AMERICAN HARBOR, OR NATASHQUAN 



the purple finch. It generally has a loud ring- 

 ing character like the music of silver sleigh- 

 bells with the interpolation of fine trills and 

 deep flutelike notes. One bird I especially 

 loved at Piashte Bay often ended his song with 

 Oh mieux, and occasionally followed it with an 

 almost inaudible trill which sounded as if he 

 were drawing in his breath after the supreme 

 effort. It is an interesting and cheerful song, 

 one which I always listened to with great 

 pleasure. 



Audubon says in his Journal, "The note of 

 this bird attracted me at once ; it was loud and 

 sonorous." In his "Birds of America" he de- 

 scribes his first encounter with this new spe- 

 cies in a valley of beautiful verdure at Natash- 

 quan: "But if the view of this favoured spot 

 was pleasing to my eye, how much more to 

 my ear were the sweet notes of this bird as 

 they came thrilling on the sense, surpassing 

 in vigour those of any American Finch with 

 which I was acquainted, and forming a song 

 which seemed a compound of those of the Ca- 

 nary and Wood-lark of Europe. I immedi- 

 ately shouted to my companions, who were not 

 far distant. They came, and we all followed the 



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