262 DwiGHT, The Philadelphia Vireo. [tulv 



and fire, giving place, especially in the vicinity of Tadousac, to a 

 second growth in which the bush element predominates and where 

 deciduous trees considerably outnumber the conifers. Poplars or 

 aspens, white and yellow birches and maples are the commonest 

 trees, the poplars and white birches occurring in small straggling 

 groups or scattered broadcast throughout the woods and clearings. 

 There is, too, a goodly sprinkling of evergreens of several sorts — 

 pines, spruces and firs — which grow in squat little patches or 

 quite alone in the w^oods or on the mountain sides. The northern 

 character of the region is indicated by the abundance of such 

 species (among many others) as the northern scrub pine {Piniis 

 banksiani)^ the Labrador tea {Lediuti latifoUum)^ the crowberry- 

 {^Empetrmn nigrum), the bunchberry {Cornus canadensis), and 

 scores of other shrubs and wild flowers. Immense quantities of 

 blueberry and raspberry bushes thrive in the drier places, while 

 the little swamps are masses of vegetation, but the most striking 

 and most abundant of all the bushes is the alder. Alders, large 

 and small, from flat spreading little mats to shady groves of trunks 

 a dozen and more feet in height, are visible at every turn. Flour- 

 ishing on the sandbanks, dotted on the mountain sides, rooted in 

 cool glens or fringing the swampy margins of the lakes, they 

 tangle up with the general undergrowth or form separate patches 

 all by themselves. When the latter are of any extent they become 

 broad canopies of shade beneath which is found an open space 

 where the breezes and the birds freely circulate. 



The summer climate is delightful at Tadousac, its situation, a 

 trifle north of Lat. 48°, and the great body of cold tide-water in 

 its immediate vicinity contributing to keep the summers cool. 

 From the foregoing remarks, I trust that some idea may be 

 gained of the country where I have found the Philadelphia Vireo, 

 — a country resembling in many respects, I fancy, that part of 

 northwestern Maine where Mr. Brewster became acquainted with 

 the species many years ago. 



Habits and Characteristics. 



My observations at Tadousac have never extended over more 

 than six consecutive weeks in any one season, but my visits have 



