3J4 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



Nest, under a tussock of grass, built of moss and fine dried grass, linec, with 

 a few feathers. 



Eggs, four or five, greenish -gray, which color is nearly obscured by a heavy 

 mottling of chocolate-brown. 



Like the Snowflake, the present species is common to both con- 

 tinents. They come and go together and keep company while here ; 

 but at all times the Snowflakes far exceed the others in numbers. 



The male Longspur, in full breeding plumage, is a very handsome 

 bird. It is seldom found in Ontario in this dress, but some year& 

 ago, two young men who were collecting at Mitchell's Bay, met with 

 quite a large flock in the month of May, and got some very fine 

 specimens, several of which came into my possession. All those I 

 have met with have been in winter dress, in which state the colors 

 are obscured by the black feathers of the head and breast being 

 tipped with yellowish-gray. 



Here again we have pleasure in taking a summer chapter from 

 the life of this interesting bird as observed in Alaska. "Like the 

 preceding species, the Lapland Longspur is a widely-spread circum- 

 polar bird, whose presence is recorded from nearly every point visited 

 by the explorers along the shores of the Arctic coast. It is found 

 breeding in Iceland, Greenland, and on nearly all those islands lying 

 in the icy sea just north of the continental mainlands. In the 

 territory covered by the present paper, it is an extremely abundant 

 and familiar bird, found, perhaps, more numerously upon the main- 

 land, but also known from the various islands of Behring Sea. 

 Regarding its presence on the Seal Islands, Elliott tells us : ' This 

 bird is the vocalist par excellence of the Pribilov group, singing all 

 through the month of June in the most exquisite manner, rising 

 high in the air and hovering .011 fluttering wings above its sitting 

 mate. The song is so sweet that it is always too short.'" 



GENUS POOC^TES BAIRD. 

 POOC^ETES GRAMINEUS (GMEL.). 



224. Vesper Sparrow. (540) 



Thickly streaked everywhere above, on sides and across breast ; no yellow- 

 anywhere ; lesser wing coverts, chestnut, and one to three outer pairs of tail 

 feathers partly or wholly white ; above, grayish-brown, the streaking dusky and 

 brown with grayish-white ; below, white, usually buffy-tinged, the streaks very 



