",.,, ; Moobe, The Fox Sparrow as a Songster, 181 



heard farthest, is most likely to be exactly imitated. The follow- 

 ing day at Grindstone, twenty-five miles from Grosse Isle, songs (J 

 and 7 were heard in close proximity, using likewise a common key 

 K' 1 minor. In this ease the same time and almost identical notes 

 were employed, and yet both notes and key were totally different 

 from those of the (Jrossc Isle birds. This sort of thing I noticed 

 a number of times, in fact every time the birds of a, group sang 

 long enough for me to pitch their songs and secure evidence. For 

 instance records Xos. S and !) are also in a common key and were 

 rendered by birds whose song-sites were close to each Other, though 

 the birds were not heard on the same occasion. In the case of 

 bird No. S I was witness of an interesting incident. As I was writ- 

 ing down his notes, another Fox Sparrow Hew up to a spruce oppo- 

 site and answered him in the same key and with almost the identical 

 song. After singing it three or four times in an uncertain fashion, 

 he broke out confidently into an entirely different melody, more 

 resembling No. 2, but still keeping in key D of song 8. Unfortu- 

 nately he stopped singing before I had time to record his song. 

 This was the only occasion when I heard a Fox Sparrow sing two 

 songs, for unlike the Song Sparrow, the Fox seems to have but one 

 and is content to repeat it over and over, making slight additions 

 at the height of the season or reducing it at the end note by note 

 to its melodic skeleton. This case was probably not a clear in- 

 stance of two songs, but a momentary lapse, merely indicating 

 how one bird is influenced by another and his songs gradually 

 modified. One other case is enlightening, that of Nos. 10 and 1 I, 

 whose authors answered each other constantly. These two birds 

 did not sing in the same key, yet their songs contain common 

 sounds and are so closely related that one makes a beautiful finish l 

 to the other. Furthermore both of these songs contain trills, very 

 unusual features in the songs of this species. In each of these 

 four groups there were more birds whose songs I was not able to 

 record. Here then were four sets of Fox Sparrows, each set 

 separated by several miles of territory and each exhibiting remark- 

 able similarities within the group and variations without. Just 



i To siinw this relation ! have placed Song 10 between tworendltionsofNo.il 

 arni have added an accompaniment which, of course, was not sung by the birds I 



