Birds Found on the Arctic Slope of Northern AlaskaBee, James W.
Science
Birds Found on the Arctic Slope of Northern Alaska
Bee, James W.
Birds -- Alaska
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._
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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