458 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



mage (except wings, tail, and legs) rnlvous-bufr, lu^xvily spotted and barred above, and 

 regularly barred beneath, with blaek. Wing, 7.20; bill, .40 by .40. 



Winter. Entire ]iluinag'e, except the tail (which is black with a white tip), immacu- 

 late snowy-white; shafts of primaries black. Male (34,968, Northwest R., Labrador; 

 D. Smith). Wing, 7.50; bill, .42 by .45. Female (50,000, Nulato, Lower Yukon, April 12, 

 1867 ; W. II. Dall). Wing, 7.50; bill, .42 by .42. 



Chick (2,048, Fort Anderson, July, 1804). Prevailing color greenish-buff, tinged with 

 sulphur-yellow on the throat and abdomen, and washed with fulvous on the upper parts. 

 A large oval vertical patch of chestnut-rufous, bordered all round by a black line, which, 

 from the occiput, is continued down the nape in a broad distinct stripe of black. On the 

 upper part of the back this stripe bifurcates, and continues in two broad parallel stripes 

 to the lower part of rump, where they again unite. A black stri{:)e across the wing and 

 one through the ej'c and aurieulars. 



Hab. Arctic America from Newfoundland to Sitka, 



Habits. Eicliardson regarded this species as an inhabitant of the ftir 

 countries from the 50th. to the 70th parallel of latitude, being partially 

 migratory within those limits. It was found to breed among the valleys of 



the Eocky Mountains, 

 on the barren grounds, 

 and along the Arctic 

 coasts. On the ap- 

 proach of winter it 

 collects in flocks, and 

 retires southward as the 

 severity of the weather 

 increases. They re- 

 mam, however, in con- 

 siderable numbers as 

 far north as latitude 67° 

 even in the coldest win- 

 ters. It was found to 

 be tolerabl}^ abundant 

 at the 65th parallel all 

 Lasnpusaans. ^I^g ^,q^^,^ assembling 



in vast flocks on the shores of Hudson Bay in the winter time. JNIr. 

 Hutchins states that ten thousand of these birds have been captured in a 

 single season at Severn Eiver. Eichardson adds that in 1819 these birds 

 made their first appearance at Cumberland House, latitude 54°, in the second 

 week of November, and that they returned to the northward again belbre 

 the beginning of spring. In the winter they are said to shelter themselves 

 in thickets of willows and dwarf birches, on the banks of marshes and 

 lakes, the buds of the smaller shrubs being the principal part of their food 

 at that season. Denuded sandy spots were their favorite resorts in the day- 

 time, but they passed their nights in holes in the snow. When pursued by 

 sportsmen or birds of prey, they often terminate their flight by hastily div- 





