FOX-COLORED SPARROW. 
107 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of twenty specimens. .Length, 7'10; stretch, 11 *25; wing, 2'95; tail, 3'25; bill, *50; tarsus, '70. 
Longest specimen, 7'50; greatest extent of wing, 11*75; longest wing, 3'80; tail, 3’ 10; bill, ‘55; tarsus, *75. Shortest speci¬ 
men, 6'80; smallest extent of wing, 10'55; shortest wing, 2*30; tail, 3* 17; bill, *45; tarsus, *67. 
DESCRIPTION OF NESTS' AND EGGS. 
Nests, placed on the ground, composed of dried grass and moss, lined with feathers. They are large for the size of the 
bird. Dimensions; external diameter, 5'00, internal, 4'00. External depth, 3'00, internal, 2'50. 
E(jcjs, oval in form, four or five in number, pale-green in color, spotted, blotched, and dotted, irregularly with reddish- 
brown, with an under tint of lilac markings. Dimensions from '85 x '62 to '86 x '65. 
HABITS. 
The Magdalen Islands lie in the midst of the cold, wind-swept waters of the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence. They are mainly of volcanic origin and the surface is hilly, but the soil is rather 
poor, producing, as a natural growth of timber, nothing better than small spruces and hem¬ 
locks. Although these trees are low, seldom exceeding twenty feet in height, they grow 
quite thickly together. The branches are gnarled and cover the trees from top to bottom, 
the limbs of one tree mingling with those of others standing about it, and thus the whole 
forms a tangled maze through which it is impossible to penetrate without the aid of an axe. 
This dwarfing of the trees on these northern islands is not due to the sterility of the soil as 
much as it is to the climate, for these isolated spots of land are surrounded by water which 
is at a very low temperature, indeed it is filled with floating ice for at least eight months 
of the year. Upon my visit to the Gulf I found that ice-floes were still there, although it 
was as late as the last week in June. These frigid surroundings quite intensify the climate 
which is not much warmer than that of Southern Greenland. Thus I found snow in the 
woods during the first week of July, and after remaining through the exceedingly short 
summer which the inhabitants of this bleak region enjoy, I was not surprised at the peculiar 
character of the trees and scant vegetation, for there were but few days when an overcoat 
was not comfortable. 
The tangled thickets did not cover the entire surface, for the inhabitants had cleared 
away some portions, often forming little glades which were protected from the cold winds 
by the surrounding trees and into which the sun shone with genial rays. These secluded 
spots were the chosen resorts of the Fox-colored Sparrows and there they built their nests, 
placing them on the ground beneath some low drooping limb by which they were usually 
concealed. The parents were solicitous for the safety of their eggs and greeted our appear¬ 
ance with shrill chirps of alarm. But when we approached cautiously we could hear the 
magnificent song of the male filling the clear, still air with melody. I had often heard these 
birds sing in New England, but learned for the first time what the full song was when 
I saw them on the Magdalen Islands, their efforts while migrating being only a prelude 
to their more finished attainments. These fine strains consist at first of three, clear, rather 
rapid notes given with increasing emphasis, then a short pause ensues and the remainder 
of the lay is poured forth more deliberately, terminating with a well rounded note giving 
a finish to a song which, for sweetness and clearness of tone, is seldom surpassed even by 
our best performers. 
