I 1908.] BIRDS. 447 



sweet song, first heard on May 8. was conspicuous in the early morn- 

 ing chorus. It was seldom seen at this place during the latter part 

 of the month. At Willow Eiver. near Fort Providence, J. ^y. Mills 

 took one on May 4. AThile descending the Mackenzie I noted it, usu- 

 ally in willow thickets on the islands, near the mouth of Xahanni 

 River. June 3: at Fort Xorman, June 11 to 15; 10 miles below Fort 

 Xorman. June 16 ; near Sans Sault Rapid, June 19, and at the Ram- 

 parts, June 20. At Fort Good Hope the bird was rather common 

 July 21 to 24. A nest found June 23 contained three eggs almost 

 read}^ to hatch. It was built on dry ground on the border of a swamp 

 and outwardly was composed of grass, moss, and strips of bark, and 

 was lined with fine grass and dog s hair. On the lower Mackenzie 

 and Peel rivers I frequently saw the bird June 25 to July 1, and it 

 was common at Fort McPherson. July 2 to 16. A number of speci- 

 mens were taken. On my return trip I saw the bird at Fort McMur- 

 ray on August 11. 



Richardson gave a descrij)tion of a female killed at Great Bear 

 Lake, June 7, 1826;^ and later recorded a specimen from Fort 

 Simpson.^ Ross listed the species as common in the Mackenzie River 

 region north to La Pierre House.^ MacFarlane found it tolerably 

 common on Anderson River, and also found a few nests on Swan 

 River in the Barren Grounds east of Fort Anderson.^ Baird, Brewer, 

 and Ridgway note its occurrence at Fort Resolution, Fort Simpson, 

 Fort Good Hoj^e, Peel River, La Pierre House, Anderson River, and 

 Fort Anderson, and skins from nearly all these localities, some labeled 

 as accompanied by eggs, are now in the National Museum. Eggs 

 taken at Lesser Slave Lake were sent to the Smithsonian Institution 

 by Strachan J(mes. The following dates, copied from the bird cata- 

 logue, probably represent the approximate dates of arrival of the 

 species at these localities: Fort Simpson, May 6, 1860; May 5, 1861; 

 La Pierre House. May 20. 1863. 



Macoun speaks of the bird as follows: 



Saw one April 19, 1S97, at Edmonton. Alta. : saw individuals up to June 1; 

 a few pairs doubtless breed bere : obser\ ed two individuals near Edmonton June 

 7. 1898; common from Lesser Slave River to Peace River Landing, lat, 56° 15', 

 June, 190.3. ( Spreadborougb.) Not rare at Fort McMurray, at tbe confluence 

 of the Clearwater River and tbe Atbabaska, lat. 56° 40' ; one bird and nest 

 seen at Metbye Portage: eggs not batcbed July 18, 1888. (J. M. Macoun.) 



He also records, on the authority of Raine, nests found by C. E. 

 AVhittaker at Peel River June 10, 1900, and at the same place by I. O. 

 Stringer June 1. 1898.^ Seton records the fox sparrow from the limit 



° Fauna Boreali-Americana, II, p. 258, 1831. 

 ^ Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., XI, p. 484, 184.3. 

 cxat. Hist. Rev.. II (second ser.), p. 282, 1862. 

 ^ Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIV, p. 443, 1891. 

 e Cat. Canadian Birds, Part III, pp. 518, 519, 1904. 



