404 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part i 



hand, fed the young just half as often as did the female the fourth 

 day, but gradually increased his feeding until it equaled the female's 

 on the tenth day. 



The dates of departure from the nests extended from June 20 to 

 July 21, with the j^oung in 15 nests leaving between June 20 and 

 June 30. The departure of a brood was either sudden and complete 

 or a gradual occurrence over a day or more. Nest departure occurred 

 from 12 to 14 days after hatching, with 14 days representing the 

 typical period of nest life. 



Plumages. — E. W. Nelson (1887) gives the following description 

 of young hoary redpolls in juvenal plumage in July: "The feathers 

 on the top of head, back, and rump, sides of neck, breast, and body 

 each with a shaft-streak of dull blackish-brown, and feathers of 

 crown and rump edged with more or less ashy or grayish, and in some 

 cases the gray extends down the middle of the back. Ear-coverts, 

 edges of dorsal, and scapular-feathers buff, or dull fulvous-brownish. 

 The two wing-bars and tertiaries are edged with a lighter shade of 

 buff; edges of primaries and rectrices grayish, washed more or less 

 heavily with a fulvous shade; the abdomen ashy-white; chin occupied 

 by a concealed patch of sooty-brown feathers with a dull white 

 wash * * *." 



The red crov/n is acquired at the post-juvenal molt, when a first 

 winter plumage is assmned which is very similar to the spring plumage 

 but is more or less tinged with buff and shows broader white edgings on 

 the wings and tail. The annual molt of adults at Umiat occurs 

 between mid-June and mid-September. 



Food. — The hoary redpoll feeds predominantly on plant materials, 

 especially seeds but also buds. Insects are eaten to a limited extent. 



In northern Alaska, according to Joseph Grinnell (1900a), "redpolls 

 when feeding seldom utter a note, but if alarmed the flock takes 

 flight from the brush in scattering succession with a chorus of calls. 

 The seeds and buds of the alder, birch and willow constitute their 

 sole food supply. When feeding, the redpolls assume all manner 

 of postures, most often clinging beneath the twigs, back downward and 

 picking to pieces the pods." 



I. N. Gabrielson (1924) reported on the contents of the stomachs 

 of 11 hoary redpolls. Six of these were collected by E. A. Preble in 

 the Athabasca-Mackenzie region and contained seeds of birch and 

 alder. The remaining five were from Michigan and Maine and con- 

 tained seeds of knotweed {Polygonum), stink grass (Eragrostis) , sedge 

 (Carex), pigweed {Amaranthus) , and an unidentified seed. 



Baldwin and Reed (1955) made observations on the foods and 

 feeding of hoary redpolls at Umiat in northern Alaska from June to 

 August, 1953, From June 12 to 16, redpolls were occasionally seen 



