ANAKTUVUK PASS 121 



ready settled their territorial claims. They nested on the ground, 

 usually well concealed under short willows or in long grass at the 

 edge of willow patches, with five or occasionally six eggs. Like the 

 birds, the nests were inconspicuous. Four early nests were found: 

 with two eggs on June 1, 1954, by Simon Paneak; with a complete set 

 of eggs, on June 9, 1949, by Tom Brower; on June 9, 1951, with eggs, 

 by Susie Paneak; and with five eggs, at Nakrak, on June 10, 1952. 

 Hatched nestlings were found by Tom Brower on June 25, 1949. The 

 nests were rather bulky, and as a result the bottom was raised 50 mm. 

 above the ground, they were made of fine grass with a few bits of 

 moss. Among birds resident in Tuluak Valley, Gambel's sparrows 

 were common, perhaps 1/20 as numerous as the redpolls and tree 

 sparrows occupying the willow habitat. They were about 10 times 

 as frequently seen as fox sparrows. 



Seldom conspicuous, and in midsummer keeping to the cover of 

 the willows, they were nevertheless easily discoverable about many 

 of the willow patches in Anaktuvuk Valley or in the small alder 

 thickets as well as in the Killik Valley. They were usually in willows 

 exceeding 10 feet in height but an occasional pair was found among 

 the low willows near damp places on the mountain sides. In the 

 thick willows along Contact Creek in mid-June, I found that when 

 I remained still for a few minutes a pair of Gambel's sparrows would 

 frequently approach within 5 feet and examine me carefully. But 

 outside the brush they were commonly shy. Their Nunamiut name 

 is Nungahtuakruk^ which refers to their white-striped crown. 



At the end of July, the young were heavier than the adults. Their 

 departure, like their arrival, is not conspicuous, and the latest record 

 noted two birds (one young) on September 12, 1950, at Contact Creek. 

 Although they spend a long season at Anaktuvuk their feathers are 

 not as fluffy as those of tree sparrows and they do not appear so well 

 insulated against cold weather. 



The white-crowned sparrows were first seen at Mountain Village, 

 Alaska (on the lower Yukon River, lat. 62°07' N.), on May 9, 1950, 

 10 days ahead of the earliest record for that year at Anaktuvuk. On 

 arrival at their breeding grounds at Mountain Village the average 

 weight of 7 males was 25.8 grams and the average weight of 3 females 

 was 25.5 grams (Oakeson, 1958) . The records of weight and fatness of 

 white-crowned sparrows at Anaktuvuk permit comparison to be made 

 subsequently (see p. 320) with Mrs. Oakeson's information upon their 

 nutritional condition in relation to migration. 



Among 25 adult birds examined with the aid of Herbert Friedmann, 

 1 had only black feathers between the eye and mandible, 16 had the 

 light superciliaiy line continuing to gray between eye and mandible, 

 and 8 had the superciliary line continuing in light or white feathers 



