72 CRUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 
It is rarely seen more than two or three times during the season at Saint Michael’s, although at the 
Yukon mouth it is rather more common. It breeds at this latter location in small numbers, and 
is also found sparingly in the vicinity of Kotzebue Sound and Norton Bay, as specimens brought 
me from those localities by natives indicate. It is unknown from the Asiatic Shore to the 
islands of Bering Sea. 
MELOSPIZA CINEREA (Gm.) Ridgw. 
(42.) THe ALEUTIAN SONG SPARROW. 
Among the several peculiar birds found on the Aleutian Chain this is one of the most 
remarkable. It forms the giant among its kin, and would scarcely be connected with its eastern 
relative by one not familiar with the links in the chain which unite them. It extends its range 
from the westernmost of the Aleutians east to Kodiak Island. It has been described under various 
names by the older naturalists, who secured it during the Russian occupation of the territory; 
but, as in many other instances, the most of our knowledge of its life history and distribution is 
mainly the result of work done since the country changed owners. 
During a brief residence at Ounalaska, in the Aleutian Islands, in May, 1877, I became somewhat 
familiar with the habits of this bird at that season, and during the stay of the Corwin at the same 
place, in the fall of 1881, I was pleased to renew the acquaintanceship at another season. They 
were common in both seasons, and frequented in autumn, as in spring, the vicinity of the shore, 
with a preference for jutting craggy points, where great masses of rock lie at the water’s edge or 
the rugged slope of the cliff reaches out into the bay. It is the habit of this bird to hop from rock 
to rock and scramble about along their inclined faces searching for their food close to the water’s 
edge, where it feasts on the small marine animals stranded by the falling water or living there 
between the tide-lines. The male frequently mounts to the top of some convenient point and 
utters his short, rather hard, but pleasant song. This song consists of several loud, hard notes, 
the first two the clearest and most musical, the others rather harsh. As might be expected from 
the size of the bird, the song is stronger and louder than that of its eastern relative, the familiar 
song sparrow. During the entire time of our stay at Ounalaska, in September and October, 1881, 
the males showed their appreciation every pleasant day by passing a considerable portion of their 
time upon the roof of the warehouse at the wharf or other conspicuous position elsewhere, uttering 
their song at short intervals. This warehouse stood beside the wharf to which we were moored, 
and the passing to and fro of the men handling cargo or attending to other duty made a scene of 
bustling activity. In spite of this the bird was sure to be found whenever the weather favored. 
At other times he could be found, with one or two companions, searching the sandy beach close by 
for food. 
PASSERELLA ILIACA (Merrem) Gm. 
(43.) THE Fox-COLORED SPARROW. 
Jommon in summer along the coast of Norton Sound, and extends its range north to the shores 
of Kotzebue Sound. Its loud, clear song rises from every patch of alders of any size along this 
stretch of coast, and the birds upon their first arrival, about the last of May, come boldly about 
the dwellings, uttering their loud, clear song from the roofs of the outhouses and other convenient 
stand-points. At the Yukon mouth it is very common, and I found its song one of the most musical 
and striking among the very scanty feathered choir which announces the advent of summer at that 
remote place. It is unknown from any of the islands in Bering’s Sea, as well as from the Asiatic 
shore. Its range extends within the interior of the Arctic Circle, although the lack of bushes along 
the coast limits its occurrence except on the shores of the two sounds named. 
PASSERELLA ILIACA (Gm.) Ridgw. 
(44.) TOWNSEND’S SPARROW. 
This species is admitted here solely by reason of the identification of Gmelin’s Emberezia a 
oonalascensis as this bird. One thing is certain, and that is that since Gmelin’s type no specimen 
of this bird has been secured at Ounalaska, although numerous nuturalists have visited that locality 
