1676 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 3 



He has seen them on numerous islands in the Aleutians, including a nesting pair 

 on Ogliuga Island on June 27, 1940, and also on the Pribilofs. 



Turner (1885) considered it a common resident of the Near Islands, but Sutton 

 and Wilson (1946) called it infrequent on Attu between February 20 and March 

 18,1945. Taber (1946) published January records for Adak; and Cahn (1947) 

 considered it a regular but not abundant winter resident at Dutch Harbor. 



Beals' notes contain many winter records of this race. In 1941 he saw them 

 at King Cove on January 10; small flocks on Unimak on January 11 and 12; a 

 number of flocks — including one of more than one hundred birds — on Unalaska 

 between January 15 and 27; one on Akutan at one thousand feet elevation on 

 January 17; four near Atka Village on January 31 ; a flock of twenty-five at Nikolski 

 Village on Umnak on February 16; twenty birds in two flocks on Unalaska on 

 February 18; and he found it common on Unimak when he returned to False Pass 

 on March 1. In 1942, he found them in flocks on Unalaska from January 20 

 to April 20. 



The Pribilof snow bunting's breeding habitat is treeless tundra 

 superficially resembling that of the nominate race. Notable differ- 

 ences, however, are the higher summer temperatures and greater 

 precipitation on the Bering Sea islands. The vegetative cover differs 

 from arctic tundra not only in its plant components, but also in its 

 more copious and luxuriant growth. The cold surrounding waters 

 and strong winds prevent any forest growth, but the dwarfed woody 

 plants, mainly willows and birches, form dense mats in places. 



From what little is known of its habits and behavior, these ap- 

 parently differ little if any from those of the nominate race. Olaus J. 

 Murie (1959) gives the following details of its nesting: 



The nest of the snow bunting may be placed among lava rocks, in crevices or 

 cliffs, or under a ledge of a rock on fairly level terrain. On June 4, 1937, Douglas 

 Gray found a nest with three eggs under an overhanging rock on Kiska Island. 



On June 12, 1937, on Agattu Island, I found two nests. One was in the form 

 of a deep grassy cup, with a few feathers worked in, placed under a ledge of a flat 

 rock on fairly level ground. It contained four eggs. 



The other nest was located under an overhanging boulder, and it had feathers 

 of a forked-tailed petrel woven into the structure. This nest also contained 

 four eggs. 



On June 14, also on Agattu Island, a similar nest made of grass was found in a 

 hollow under a flat rock. There were four eggs. 



Harry S. Swarth (1934) adds the following on Harrold's expe- 

 riences on Nunivak: "Young in juvenal plumage were taken up to 

 August 7. The annual molt of the adult is represented by specimens 

 taken during the first half of August, but it must have lasted until 

 about the end of the month. The flight feathers seem to be lost 

 almost all at once and Harrold's comments upon this condition read as 

 follows: "The adults are now (August 10) in full molt and individuals 

 seem hardly capable of flight. While in this condition they skulk in 

 the rock piles and are very inconspicuous." 



