1622 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 3 



culicids and chironomids, and were also given some beetles and 

 caterpillars. 



During 1960 the adults showed no clear pattern of food preference 

 with the changing season. For approximately two weeks during late 

 May and early June animal foods were taken to the near exclusion of 

 plant foods, while prior to and following that period nearly equal 

 amounts of both were eaten. The important point is that this arctic 

 species is markedly adaptable in its diet and, depending on the day to 

 day availability of certain items, readily switches to the most easily 

 acquired foods. 



G. W. Rawson (1954) comments on feeding behavior of this species 

 in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska as follows: 



Mosquitoes collected in large numbers on the outside of a white canvas tent 

 two of us were using as living quarters. Several small flocks of immature Alaska 

 Longspurs soon "caught on" to the fact that the tent acted as an ideal trap or 

 concentration camp for mosquitoes and diligently fed on them both day and night. 

 At first (before knowing what was causing the disturbance) the longspurs were 

 quite perturbing because one or more would lose their footing and slide down the 

 inclined roof of the tent causing a ripping sound suggestive of someone or some- 

 thing trying to rip open the canvas. 



More commonly observed feeding behavior consists of constant 

 walking about quietly concealed in such vegetation as sedge tussocks, 

 often seemingly quite oblivious to the observer. Extremely strong 

 winds seem to have no effect on the birds' ability to find insects, and 

 the young are fed just as constantly during gales that make flight 

 difficult much above the ground. 



Behavior. — The general pattern of breeding behavior as detailed in 

 the preceding sections, together with other facets of the annual cycle 

 of the Lapland longspur, can be briefly reviewed as follows: 



After a winter spent in flocks on the open country of the western 

 and mid-western United States the birds begin the spring migration 

 north to the breeding grounds of Alaska, Yukon Territory, and the 

 Northwest Territories in March and April. 



At Cape Thompson, in northwestern Alaska, the males arrived as 

 early as May 5th, an event marked by the abrupt onset of song and 

 display. Territorial disputes become commonplace, and defensive 

 behavior involves chases, sometimes with actual physical contact, and 

 threat posturing. Singing on the wing or from elevated points in the 

 area seems virtually incessant. In less suitable habitat a male may 

 defend an area roughly seven acres in size, while in favorable vegeta- 

 tion the territory is reduced to approximately two acres. 



The females arrive as early as May 18. The attention of the males 

 is turned toward them, courtship flights begin, and copulation may be 

 observed as early as May 21. The end of May sees a marked subsid- 

 ence of territorial behavior. Nest-building begins as early as May 23 



