BIRDS OF KADIAK 223 



sides, their summits lost in mist. The air was balmy in 

 spite of a foggy atmosphere, and on every side was a 

 glorious chorus of bird songs the bell-like tones of the 

 dwarf hermit and gray-cheeked thrushes, the sweet strain 

 of the varied robin, and the plaintive, long-drawn whistle 

 of the golden-crowned sparrow. The animated, sustained, 

 and rapid tsit-tsit-tsit-tsit of the pileolated warbler, the 

 chatter of the redpoll linnets and the hoarse croak of the 

 raven, all sounded together or in rapid succession. 



The redpoll is a small bird of the finch family, with fine 

 sharp bill and dull brown and gray streaked plumage. 

 The head is reddish-brown, or, in full-plumaged males, 

 bright rosy-red, the throat is black, and when in full 

 plumage a bright rose color tinges most of the body. The 

 note of the redpoll is similar to that of the goldfinch, but 

 with more of a chatter in its quality. The sweet, direct, 

 loud, burring trill or whistle of the varied robin was a 

 very characteristic strain, differing from any other bird 

 song I have ever heard. It is without modulation a 

 single sweetly penetrating note with just the slightest 

 gurgling rattle in quality, and pitched in various keys. It 

 may be represented thus: Brrrrrrrrrr! I saw some 

 of these birds among the spruce trees quiet and digni- 

 fied, shunning society. One had food in its bill evidently 

 intended for its young. The call note was a low, liquid 

 chup ! chup! This noble thrush of the northwestern 

 forests is about the size and build of a robin. Its breast 

 is orange brown, marked with a broad black crescentic 

 collar, and its back is dark slaty or plumbeous. A con- 

 spicuous stripe above the eye and double wing-bars are 

 orange-brown or buffy in tone. 



The golden-crowned sparrow, besides its song, has two 

 distinct call notes a fine, lisping tsip! tsip! which it 

 utters during its winter sojourns in California, and a spar- 

 row-like chirp chip! chip! Townsend's sparrow sang 





