140 
THE FOX-COLOURED FINCH. 
whole of the Union by day, resting here and there awhile, to watch the 
gradual improvement of the season. 
They enter the British Provinces full of joy, and lavish of song. Many 
are well pleased to remain there, but the greater number pursue their 
course to revisit the Magdeleine Islands, Newfoundland, and the country 
of Labrador. There you find them in every pleasant dell, where no sooner 
have they arrived than each searches for a safe retreat in which to place 
its nest. This is in due time replenished with eggs ; and, while the female 
sits on them with care and anxiety, her devoted lover chants the blessings 
they both enjoy. 
The flight of this bird is low, rapid, and undulating. While passing over 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it flies swiftly, at a moderate height, without 
uttering any note. They appear to be able to travel to a considerable 
distance, without the necessity of alighting, and I have thought that they 
may accomplish the passage of the Gulf without resting on any of its islands. 
As soon as they alight, they betake themselves to the deepest thickets. 
During the breeding season, their plumage has a richness which it does 
not exhibit in the winter months, while with us. Indeed some of the males 
at that time are so highly coloured as to be of a bright red rather than of a 
brown tint ; and their appearance, as they pass from one bush to another, 
or skip from stone to stone, is extremely pleasing. I have attempted to 
represent this colouring in the Plate. 
Would that I could describe the sweet song of this Finch ; that I could 
convey to your mind the effect it produced on my feelings, when wandering 
on the desolate shores of Labrador ! — that I could intelligibly tell you of the 
clear, full notes of its- unaffected warble, as it sat perched on the branch of 
some stunted fir. There for hours together was continued the delightful 
serenade, which kept me lingering about the spot. The brilliancy and 
clearness of each note, as it flowed through the air, were so enchanting, 
the expression and emphasis of the song so powerful, that I never tired of 
listening. But, reader, I can furnish no description of the melody. 
While in South Carolina, in January 1834, after I had returned from the 
country where this species breeds, I happened, one fair day, to meet with a 
groupe of these birds. They were singing in concert. Never shall I forget 
the impression which their notes made on me : I snddenly stopped and 
looked around ; for a moment I imagined that I had been by magic trans- 
ported to the wilds of Labrador ; but how short was the duration of these 
feelings ! — a Hawk sailed over the spot of their concealment, and in an 
instant all was silent as the tomb. 
The nest of the Fox-coloured Sparrow, which is large for the size of the 
bird, is usually placed on the ground, among moss or tall grass, near the stem 
