2 
Nelson on Door-Yard Birds of the Far North. 
immediate vicinity of the houses, the sponge-like mosses, cover- 
ing all the surrounding country, have retreated fifty or sixty yards 
and given place to a belt of luxuriant grasses, which, in turn, 
makes wa}~ in places in favor of dense patches of weeds. From 
the north-eastern to the southern side the sea approaches to 
within thirty yards, the grassy slope ending abruptly at a beach 
formed of dark, angular fragments of basalt; this, with a hard- 
trodden court-yard, absolutely bare of vegetation, and a small 
kitchen-garden, completes the immediate surroundings. On 
distant hillsides a few patches of dark green show where small 
groups of hardy alders have secured a foothold, beyond which, 
excepting a few dwarf willows, not a bush raises its head for 
many miles. 
To all appearances, not a very tempting locality for birds, 
would be one’s decision at first sight ; but a closer acquaintance 
will prove the contrary. Some cheerless morning in May, on 
the border line between winter and spring, as we walk about 
the buildings, we are greeted by the sharp tsifl, tsip , of the Tree 
Sparrow which has arrived over-night and now holds possession 
of the weed patches, whence it makes foraging expeditions into 
the yard, ready to skurry back to its stronghold upon the least 
alarm, As the weather becomes milder, their number is aug- 
mented, and, in company with the plump, rosy -breasted little 
Redpoll, they are seen every where, from the top of the wind- 
vane to the kitchen window, whence they peep in from the 
sundial. As the snow decreases the Tree Sparrows slowly 
retire, pre-empting summer houses in the alder bushes, where 
they hold possession by right of numbers ; they are not, however, 
too conservative to share their haunts with inoffensive strangers. 
The Redpolls also now seek more congenial haunts, and are soon 
lost to view. Meanwhile the Savanna Sparrows have arrived 
and enliven the borders of the numerous muddy spots sur- 
rounding the place, running in and out, mouse-like, among 
the dead grass, as they playfully pursue each other. At the 
first alarm they dive into the cover of standing weeds and grass 
only to reappear, a moment later, on the further side. As the 
season advances, the males mount the woodpile or other con- 
spicuous object to pour forth their weak, unmusical notes, which 
they at times also utter from the ground. 
Gambel’s Finch now makes its appearance, and, capturing the 
