191 



FOX-COLORED SPAIiROW. ^"^^ 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of twenty speeimens. Length, "'lO; stretch, 11-25; wing, 2'95; tail, '.i"25; bill, -.W^ tai-sus, -70. 

 Liing'jst spccinicn, 7-50; greatest extent of wing, ir75; longest wing, 3-80; tail, 3'10; bill, '55; tarsus, -75. Shortest speci- 

 men, 0-80; smallest extent of wing, 10-55; shortest wing, 2-30; tail, 3-17; hill, -45; tarsus, '67. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed on the ground, composed of dried grass and moss, lined with feathers. They are large for the size of the 

 bird. Dimensions; external diameter, 5"00, internal, 4'00. External depth, 3'00, internal, 2'50. 



Eyys, oval in form, four or five in number, pale-green in color, spotted, blotched, and dotted, irregularly with reddish- 

 brown, with an under tint of lilac markings. Dimensioas from '85 x '62 to -86 s '65. 



HABITS. 



The Magdalen Islands lie in the midst of the cold, wind-swept waters of the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence. They are mainly of volcanic origin and the surface is hilly, but the soil is rather 

 poor, producing, ;is a natural growth of timber, nothing better than small spmces and hem- 

 locks. Although these trees are low, seldom exceeding twenty feet in height, they grow 

 quite thickly together. The branches are gnarled and cover the trees from top to bottom, 

 the limbs of one tree mingling with those of others standing about it, and thus the whole 

 f )rms a tangled maze through which it is impossible to penetrate without the aid of an axe. 

 This dwarfing of the trees on these northern islands is not due to the sterility of the soil as 

 much as it is to the climate, for these isolated spots of land are surrounded by water which 

 is at a very low temperature, indeed it is filled with floating ice for at least eight months 

 of the year. Up(ni my visit to the Gulf I found that ice-floes were still there, although it 

 was as late as the last week in June. These frigid surroundings quite intensify the climate 

 which is not much warmer than that of Southern Greenland. Thus I found snow in the 

 woods (luring the first week of July, and after remaining tlirough the exceedingly short 

 summer which the inhabitants of this bleak region enjoy, I was not surprised at the peculiar 

 cliaracter of the trees and scant vegetation, for there were but few days when an overcoat 

 was not comfortable. 



The tangled thickets did not cover the entire surface, for the inhabitants had cleared 

 away some portions, often forming little glades which were protected from the cold winds 

 by the surrounding trees and into which the sun shone with genial rays. These secluded 

 spots were the chosen resorts of the Fox-colored Sparrows and there they built their nests, 

 phicing them on the ground beneath some low drooping limb by which they were usually 

 concealed. The parents were solicitous for the safety of their eggs and greeted our appear- 

 ance with shrill chirps of alarm. But when we approached cautiously we could hear the 

 magnificent song of the male filling the clear, still air with melody. I had often heard these 

 birds sing in New England, but learned for the first time wliat the full song was when 

 I saw them on the Magdalen Islands, their cflorts while migrating being only a prelude 

 to their more finished attainments. These fine strains consist at first of three, clear, rather 

 rapid notes given with increasing emphasis, then a short pause ensues and the remainder 

 of the lay is poured forth more deliberately, terminating with a well rounded note giving 

 a finish to a song which, for sweetness and clearness of tone, is seldom surpassed even by 

 our best performers. 



