144 U. S. NATIONAL MUSETJM BULLETIN 217 



people who have 18 explicit Eskimo names for their species of ducks 

 and 15 Eskimo names for their 16 species of sandpipers (Irving, 1958a) 

 are undiscriminating in nomenclature of woodpeckers, although they 

 distinguish the species. 



Family TYRANNIDAE: Tyrant Flycatchers 



Say's phoebe {Sayomis say a) has not been reported in arctic Alaska 

 west of the Killik Valley. It was not found on the Alilasuruk (L. 

 Irving and Paneak, 1954) , nor has any flycatcher been reported in any 

 account of the Kobuk. 



Family ALAUDIDAE: Larks 



Eremophila alpestris (Linnaeus) 



The horned lark had not been reported earlier on the Kobuk, but it 

 is familiar to the Eskimos and is named by Sheldon as by the Nuna- 

 miut, NakruUk, meaning "horned." Horned larks are not woodland 

 birds. In the Brooks Eange they nest on open and usually dry eleva- 

 tions, away from the paths of observers on the main river. E. a. arti- 

 cola has been reported 80 miles north of Kobuk on the Ahlasuruk (L. 

 Irving and Paneak, 1954) and larks nest in suitable mountain habitats 

 near Kobuk. 



Family HIRUNDINIDAE: SwaUows 



Iridoprocne bicolor (Vieillot) 



Tree swallows now commonly occupy nest boxes and occasionally 

 holes in the low buildings at Kobuk and villagers say they have become 

 more common, or at least more familiar, since the practice of erect- 

 ing nesting boxes was started. Tachycineta thalassina, violet-green 

 swallows, which nest less commonly in the same places as tree swal- 

 lows at Bettles, are not known at Kobuk. 



Riparia riparia riparia (Linnaeus) 



Bank swallows nest in many colonies along the river banks, and the 

 people in the village remarked on the bird's skill in selecting suitable 

 sandy banks unlikely to fall during the terrific erosion caused by the 

 sudden and violent summer floods. Early in August 1967 a few were 

 still on the Kobuk, the only swallows seen at that time. 



Hirundo rustica Linnaeus 



Barn swallows are known but are rare at Kobuk and are not now 

 known to nest there. 



