386 A JOURNEY TO THE 



[nV] when they are very fat, and not inferior in flavour to an 

 ortolan. On their first arrival they generally feed on grass- 

 seeds, and are fond of frequenting dunghills. At that time 

 they are easily caught in great numbers under a net baited 

 with groats or oatmeal ; but as the Summer advances, they 

 feed much on worms, and are then not so much esteemed. 

 They sometimes fly in such large flocks, that I have killed 

 upwards of twenty at one shot, and have known others who 

 have killed double that number. In the Spring their plumage 

 is prettily variegated, black and white ; but their Summer 

 dress may be called elegant, though not gay. They live [420] 

 long in confinement, have naturally a pleasing note, and when 

 in company with Canary birds soon imitate their song. I have 

 kept many of them in cages in the same room with Canary 

 birds, and always found they sung in Winter as well as in 

 Summer ; but even in confinement they change their plumage 

 according to the season, the same as in a wild state. This 

 species of bird seem fond of the coldest regions, for as the 

 Spring advances they fly so far North that their breeding- 

 places are not known to the inhabitants of Hudson's Bay. 

 In Autumn they return to the South in large flocks, and are 

 frequently shot in considerable numbers merely as a delicacy ; 

 at that season, however, they are by no means so good as when 

 they first make their appearance in Spring. 

 White- White-crowned Bunting.^ This species is inferior in 



Bumrng. size to the former, and seldom make their appearance till 

 June. They breed in most parts of the Bay, always make 

 their nests on the ground, at the root of a dwarf willow or 

 a gooseberry-bush. During the time their young are in a 

 callow state they have a delightful note, but as soon as 

 they are fledged they become silent, and retire to the South 

 early in September. 



i 



[' Zonotrichia leiicophrys (Forster). First described from specimens taken at ' 

 Severn River, Hudson Bay. An abundant species throughout the region north 

 to the limit of trees.] 



