408 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



Up to May 20, quite a few still retained winter plumage, but none 

 in this plumage were seen after May 25. 



On the north coast of Alaska these birds nest equally in hollow drift- 

 wood logs on the beach or in ruined igloos, and in dark sheltered 

 pockets under the overhanging sod of the cutbanks near the shore. 

 Two conditions they seem to require, a dark sheltered nook for the 

 nest and the site must be close to the shore of a bay or the ocean. 



No eggs were found until June 28. This proved to be a set of seven, 

 the largest I have seen and incubation was well started. This nest 

 was in a hollow log on a sand spit and was composed largely of white 

 fox hair with a lining of white ptarmigan feathers. On tearing the 

 log to pieces to reach this nest I found a last year's one also composed 

 of the same material. The female that I disturbed from the nest, was 

 like other Snow Buntings very fearless and loath to leave her eggs 

 uncovered, for she would return to them when I was beside the log. 



On July 3 two sets of five eggs were found, one about to hatch and 

 the other perhaps one third incubated. Both nests were in pockets 

 under overhanging sod on the bank by the beach and were well made 

 of fine grass lined with caribou hairs, presumably taken from a near by 

 abandoned Eskimo camp site. 



Four eggs too advanced to save were found in a driftwood log on 

 July 8, and on July 14 a nest was found containing young about ten 

 days old. 



Mr. Dixon took young birds at Humphrey Point, July 12, 1914, and 

 at Herschel Island, July 30. 



Plectrophenax nivalis townsendi Ridgway. 

 pribilof snow bunting. 



We did not see any Pribilof Snow Buntings, and have only a pur- 

 chased specimen, a male taken at Copper Island, on June 5, — . 



Calcarius lapponicus alascensis Ridgway. 



ALASKA LONGSPUR. 



Were it not for this gentle, sweet-singing little bird the tremendous 

 wastes of Arctic tundra would be far more desolate than now. Tramp- 

 ing day after day over the soft mosses where everything looks alike 

 and one never seems to get anywhere, the other sounds that are most 



