BIEDS OF NORTIIEEN CANADA 409 



with eggs at Peel's River and near the delta of the Mac- 

 kenzie in 1899 and 1900. Nests were situated on many 

 knolls on the ground, and they contained four and five eggs 

 each. They were, in composition, similar to those herein 

 described. For many years this sub-species figured under 

 the preceding No. 559 species. According to Mr. Grinnell 

 the ground colour of the egg is very pale blue. A set of 

 six in his possession is quite uniformly and thickly spotted 

 with liver brown and vinaceous tints. One egg of a set 

 of five is like them, but the others are wreathed at the large 

 ends with confluent markings of the same colours, while the 

 rest of the surface is finely dotted and blurred with a pale 

 brown tint so as to merely obscure the ground colour. 



The Ottawa Museum holds fifteen specimens, and no 

 eggs, of this sparrow! 



560. Chipping Spaeeow — Spizella socialis Wilson. 



We did not observe any sparrows of this species on the 

 Anderson, but from Mr. Dalgleish's List for season 1880, 

 he received well-identified examples from Forts Eae, Reso- 

 lution and Chipewyan. There were one or two from each 

 of these points — birds, nests and eggs. The nests were found 

 on low wiUow or pine scrub bushes, and were constructed of 

 fine grasses and some deer hair, and the number of eggs was 

 four and five. In 1890 we forwarded sieventy-two eggs of 

 the chipping sparrow to Washington from the Hudson's Bay 

 posts of Cumberland House, Moose Lake, Reindeer Lake and 

 Grand Rapids. Mrs. W. C. King, Messrs. H. Belanger, 

 Joseph Hourston, and Angus McLean were the finders, while 

 Mr. H. McKay, of Pelican Narrows, procured two nests, 

 with four and five eggs, the following season. He states 

 that they are abundant and among the first breeding birds 

 arriving at that place. Mr. Ross also says, " abundant on 

 the Upper Mackenzie to and at Fort Simpson." Has been 

 taken at Fort Yukon. The nest is usually composed of dried 

 grass lined with hair, placed on low bushes. Mr. W. H. 



