KOBUK 139 



Nimamiut name. His report and a specimen denote the tattler's oc- 

 currence at Kobuk. Because tattlers proceed quickly, after arrival 

 from migration, to nest along gravelly streams in the mountains, they 

 would have been seldom in the path of the ornithologists on the Kobuk. 



Erolia bairdii (Coues) 



Grinnell (1900) reported that few Baird's sandpipers were seen on 

 the Kobuk, and in summer on the Ahlasuruk, 80 miles north, we saw 

 only one (L. Irving and Paneak, 1954), although numbers migrate 

 through Anaktuvuk and many remain there to nest. Sheldon recog- 

 nized and named Baird's sandpiper as occurring at Kobuk but as 

 they seem to be uncommon, the Valley is probably off the main routes 

 of their migratory traffic. I have no evidence that they nest near 

 Kobuk. 



Erolia alpina pacifica (Coues) 



The appearance of red-backed dunlins is familiar to inland Eskimos 

 because the birds are well Imown on the coast. At Anaktuvuk only a 

 few have been collected during the time of northward migration. 

 From Sheldon's account it seems that a few are seen at Kobuk, al- 

 though previous reports had not recorded their occurrence. Not being 

 sure that there is a regular migration through Kobuk, I designate them 

 as visitors. 



Limnodromus scolopaceus (Say) 



Only McLenegan (1889) had earlier reported dowitchers on the 

 middle Kobuk. They were found in summer north of there, on the 

 Ahlasuruk (L. Irving and Paneak, 1954) . At Anaktuvuk dowitchers 

 are common for a few weeks during spring migration. They are well 

 known among Alaskan Eskimos, and Sheldon's description and a 

 Kobuk name, although differing from that of the Nmiamiut, indicate 

 that dowitchers are known to occur there in their proper habitat 

 during migration. 



Micropalama himantopus (Bonaparte) 



I could not discover that stilt sandpipers were known at Kobuk. 

 At Anaktuvuk they were recognized and their nesting on the arctic 

 coast was described. Several specimens have been taken there. The 

 numbers seen are few, however, and in some years they are not no- 

 ticed. If they are as irregular at Kobuk they could easily escape 

 recognition in the greater concealment of the woodland. 



Tryngites subruficollis (Vieillot) 



Buff-breasted sandpipers are well Imown to Eskimos on the eastern 

 arctic coast of Alaska. The duration of their migration through 



