GO FOX-COLOURED SPARROW.
transported 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 of a creeping fir, the branches of which completely conceal it from
view. Its exterior is loosely formed of dry grass and moss, with a carefully
disposed inner layer of finer grasses, circularly arranged; and the
lining consists of very delicate fibrous roots, together with some feathers
from different species of water-fowl. In one instance I found it composed
of the down~of the Eider-duck. The period at which the eggs are laid,
is from the middle of June to the 5th of July. They are proportionally
large, four or five in number, rather sharp at the smaller end, of a dull
greenish tint, sprinkled with irregular small blotches of brown. I think
that the description given in the splendid work of my friends SWAINSON
and RICHARDSON, of the eggs of this species, must have been taken from
those of the White-crowned Bunting, as it agrees precisely with eggs which
I have found in many nests of that bird.
When one approaches the nest, the female affects lameness, and employs
all the usual arts to decoy him from it. They raise only one brood
in the season. The young, before they depart for the United States,
already resemble their parents, which have by this time lost much of the
orilliancy of their colouring. They leave Labrador about the 1st of September,
in small groups, formed each of a single family. When in that
country, and in Newfoundland, I frequently observed them searching
along the shores for minute shell-fish, on which they feed abundantly.
Many of these birds are frequently offered for sale in the markets of
Charleston, they being easily caught in " figure-of-four traps I" Their
price is usually ten or twelve cents each. I saw many in the aviaries of
my friends Dr SAMUEL WILSON and the Reverend JOHN BACHMAN, of
that city. To the former I am indebted for the following particulars relative
to this species, part of which I was myself witness to.
Dr WILSON, who was almost in the daily habit of visiting my friend
BACHMAN, with whom it was my good fortune to reside while at Charleston,
was fond of talking about birds, many of which he knew more accurately
than ordinary ornithologists are wont to do. " My Dear Mr AUDUBON,""
he said, " I have several beautiful Fox-coloured Sparrows in my
aviary, but of late some of them have been killed, and I wish you would
FOX-COLOURED SPARROW. 61
tell me by what other birds the murders can have been committed." I
laid the charge first on the Blue Jays; but he replied that even they appeared
as if greatly molested by some other species. A day elapsed, the
Doctor returned, and astonished me not a little by informing me that the
culprit was a Mocking-bird. I went to his house on the 8th December;
and, while'standing on the piazza, we both saw the Mocking-bird alight on
one of the Fox-coloured^Sparrows, in the manner of a small hawk, and peck
at the poor bird with such force as to convince us that its death must soon
ensue. The muscular powers of the finch, however, appeared almost too
much for the master songster of our woods; it desisted for a moment, out
of breath, and we could observe its pantings ; but it did not fail to resume
its hitherto unknown character of tyrant. A servant was dispatched to
the rescue, and peace was restored; but the finch was almost reduced to
its last gasp, and shortly after expired. This very Mocking-bird we
strongly suspected of being the individual that had killed a Blue Jay of
exceedingly meek disposition, a few weeks before. It was ultimately removed
into a lonely cage, where it is yet passing its days, perhaps in unavailing
penitence.
FRINGILLA ILIACA, Bonaparte, Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 112.
FOX-COLOURED SPARROW, FRINGILLA RTJFA, Wilson's Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p. 53.
pi. 22. fig. 4—Nuttall, Manual, vol. l. p. 514.
FRINGILLA (ZONOTRICHIA ?) ILIACA, Swains. North Zool. vol. ii. p. 257-
Adult Male in Summer. Plate CVIII. Fig. 1.
Bill short, robust, conical, acute; upper mandible broader than the
lower, almost straight in its dorsal outline, as is the lower, both being
rounded on the sides, and the lower with inflected acute edges; the gap
line nearly straight, a little deflected at the base, and not extending to
beneath the eye. Nostrils basal, roundish, open, partially concealed by
the feathers. Head rather large, neck shortish ; body robust. Legs of
moderate length, rather strong ; tarsus shorter than the middle toe; covered
anteriorly with a few longish scutella; toes scutellate above, free,
the lateral ones nearly equal; claws slender, arched, compressed, acute,
that of the hind toe rather large.
Plumage compact above, soft and blended beneath ; wings short,
curved, rounded, the second, third and fourth quills longest, and nearly
equal; the first and fifth equal; tail longish, even, or slightly rounded.