CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 487 
BREEDING NotTes.—My acquaintance with the birds at this 
point was limited to the few hours ashore during this evening and 
the next. But the Alaskan longspur was, with the single exception 
of the snowy owl, the only land bird observed. The low-lying, 
moss-covered tundras with not even a dwarfed bush or any exten- 
sive patch of grass to offer attraction to any other land bird, seemed 
to constitute a congenial abode for thi$ species, and the longspurs 
were fairly common. They seemed to show preference for the 
driest tracts lying just back of the beach and on the higher ground 
separating the numerous lagoons and lakes. In my tramp across 
these tundras I would frequently meet with a male longspur stand- 
ing motionless on some conspicuous hummock. If I approached 
~ too close he would attempt to get out of my way by stealthily running 
to one side, but if pressed he would take flight and mount upwards 
circling high overhead and uttering his pleasing song. I some- 
times heard them singing from their perches on the ground, but 
they were most generally heard while circling with apparent aim- 
lessness far above, the yellow reflection of the midnight sun bring- 
ing out their forms against the indigo sky. To my ear the song 
of the Alaskan longspur resembles closely that of the western 
meadowlark, except that it is much weaker and more prolonged. 
A nest was found at this point containing two newly-hatched young 
and three eggs. It was sunk into a hummock of spahgnum and 
completely concealed from above by a tussock of grass, part of 
which was artfully arched over it. The nest proper consisted of 
a remarkably scant lining of long, fine grasses. At Cape Lowenstern, 
on July rst, I noted a few longspurs, and at Cape Blossom, over 
the rolling hills just back of the coast, this bird was common. Its 
song was heard for a few days after our arrival, June 9th, but ceased 
altogether after the 16th. The first juveniles, full-grown, were 
seen on July 30th. In 1899, apparently a much earlier season, 
many nearly-fledged young were noted on July 1st. From August 
Ist. to 12th, 1898, juveniles were plentiful in the vicinity of the 
mission. They were in small companies or scattered singly in the 
edge of the tall grass bordering the beaches. The tendency at this 
season seemed for them to be gathering into flocks, and on the 11th, 
the last day of our stay on the sound, I saw a flock of about 25. I 
last saw the Alaskan longspur in 1898, on the 16th of August; it 
was on our way up the Kowak, and at a point about 100 miles from 
