CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 48/ 



Breeding Notes. — My acquaintance with the birds at this 

 point was Umited 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 this species, and the longspurs 

 were fairly common. They seemed to show preference for the 

 driest tracts Ijang 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 

 circhng 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 circUng 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 artfuUy arched over it. The nest proper consisted of 

 a remarkably scant lining of long, fine grasses. At Cape Lowenstern, 

 on July ist, 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 gth, but ceased 

 altogether after the i6th. 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 ist. 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 nth, 

 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 i6th of August; it 

 was on our way up the Kowak, and at a point about 100 miles from 



