Bird- Life in Labrador. 33 



It is a tamer and more domestic bir-d than the white-throat 

 and breeds everywhere in meadow, field, and dooryard. In 

 Summer it is very tame, and, witli its young, feeds about the 

 dooryards of the houses in a most familiar and charming man- 

 ner. Even while you are standing quite near them and 

 closely watching their habits, one of them, not in the least 

 alarmed at your presence, mounts a si)rig of Labrador tea and 

 chants forth a very pleasing and homely little note that )nakes 

 you feel happy in spite of yourself. He is [)erfectly self-pos- 

 sessed, is this little ""fellow, and seems to feel perfectly sure 

 that you will not oifer harm either to him or his little brood 

 that are feeding close by. His song is the reverse of that of 

 his neighbor, the white-throat, on that twig yonder toward 

 the woods, and he repeats it loud and clear, then soft and 

 mellow; this wakes two or three others who respond from va- 

 rious quarters near by and not half a dozen yards away. 

 Meanwhile the female and young hop about, busily feeding, 

 running in and out of the piles of old lumber and logs of 

 wood on the lawn, even picking up crumbs and pieces that 

 have been thrown out of the window to the dogs. The notes 

 are pfc-dee pea-body, the ^jefi being two notes higher than the 

 rest of the song. I have seen young birds with brown on the 

 top of head, grayish in place of white, and speckled breast ; in 

 fact in all plumages from the nest to the adult bird, and watch- 

 ed them grow from one to the other. In the Fall and perhaps 

 early 8})ring tne birds are much less tame than at any other 

 time of the year. They retire to the unfrequented parts of the 

 coast somewhat back from the shore, and are shy and even al- 

 most wild. They sing comparatively little, and if they find 

 that you are watching them will disappear in the shrubbery al- 

 most instantly and you are liable not to see them at all again. 

 They apparently begin to be scarce and shy as soon as the 

 breeding season is over. 



FOX-COLORED SPARROW 



Fasserella iliaca. — (Mere.) Sw. 



This charming little songster is the far-famed Canadian 



