On July 7, 1952, at Wahoo Lake, a single longspur was trapped in one of 200 traps set for small mammals. On July 9, a line of 120 traps set in a community of cotton-grass, other sedges, grasses and dwarf willow also yielded one longspur—an adult male 172 mm long that weighed 28 grams. Smith's longspurs were uncommon at Wahoo Lake from July 3 to July 11, and when seen were associated with open tundra supporting cotton-grass, generally on flat areas adjacent to the lake. Singing from the air was heard on several occasions. On the alluvial outwash, between Lake Peters and Lake Schrader, two Smith's longspurs were recorded on July 24, 1952, and flocks of 11-16-18-20 were seen there in the damp meadows on August 13, 1952. Those seen on the latter date had moved into the area since July 23, when we first arrived.
Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis (Linnaeus): Snow bunting.—Specimens, 6: Topagaruk, 155°48', 70°34', 10 ft., 5, Nos. 30862-30866 including 4 ad. males and 1 ad. female, July 6, 7, 9, 10, 1951; Mount Mary, S end Lake Peters, 145°10'02", 69°20'30", 2920 ft., 1, No. 31355, August 1, 1952.
Robert McKinley reported to us that snow buntings were at Barrow Village at least as early as April 20, 1952, when snow covered most of the ground. On June 14, 1952, at Birnirk mounds when snow still covered most of the ground, snow buntings were already established on territories.
At Point Barrow (June 21, 1952), the most northerly extension of land on the Arctic Slope of northern Alaska, five pairs of snow bunting were nesting in abandoned subterranean Eskimo houses. The houses were in different stages of deterioration from one almost usable by man to one that was no more than a flattened mound. Sides of some houses were exposed by the sea cliff that was advancing inland. Logs and skulls of baleen whales had been set on end for walls, and mandibles and ribs of whales had been used as rafters. This framework had been covered with tundra sod. Most of the nests were between the roof support and the upper ends of the whale skulls. Each nest contained five fresh eggs and was completely protected from rain, sun and wind. One nest weighed 24 grams and measured (in millimeters) 155 wide, 68 high, 38 in depth of cup, 70 in width of cup, and was in the brain cavity of the cranium. Another nest on top of a skull in the interior room, weighed 24 grams. This nest was built upon material of a nest of the previous year. The old material weighed four grams and the new inner mass weighed 20 grams. The new nest consisted of successive layers of new yellow grass stems and feathers. The lining of the cup had feathers in the 20 mm-thick layer of fine hairlike plant fibers. The feathers were from birds larger than the bunting. The nest was well insulated in comparison with those of the Lapland longspur, but like most of those had the cup offset toward the inner side of the nest, and more nest material of large size outward toward the entrance, [than] elsewhere. In the same area, especially in grass on and around low mounds, there were approximately 50 brown lemmings (18 lemming nests examined), many of which used the mounds inhabited by the bunting. On August 26, in the same area at Point Barrow, we noted 28 birds feeding and resting but on September 11 found none there.
A nest of five young (July 4, 1951) at a place 1⁄5 mile south of the Arctic Research Laboratory was under an overhanging ledge of an unused burrow of a brown lemming. The burrow had been excavated by lemmings on a mound of earth thrown up by a bulldozer. An adult female snow bunting was carrying insects to the nest and fecal pellets away from it. Another nest of five young (July 4) was in a fifty gallon oil drum. An adult female gained entrance to the nest through a small hole on the side of the container, the only hole present. Other nests on this date were examined that contained both eggs and young, or eggs, or young. Most of these nests were in holes in the ground or under the protection of overhanging ledges of earth. On July 4, snow buntings were in their black and white plumage, but on July 27, were in brown-white plumage.
At Topagaruk (July 5, 1951) a nest containing young birds fully feathered was noted five feet above the ground in a horizontal pipe six inches in diameter. One dead bird, two to three days old, was in the water and mud at the base of the stack of pipes. Other young birds from other family groups had short tails and were capable of feeble flight. Adults were seen only in the immediate vicinity of the camp.
The average weight of four adult males shot in the period July 6-10, 1951, was 36 grams. The average length of their testes was 9.2(7.0-11.0) mm.
At Kaolak (July 21-27, 1951) we did not see the snow bunting. The camp, however, was built the previous winter and was inhabited (July 10) for the first time in summer. The birds were at Topagaruk, our collecting station next nearest to the eastward in the same general type of environment and we assumed that eventually the birds would become established at Kaolak.
A juvenal female shot on August 1, 1952, at Mount Mary was 183 mm long and weighed 34 grams.
Transmitted November 14, 1957.