)inexcellentplumageobtainedonSt.PaulIslandby Mr.

M. C ^Marsh

May

4,1912. Mr.

Marsh

states thatthisduckis"seen occasionallyby natives not allof

whom

recognize it." Itis notimprobable that they confuseitwithotherspecies.

ThisisthefirstNorth Americanrecordfor this species.

9.

Somateria

spectabilis {Linnceus).

King

Eider.

—

Althoughthe Pacificp]iderhad beenrecordedfromtheseislands,notuntil

now

has the KingEiderbeen

known

tooccurthere.

The

collectionssent

down

by Mr.

Marsh

contain 3finespecimensof this species,maleandfemale, (Xos. 129 and 132)takenFebruary 4, 1912, andamale(No. 128) taken

March

9, 1912, allonSt.Paul Island.

10. Pelidna alpina sakhalina(Vieillot).

Red-backed

Sandpiper.—

One

specimena male, (No. 42)wasshot onSt.PaulIsland,October30,

The numbersinparentheses are thecollector'soriginalnumbers.

18 EvERMANN,

Birds A'ewto thePribilof Islands. TAiik Uan.

1910,

by

Dr.Morgan.

On December

11,1910, Dr.Halinsawthreeothers which hebelieved tobethis species.

11.

Machetes pugnax

(Linnceus). Ruff.

— A

youngfemale (No. 22) wassecuredonSt.PaulIsland,September7,1910,

by

Dr.Hahn. Thisis

not only thefirstrecord of this

common

Europeanbird forthePribilof Islandsbutit isthefirstforthewestcoastofAmerica.

12. Cr3T)toglaux funerea funerea{Linnceus).

Tengmalm's Owl. —

A

female (No. 59)ingoodconditioncaught ahveinthevillageonSt.Paul Island,January26, 1911,bya native

who

broughtitto Dr.Hahn.

The

stomachwas

empty

saveforafewhairs. Thisisthefirstrecordfor

Amer-

ica of thisinterestinglittleOwl.

13.

Cryptoglaux

funerea richardsoni {Bonaparte). Richardson's

Owl. — A

male(No. Ill)wasshotwitharifleonSt.PaulIslandFebruary

2, 1912. Althoughpreviously

known

from Alaskathisis thefirstrecord forthePribilofIslands.

14.

Euphagus

carolinus (Mi//Zer).

Rusty

Blackbird.

— One

speci-

men

a male, (No. 99)wasobtainednear the lake atNortheastPoint,St.

PaulIsland,October20,1911. Itwasshotwith buckshot

by

oneofthe nativewatchmen,

who

broughtittoMr. Marsh.

The

birdwas

unknown

to thenatives.

15. Coccothraustes coccothraustes japonicus

Temminck &

Schlegel.

Japanese

Hawfinch. — A

fineexample(No. 100)of thisinterestingFinch

new

to theAmerican faunawasshot at the villagelandingonSt. Paul Island,

by

anative,

November

1,1911. Itwasa

new

bird to the natives, noneof

them

recognizingitasanythingtheyhadeverseenbefore.

16. Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis {Linnceus).

Snow

Bunting.

—

In1887Mr.

Ridgway

described the

Snow

Bunting

common

onthePribilof IslandsasPlectrophenaxnivalistownsendi.

Itwasthereforewithconsiderable surprisethat,

among

fivespecimens of

Snow

BuntingsreceivedfromMr.

Marsh

one(No. 172) provestobethe typicalspecies. Itisamale caught ahveinthevillage of St.Paul

March

31,1912.

The

other fourspecimensare typical P.n.townsendi.

17. Zonotrichia leucophrys

gambeli

{Nuttall). Gambel's Spar- row.

— An

adult male (No. 180) ^{in fine} plumagewas obtained

by

Mr.

Marsh,

May

24,1912,onSt.PaulIsland.

18. Passerella iliaca insularis Ridgway.

Kadiak Fox

Sparrow.

— One

male, (No.15)wasshot

among

the rocks near Gorbatchrookery, St. PaulIsland, September 7, 1910,

by

Dr. Hahn. Highnortheasterly windshadprevailedforseveraldays.

On

October4,anotherwasseennear wheretheonewaskilleda

month

earlier. Stillanotherwasseen the

same

day

among

the rocksbackofReefrookery,and on October 15,onewas seen

among

the rocks at Kaminista,St.PaulIsland,

by

Dr.Hahn. Mr.

OberholseridentifiesthesinglespecimenasP.i.sinuosa Grinnellwhichis not regarded as separablefrominsularis intheA.O.U.Check-List.