SNOW BUNTING 1G55 



Drury (1959) recorded birds above 900 meters, and at Ellesmere Mac- 

 Donald and I frequently saw pairs at 600-700 meters elevation. Its 

 preferred habitat is rough, rocky country with interrupted vegetation, 

 as near stony beaches or in sea cliffs in coastal areas, or in rocky out- 

 crops at higher levels. Some of the lowest breeding densities occur in 

 grassy tundra with little broken or rocky ground. 



The size of the individual bunting territory may be surprisingly 

 large, commonly as much as 300 to 400 meters in diameter. In 

 optimum habitat where the population pressure is great, Tinbergen 

 records territory diameters "diminished to about 50 to 100 m. in 

 most of the observed cases." Nevertheless Van Tyne and Drury 's 

 (1959) report of two occupied nests "within five yards of each other in 

 the stone wall of one Eskimo house" on Bylot Island must be regarded 

 as exceptional. 



The early arriving males wander about the breeding grounds in 

 flock for several weeks before showing signs of territorial behavior. 

 Tinbergen notes that as the season progresses, certain individuals in 

 the flock become noisier, begin to sing softly, grow more excitable, and 

 quarrel occasionally with their companions, threatening them with 

 head lowered between the shoulders, bill pointed toward the enemy, 

 and occasional fluttering of wings. Such birds leave the flock in a 

 day or two and isolate themselves on territory of their choosing. 



Each male proclaims his occupancy by perching on favored con- 

 spicuous lookout perches within the territory, singing, and driving off 

 trespassing males. Newly established territories may not be occupied 

 continuously. Tinbergen observed defending males that fed on their 

 territories in the morning and often left by midday to forage elsewhere, 

 but returned later in the day, also that "The males slept within their 

 territories, using the same hole for several nights successively, but now 

 and then moving to a new site." Roosting males that MacDonald 

 and I flushed at this stage on Ellesmere Island often flew off and 

 alighted beside the roosting defender of another territory. Surpris- 

 ingly no fighting ensued, and both birds simply turned their heads 

 back and went to sleep again. But when the two were flushed to- 

 gether, they made a show of animosity, chasing each other and even 

 singing until both settled down again, sometimes side by side. This 

 behavior pattern was not seen after the females arrived. 



As the season advances the males remain and feed within their 

 territories for longer periods and become increasingly jealous of their 

 boundaries. Song increases in intensity, and the defenders savagely 

 attack other males that approach. The defender often flies toward 

 its adversary from afar, singing and posturing during flight, a phe- 

 nomenon Tinbergen calls "song-flight," in which the defender "rose 

 steeply with frequent wing-strokes, then stopped wing-action, sailed 



