176 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ALASKA. 



585. Passerella iliaca (Merr.). Fox Sparrow. 



The Fox Sparrow arrives at Saint Michael's by tlie 8th of June. Breeds here in the thickets of 

 alder round the edges of the small lakes. It is not abundant, though in some restricted localities 

 several pairs may be found during the breeding season. The nests are built in the densest parts 

 of the thickets, which renders them extremely difficult to find. 



A male bird was shot in the edge of a clump of bushes on the 17th day of July, and in its bill 

 were over a dozen gallinippers, which had been divested of their wings. They were intended for 

 food of very young birds of this species. In the interior, and especially at Fort Yukon, this 

 Sparrow is quite common. 



It leaves the vicinity of Saint Michael's in the latter part of August. 



This Sparrow is a beautiful songster. The Eskimo name of this bird is Chaparig ulc. 



613. Chelidon erythrogaster (Bodd.). Barn Swallow. 



The Barn Swallow arrives at Saint Michael's about the 7th of June. A few of the more intrepid 

 ones may arrive some few days earlier. By the 15th of the month as many as forty pairs have been 

 counted in the dusk of the twilight, which is light enough to see to read by at midnight during 

 this season of the year. 



The earliest arrivals dart into the usual places occupied by them as though they were the iden- 

 tical birds hatched there the preceding year. On their arrival they are loud in the manifestations 

 of joy for the termination of the long journey lately winged to the distant north. 



In the spring of 1876 snow squalls and frosty weather held until late in June. The poor birds 

 had had no opportunity to recover their exhausted condition, resulting from their long flight to the 

 north. Many of them succumbed to the chilling weather, while others, benumbed by the cold, 

 permitted themselves to be handled and seemed to enjoy the warmth given out by the hand, as they 

 nestled closely between them, without evincing any fear. 



They build their nests on the beams projecting from the old houses and under the eaves of the 

 other buildings. Nidification begins as soon as the sun thaws the ground sufficiently to allow them 

 to obtain the mud with which to construct their nests. After that the yard is searched for feathers 

 with which to line it. At this season of the year many game birds are killed for food; hence the 

 yard has various kinds of feathers in abundance. The swallows appear to delight in picking up a 

 feather, carrying it high in the air, and drop it to catch it again as it flutters downward. Oftentimes 

 two or more swallows will join in playing with a large feather, from the breast of a sw y an. I 

 have seen one swallow chase another, which was carrying one of these large feathers, snatch it 

 from him, and only to be followed in most wonderful aerial evolutions by the one from which it was 

 taken. This sport continues for an hour at a time. 



The Russians protected this bird ; hence it seems to have less fear of man in that region than 

 in warmer climes. 



My window was favorably situated from which I could observe these birds collect mud, for 

 their nests. I never before knew how it was done, but supposed that they picked the mud pellet 

 up between their beaks. I have watched them for hours at a time, and when my eyes were not 

 to exceed four feet from the birds at work. They flew to the puddle of water and mud, stepping 

 over the ground until they found a place having the proper consistency, would look up at me as 

 if to say that this will do. The neck is stretched out nearly its full length and the head kept 

 with the bill at a right angle to the neck. A slight pressing of the beak into the earth and 

 a tugging twist of the body gently pulls toward the bird a small pellet of mud. The bird theu 

 lowers its neck to the ground with the beak on the opposite side of the pellet (or on the side next 

 the bird.) The beak is now thrust under the pellet until the mass of mud is pushed onto the top of 

 the bill and rests against the forehead. This is the manner in which it obtains the mud and is in 

 position to enable the bird to deposit it. The mud is also smeared with the top of the beak. 



The Swallow frequently rears two broods in a single season. The first brood is fully fledged 

 and on the wing by the 15th of July. The second brood is ready for flight by the 25th of August 

 They remain around the Redoubt until September 10th to 20th. Previous to their departure they 

 assemble on the buildings, in the evenings and early morn, filling the air with their twitter. The 



