118 
THE WILSON BULLETIN— June, 1922 
AN UNUSUAL MORTALITY AMONG MIGRATING LAPLAND 
LONGSPURS IN NORTHWESTERN NEBRASKA 
During rhe afternoon and evening of Sunday, February 19, 1922, large 
flocks of the western form of the Lapland Longspur, known as the Alas- 
kan Longspur (Calcar i us lapponicus alasccnsis Ridgway), descended into 
the White River valley of Dawes county in northwestern Nebraska. A 
few Horned Larks, probably Otocoris alpestris enthymia Oberholser, were 
also present in the flocks. Evidently the flight represented a great wave 
of northward migration. As evening came on a severe snowstorm de- 
veloped, and the temperature dropped precipitately. The large flocks of 
these birds were observed flying low and confusedly in and about the 
towns of Chadron, Whitney and Crawford, in Dawes county, so that the 
air seemed filled with them. After nightfall the lights of the town and 
in windows of houses added further to the confusion of the birds. 
On the following Monday morning large numbers of the Longspurs 
and a smaller number of the Horned Larks were found dead in various 
parts of these towns. At Chadron most of the birds were killed within 
a block of the intersection of the two main streets of the town where the 
lights seemed to have blinded them. Without doubt many of them were 
killed or maimed by flying against w'ires, the branches of trees, lighted 
windows, and buildings, in the towns, w r here they w r ere found the next 
morning on the streets, sidewalks and lawns. But many died and were 
found lying on the ground in open places with no buildings near. The 
same flight that visited Dawes county extended west at least to Harrison, 
Sioux county, and east to Gordon, Sheridan county, where a similar heavy 
mortality occurred during the night of February 19. 
Invariably the birds picked up and examined on Monday morning 
had thefl - crops and stomachs entirely empty, indicating that the storm 
conditions or other cause had prevented any feeding for several hours 
before they descended into the region above mentioned. Had they just 
completed a long and wearisome diurnal migration? With little question 
they were hungry and exhausted so that they were unable to withstand 
the shock of the storm which descended upon them, many of them died 
of exposure during the night, aside from those dying as a result of col- 
lisions in their confused flying about. 
On the night of Monday, February 27, 1922. much the same sort of 
catastrophe occurred at Spalding, Greeley county, near the eastern edge 
of the sandhills. The birds reached that locality in large flocks during the 
night, encountered a cold wave there, and on Tuesday morning their 
bodies were to be found by the thousands strewm along the streets and 
over the countryside adjoining. As in the case just described in north- 
western Nebraska, the dead birds found in Greeley county showed clearly 
that they had had no food for some time before their death, and some 
were even emaciated. Some that were not dead, but practically helpless, 
when gathered up and brought into the warm of buildings, and provided 
with food and water, quickly revived, and when released flew r strongly 
away. The Longspurs in the Greeley county flight w^ere of the eastern 
form, the typical Lapland Longspur ( Calcarius lapponicus lapponicus 
Linnaeus) . 
For details concerning the avian tragedies above described, I am in- 
