Early Nesting of the Redpoll in Alaska
Early Nesting of the Redpoll in Alaska
Under date of May 10, 1928, the eskimo representative of the Chicago Academy of Sciences at Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, wrote as follows: “I went to Teller on 10th of April and I met an old man from Igloo, sixty miles from Teller, and he told me that the Redpolls bad laid their eggs there. He said that was something unusual. He said he had lived there all his life. There never was so early any such birds lay eggs. Two weeks ago we heard they had hatched.”
Nagozruk, the eskimo who wrote the above, is an unusual man, and we receive many interesting notes from him relative to the birds of the North. Being a hunter, he is afield constantly, and as he is thoroughly familiar with the birds and mammals, he is able to distinguish between most species. The natives do not differentiate between the Common and the Hoary redpoll, however, and the above note may refer to either of the two, as they both occur in the same region, and have similar habits. After a season’s work in the field with Nagozruk, I am satisfied that his observations are reliable.
Alfred M. Bailey
Chicago Academy of Sciences, Chicago, Illinois, July 2, 1928
