ANAKTUVUK PASS 87 



I had been looking for the Yukon Say's phoebe although I could 

 find no recollection among the Nunamiut of their having seen one. 

 The male specimen collected in 1950, was with another and smaller 

 phoebe which acted like a young bird among the low willows in a creek 

 bottom near the western valley wall and about two miles north of 

 Kangomavik. 



The female taken in 1950 was one of three phoebes among the wil- 

 lows on the sand dunes just south of the mouth of Akmalik Creek 

 in the Killik Valley. It was provided with abundant, soft, yellow 

 subcutaneous fat. 



The latter bird certainly, and the former apparently, were members 

 of family groups. In 1951, two phoebes were seen near Napaktualoitch 

 Cave on the north side of Anaktiktoak Valley where we were looking 

 for archeological remains. Close to them was a characteristic 

 phoebe's nest on an overhung ledge above the entrance to the cave. 

 It contained five rather well-incubated eggs. Although there was an 

 old robin's nest nearby there were no other signs of earlier nesting by 

 phoebes. 



The two birds collected in the Killik Valley were likewise near a 

 cave which William Irving and Simon Paneak were searching for 

 signs of its ancient use by man. Two other phoebes were present, but 

 could not be obtained and no nest was found. One phoebe was seen 

 June 4, 1952, high in a branch of Inakpasugaruk Creek. The two 

 taken June 23, 1952, were a pair, the female having a bare brooding 

 area. They were obtained at the base of high cliffs on Soakpuk 

 Mountain in difficult terrain where the nest could not be found. 



I am surprised and the Nunamiut were embarrassed that they did 

 not know these phoebes, for the bird's habits and appearance are 

 conspicuous and distinctive. Their nesting on rock ledges interested 

 the Nunamiut for the caves and overhanging ledges have been used 

 in the past for storage. The caves are frequently visited, and it is 

 hard to see how persistent and regular nesting phoebes could escape 

 the keen interest of the Nunamiut in natural events of this sort. And 

 yet in 1950, one family of phoebes was seen in Anaktuvuk and one 

 in the Killik Valley, and in 1951, one family was seen at a different 

 location from the preceding year in each valley. In 1950, our observa- 

 tion was too late to show that the birds nested near where they were 

 seen, and in 1951, only one nest was found. Simon Paneak was in- 

 clined to believe that they had been missed in observation rather than 

 to suggest that phoebes were newcomers in the mountains. I believe 

 that some migrate further north. 



469496—60- 



