LAND BIRDS OP THE DUNES 



on tlie Dease River, near ttie Arctic Ocean, 

 believed that the Lapland longspur " availed 

 itself of the strength of wing of the Hutching 

 Goose, and nestled among its feathers during 

 its flight. When a goose is shot, they often 

 see the small bird flying from it." And he 

 naively adds: " Neither Mr. Rae nor I no- 

 ticed such an occurrence, nor did I obtain a 

 confirmation of it from the personal observa- 

 tion of any of the gentlemen resident in the 

 country, but it is generally affirmed by the 

 Lidians." 



In the fall Lapland longspurs are inconspic- 

 uous and sparrow-like, especially the females 

 and young, but in the latter part of the winter 

 and spring the male acquires a jet black bib, 

 by the simple process of wearing off the gray 

 veiling tips of the feathers. This can be shown 

 by a series of specimens extending from the 

 fall to the spring, and it is no more wonderful 

 than the process which any one may watch in 

 our city streets— in fact it is exactly similar. 

 The adult male English sparrow in the fall has 

 a gray shirt-front with scarcely a suspicion 

 of the black bib or shield that forms his chief 

 adornment in the spring. It is present, how- 

 ever, but concealed by the veil which gradu- 



105 



