OLD CROW 157 



mitted to study and report upon as our own. On June 4 Robert Whaley 

 flew in from Anchorage bringing Mary C. Lobban, a pliysiologist 

 from Cambridge, England, to make studies of the daily cycle of uri- 

 nary excretion among the resident people during the long arctic days. 

 For sleeping quarters and a laboratory, we utilized the old church, now 

 deconsecrated. 



Under Leonard Peyton's careful supervision 361 bird skins were 

 prepared and have been deposited in the U. S. National Museum. 

 Webb McElvey prepared 90 bird skins for the collection of W. J. 

 Sheffler. Sidney Peyton, recorded the nesting of about 25 species 

 of birds and collected 35 examples of nests and eggs, which are now 

 in his collection. The nesting data are used in this report. Frank 

 Williamson obtained 66 specimens of 16 species of mammals upon 

 which he will report. Leonard Peyton and Frank Williamson collected 

 a number of fishes which they have sent for identification. Mary Lob- 

 ban's report on the cycles of urinary excretion and the daily rhythms 

 will appear in physiological publications. A number of hearts of 

 newly arrived and settled migratory birds and of resident birds were 

 preserved and sent to George Burch, professor of medicine at Tulane 

 University, for a determination of whether the migration to the arctic 

 and the sudden transition there to sedentary habits has caused signs 

 of stress to appear in their coronary structures. 



The collaboration of these colleagues, with their wide range of ob- 

 servations and variety of viewpoints, has been most productive, 

 and I am deeply grateful for the companionship in which we enjoyed 

 together, as spring progressed, the view of the country and its rapidly 

 changing biological phenomena. 



The Birds of Old Crow 



Family GAVIIDAE: Loons 

 Gavia immer (Briinnich) 



Common loons were identified by sight and occasionally by call. 

 The first certain identifications were made on May 28, when several 

 single birds, pairs, and groups of four were seen in the evening flying 

 directly up the Porcupine. After two groups had been noticed over 

 the village a few others were observed to arrive from the west and 

 pass beyond sight eastward. Other common loons were occasionally 

 noticed at the end of May, apparently in migratory flight from west 

 passing eastward. Judging from the direction of apparent migratory 

 flight of the common loons, they come from a population wintering 

 on the west coast. 



