Interior of British North America. 75 
tution; Mr. Ross also notices it on the Mackenzie. This bird 
is not included in the ‘ Fauna Bor.-Am.,’ nor is it mentioned 
by Mr. Murray among skins which he has received from the 
neighbourhood of Hudson’s Bay ; but this is not astonishing, 
as it is one of those quiet retiring birds which would be over¬ 
looked, except by a diligent ornithologist, and neither its habits 
nor its plumage are likely to attract the attention of a casual 
observer. I believe that I was the first to discover it in Nova 
Scotia, where I distinguished it from others of the genus by its 
note and manners. The former is a feeble chirping, and when 
you approach it, it will fly from one small bush to another 
without mounting in the air; it perches also on stone walls, and 
often on the ground, where it runs smartly. Wilson’s description 
of the Savannah Sparrow is not minute enough ; for he makes no 
mention of the dividing-line of white on the crown,—of the line 
of brown running from the lower mandible and bordering the 
white throat,—of a second line of brown from the slit of the 
mouth, encircling the ear-coverts, and joined, or nearly so, by a 
third from the back of the eye,—of the decided line of pale white 
which is thus left from the lower mandible to the back of the 
ear-coverts, between the first two of these brown lines; neither 
does he remark, as he has in the case of the Tree Sparrow ( Spi - 
zella monticola), the almost concealed spot of brown on the breast, 
which is very apparent in the living bird, but might be passed 
unnoticed in a dead one or preserved specimen. Those indivi¬ 
duals I have measured have been between 5| and 5J in. in 
length, and 2f and 2| in the wing. The Savannah Sparrow was 
a common bird at Fort Carlton during spring, where I observed 
it by the 4th of May. I also shot one near the eastern base of 
the Rocky Mountains in August, to the westward of which bar¬ 
rier I believe the bird has not been observed. 
Passerculus sanbvichensis. 
Observed by Mr. Ross on the Mackenzie, as well as P. anthinus; 
but this latter he marks as uncertain. 
64. POCECETES GRAMINEUS. 
The Bay-winged or Grass Finch is mentioned in the ‘ Fauna 
Bor.-Am.’ as an inhabitant of the Saskatchawan, where I obtained 
