Chamberlain’s New Brunswick Notes. 
7 
1883.] 
peering over his shoulder. Upon dissecting the female the' eggs 
were found to be in an advanced condition. 
During the season the remaining pairs were seen very often 
and closely watched, but though they were undoubtedly mated 
no completed nest was discovered. As the birds were exceed- 
ingly tame and easy to approach, their plumage was closely 
examined. No red coloring was observable, and so little differ- 
ence was apparent between the males and the females that the 
sex could not be determined without the aid of a glass, at more 
than ten paces distant. During the breeding season they sang 
occasionally but not loudly, their song being a short and rather 
simple, though sweet-toned melody, which increased in strength 
of tone and duration toward autumn. 
Last spring the Song Sparrow and the Fox Sparrow reversed 
the usual order of their coming, for on March 6, while we were 
looking for the appearance of the latter, the former species ar- 
rived in the vicinity of St. John in large flocks, accompanied by 
a few of their White-throated cousins. 
In 1881 the Song Sparrow first appeared here on April 11, 
which is about an average date for their arrival. From the time 
of their coming in 1882 until late in April they must have 
been sorely pinched for food, for winter was still with us, and 
cold snow-storms were of frequent occurrence. During this 
period the birds were constantly about the streets of the city, and 
in the early morning thronged the wharves and busiest thor- 
oughfares. They were also found along the shore, but their chief 
resort was the large tract of sand flats at the back of the town, 
which at low water are bare, but with each recurrence of the 
tide are covered by the waters of the Bay of Fundy. The mouths 
of the sewers emptying upon these sea-washed sands were the 
favorite feeding places for all the early comers, and through April 
a rather motley company were daily seen there together. Snow- 
birds, Fox, Song, and White-throated Sparrows, Robins, and 
| Purple Finches, became shore-birds for the time, and about the 
| middle of the month a party of Hermit Thrushes added their dig- 
1 nified presence to the gathering, while a squad of Crows gravely 
stalked about as undisturbed as if always accustomed to such 
, high-bred society, their sombre coloring forming a marked contrast 
with the white plumes of the Herring Gulls who posed for a 
1 background just where the incoming waves curled and broke 
upon the sands. 
