214 THE ARCTIC PRAIRIES 



sonorous voice has a human sound that is uncanny; 

 his form is visible afar in the desert and sinister as a 

 gibbet; his plumage fits in with nothing but the night, 

 which he does not love. This evil genius of the land is 

 the Raven of the north. Its numbers increased as we 



Cairn Bay, looking south. August 7, 1907 



reached the Barrens, and the morning after the first 

 Caribou was killed, no less than 28 were assembled 

 at its offal. 



An even more interesting bird of the woods is the 

 Hooded Sparrow, interesting because so little known. 



Here I found it on its breeding-grounds, a little late 

 for its vernal song, but in September we heard its 

 autumnal renewal like the notes of its kinsmen, White- 

 throat and White-crowned Sparrows, but with less 

 whistling, and more trilled. In all the woods of the 

 Hudsonian Zone we found it evidently at home. But 

 here I was privileged to find the first nest of the species 

 known to science. The victory was robbed of its 

 crown, through the nest having fledglings instead of 

 eggs, but still it was the ample reward of hours of 

 search. 



