Zonotrichia albicollis. 
1895, 
September 10. 
Lake Umbagog 
crossing the lake to Richardson's Carry, which we reached just as 
the fog began breaking up. About midway of the passage we came 
upon a »Yhite-throated Sparrow floating dead on the calm surface. 
It occurred to me that these birds which we find drowned in the 
lake after foggy nights may meet their fate by descending through 
the fog at daybreak and striking the water before they make out 
what it is rather than by wandering about in circles until they 
become exhausted. This idea was suggested to me by the reflection 
that the color of the water when it is calm and enshrouded in fog 
is precisely like that of the fog itself. Looking down at the 
lake from a slight elevation I find that I cannot make out the 
water at all through the fog unless it is agitated by the swirl of 
a fish or by a breath of air. 
