= ae S) A = < a a © = i i BAF i if Ly NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. LAND BIRDS. VOL. I. ‘OT Rul Vupy (snpeydact MI ATO sod.tomeyepy ) ‘YANOAIGOOM G3IGV3H-G3aY EOk.S bk Olly OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS S. F. BAIRD, T. M. BREWER, ann R. RIDGWAY LAND BIRDS ILLUSTRATED BY 64 PLATES AND 593 WOODCUTS VOLUME II. BOSTON Pee ih, BeOwN, AND “COMPANY 1905 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Se a e a : a Printers = S. J. PARKHILL & Co., Boston, U.S. AW CON TEN iiss Family Frincituipaz. The Finches. (Continued.) . Subfamily SprzELLinZ%. (Continued.) Subfamily PAssSERELLINE Subfamily Spizinz Family ALaupIp&. The Larks Family Icreripa#. The Orioles Subfamily AGELAINE Subfamily IcrERINzZ . Subfamily QUISCALINE . Family Sturnip&. The Starlings Family Corvin. The Crows . Subfamily Corvinz Subfamily GARRULINE . Family TyraAnnip&#. The Tyrant Flycatchers Family ALcEDINID&. The Kingfishers Family CarrimuLcipx%. The Goatsuckers . Subfamily CAPRIMULGIN#E | Family Cypsetip#. The Swifts . Subfamily CypsELINz/ Subfamily Coa#TuRIna» Family Trocuintip#. The Humming-Birds Family CucuLtipa#. The Cuckoos. Subfamily Coccycinm Family Prcipa#. The Woodpeckers Subfamily Picinaz . Family Psrrractp#%. The Parrots Subfamily Srrracinz INDEX TO THE PLATES. PLATES 27 —56. PAGE NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Famtty FRINGILLIDAS. — Tue Fincues. (Continued.) Genus SPIZELLA, Bonar. Spizella, Bonar. Geog. and Comp. List, 1838. (Type, Fringilla canadensis, LATH.) Spinites, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851, 133. (Type, Fringilla socialis, Wits.) Gen. Car. Bill conical, the outlines slightly curved; the lower mandible decidedly larger than the upper; the commissure gently sinuated; the roof of the mouth not knobbed. Feet slender; tarsus rather longer than the middle toe; the hinder toe a little longer than the outer lateral, which slightly exceeds the inner; the outer claw reaching the base of the middle one, and half as long as its toe. Claws moderately curved. Tertiaries and secondaries nearly equal ; wing somewhat pointed, reaching not quite to the middle of the tail. First quill a little shorter than the second and SEE EE equal to the fifth; third longest. Tail rather long, moderately forked, and divaricated at the tip; the feathers rather narrow. Back streaked ; rump and beneath immaculate. Young streaked beneath. This genus differs from Zonotrichia principally in the smaller size and longer and forked, instead of rounded tail. Birds of the year of this genus are very difficult to distinguish, even by size, except in monticola. The more immature birds are also very closely related. In these the entire absence of streaks on a plumbeous head point to atrigularis; the same character in a reddish cap, and a reddish upper mandible to pusilla; a dusky loral spot with dark streaks and generally a rufous shade on top of head, to socialis. S. brewert, with a streaked head, lacks the dusky lore and chestnut shade of feathers. S. pallida generally has a median light stripe in the cap, and a dusky mandibular line. Common Cuaractrers. Interscapular region with black streaks. Rump and lower parts without streaks (except in young). Wing with two narrow light bands (indistinct in atrigularis). VOL. II. 1 2. NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. A. Crown different from the sides of the head, a plain light superciliary stripe. Young with crown and breast streaked. a, Crown rufous and plain in adult; in young, grayish and with streaks. IL. Streak behind eye, and tinge on side of breast, rufous. Egg pale blue, or bluish-white, blotched with pale brown, or sprinkled with reddish. 1. S. monticola. Crown bright rufous, undivided medially; a dusky spot on lore; wing-bands sharply defined, pure white. A black spot on breast; jugulum tinged with ashy. Bill black above, yellow below. Length, 6.25; wing, 3.00. Hab. Whole of North America ; north of the United States only, in summer, 2. S. pusilla. Crown dull rufous, indistinctly divided medially ; lores entirely whitish; wing-bands not sharply defined, pale brown. No black spot on breast; jugulum tinged with buff. Bill entirely light brownish-red. Wing, 2.70; tail, 2.80; bill, from forehead, .37. Hab. Hast- ern Province Unie States. . - var. pusilla. “Similar, but colors clearer, and all more robe Fab: Peten, Guatemala : ; : 5 : . var. pinetorum. II. Streak behind the eye blackish. No rufous tinge on side of breast. Egg deep blue, with black dots and streaks round larger end. 3. S. socialis. Crown bright rufous, not distinctly divided, gen- erally plain. Forehead black, divided medially with white. Streak of black on lore and behind eye. Rump pure bluish-ash. Bill blackish, lower mandible paler. Auriculars deep ash, in strong contrast with pure white of the superciliary stripe and throat; breast without ashy tinge. Dorsal streaks broad. Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.30. Hab. Hastern Province of United States - var. soctalis. Auriculars lighter ash, less stronaly ‘contrasted with the white above and below; breast strongly tinged with ash. Dorsal streaks narrow. Tae 3.00; tail, 2.90. Hab. Western Province of United States, and le seads of Mexico. var. Arizone. b. Crown light grayish-brown, with distinct black streaks; young differing in streaked. Egg deep blue, with black streaks and dots (precisely as in socialis). 4. S. pallida. Crown divided medially by a distinct pale stripe; whitish superciliary stripe, and blackish post-ocular streak sharply defined. A dusky sub-maxillary streak. Nape ashy in con- trast with the crown and back. Wing, 2.50; tail, 2.40. Hab. Plains of United States, from the Saskatchewan southward. var. pallida. Crown without a distinct median stripe. Markings on side of head not sharply defined. No dusky sub-maxillary stripe, and nape scarcely different from crown and back. Wing, 2.50; tail, 2.60. Hab. Middle and western Provinces . var. brewert. B. Crown not different from the sides of head; no light superciliary stripe. 1 Spizella pinetorum, Savin, Pr. Z. S. 1863, p. 189. (‘‘Similis 8. pusidle, ex Amer. Sept. et Mexico, sed coloribus clarioribus et rostro robustiore differt.’’) FRINGILLID#— THE FINCHES. 3 a 5. S. atrigularis. Head and neck all round, and rump, uniform dark ash, gradually fading into white on the abdomen; wing- bands indistinct ; bill light brownish-red. Ad. Lores, chin, and upper part of throat black. Juv. without black about the head. (Eggs unknown.) Hab. Adjacent portions of Mexico and southern Middle Province of United States (Fort Whipple, Arizona, Cours; Cape St. Lucas, XanTUus). Spizella monticola, Barrp. TREE SPARROW. Fringilla monticola, GM. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 912. Zonotrichia monticola, GRAY, Genera. Spinites monticolus, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851, 134. Spizella monticola, Barrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 472. — Covss, P. A. N.S. 1861, 224 (Labrador). — Cooper & SUCKLEY, 203 (Washington Ter.). — DALL & BANNISTER, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 285.— CooPER, Orn. Cal. I, 206. —SAMUELS, 317. Passer canadensis, BRISSON, Orn. III, 1760, 102. Fringilla canadensis, LATH. Index, I, 1790, 4384. — AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 511 ; V, 504, pl. elxxxviii. — Max. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 280. Emberiza canadensis, Sw. F. B. Am. II, 1831, 252. — Aup. Syn. 1839. — In. Birds Am. III, 1841, 88, pl. elxvi. Spizella canadensis, Bon. List, 1838. — Is. Conspectus, 1850, 480. Fringilla arborea, Wits. Am. Orn. II, 1810, 12, pl. xii, f. 3. Moineau dw Canada, Burron, Pl. Enl. 223, f. 2. ‘‘ Mowntain Finch,” LATH. Syn. II, 1, 265. Sp. Cuar. Middle of back with the feathers dark brown centrally, then rufous, and edged with pale fulvous (sometimes with whit- ish). Hood and upper part of nape continuous chestnut; a line of the same from behind the eye, as well as a short maxillary stripe. Sides of head and neck ashy. A broad light super- ciliary band. Beneath whitish, tinged with ful- vous; the throat with ashy; a small circular blotch of brownish in the middle of the upper part of the breast; the sides chestnut. Edges of tail-feathers, primary quills, and two bands across the tips of the secondaries, white. Tertiaries nearly black; edged externally with rufous, turn- ing to white near the tips. Lower jaw yellow ; upper black. Young bird streaked on throat Spizella monticola. and breast, as well as on crown. Length, 6.25 inches ; wing, 3.00. Has. Eastern North America to the Missouri, north to Arctic Ocean; also on Pole Creek and Little Colorado’ River, New Mexico; Western Nevada. This species varies in the amount of whitish edging to the quills and tail. Hairs. Essentially a northern bird, the Tree Sparrow breeds in high Arctic regions, only appearing in winter within the United States. It is then common as far south as Pennsylvania. A few winter in South Carolina. It arrives on the Saskatchewan in the latter part of April, where it only 4 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. makes a short halt, proceeding farther north to breed. Bischoff obtained a specimen at Sitka. Mr. Kennicott found its nest and eggs on the Yukon, and Mr. Dall obtained it at Nulato, and more sparingly below that point. Mr. MacFarlane met with it breeding in large numbers at Fort Anderson. The nests were in various situations, the larger proportion on the ground, a few in bushes near the ground, and only one is mentioned as having been several feet above it. One was in the cleft of a low willow on the edge of a small lake; another, in a bush, was nearly four feet from the ground; and a third was in a clump of willows and fourteen inches above the ground. Nearly all the other nests mentioned were built directly upon the ground. The nests were constructed of dry bark and grasses, loosely put together, and very warmly lined with feathers. On the ground they were usually concealed in a tuft of grass. In all instances the female alone was found on the nests, the male being very rarely seen in their vicinity. The usual number of eggs in a nest was four or five, occasionally six, and even seven. Dr. Suckley obtained a single specimen at Fort Dalles, and Dr. Cooper saw a flock in September, 1863, and again in. 1864 at the mouth of the Columbia. Lieutenant Bryan met with them among the Rocky Mountains in latitude 39°, in August. Mr. Ridgway found them very common during the winter in the interior. Dr. Coues found this Sparrow common in all the wooded districts of Lab- rador. It was very tame and unsuspicious, showing no fear even when closely approached. I have never met with any, in summer, in any part of New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. This Sparrow is occasionally abundant in Massachusetts early in October, but rarely appears in full numbers until November. Some remain in the gardens in and about Boston during the winter, and during November the marshes of Fresh Pond are filled with them, when their wailing autumnal chant is in marked contrast with the sweet and sprightly song with which they enliven the spring, just before they are about to depart for their sum- mer homes. They remain until the latter part of April, and Mr. Allen has observed them at Springfield till about the first of May. In regard to their song, Mr. William Brewster informs me that they usu- ally commence singing about the 25th of March. Their song is a loud, clear, and powerful chant, starting with two high notes, then falling rapidly, and ending with a low, sweet warble. He has heard a few singing with their full vigor in November and December, but this is rare. Dr. Coues found them not common in South Carolina, but Dr. Kennerly states that they were quite abundant in December on the Little Colorado, in New Mexico, feeding on the fruit of the wild grape and upon seeds. During the love-season the Tree Sparrow is quite a fine musician, its song resembling that of the Canary, but finer, sweeter, and not so loud. In their migrations, Mr. Audubon states, a flock of twenty or more will perch upon the same tree, and join in a delightful chorus. Their flight is elevated FRINGILLIDA — THE FINCHES. 5 and graceful, and in waving undulations. On opening the stomachs of those he shot at the Magdeleine Islands, Mr. Audubon found them contain- ing minute shell-fish, coleopterous insects, hard seeds, berries, and grains of sand. Nests obtained near Fort Anderson confirm the descriptions given by Mr. Hutchins, as observed in the settlement at Hudson’s Bay. The eggs, which are much larger than those of the other species of Spizella, measure .85 by .65 of an inch. Their ground-color is a light green, over which the eggs are very generally freckled with minute markings of a foxy brown. These markings are distributed with great regularity, but so sparsely as to leave the ground distinctly visible. Spizella pusilla, Bonar. FIELD SPARROW. Fringilla pusilla, Witson, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 121, pl. xvi, f. 2. —Licut. Verzeich. Doubl. 1823, No. 252. — Aun. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 299, pl. exxxix. Spizella pusilla, Bonar. List, 1838. — Is. Conspectus, 1850, 480. — Barrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 473. — SAMUELS, 319. Emberiza pusilla, AuD. Syn. 1839, 104. —Is. Birds Am. III, 1841, 77, pl. elxiv. Spinites pusillus, Cas. Mus. Hein. 1851, 133. Fringilla guncorwm, Nutr. Man. I, 1832, 499 (2d ed.,) 1840, 577 (supposed by him to be ALotacilla junco- rum, GMELIN, I, 952; Sylvia guncorum, LATHAM, Ind. II, 511; Little Brown Sparrow, CaTEssy, Car. I, 35). Sp. Cuar. Bill red. Crown continuous rufous-red, with a faint indication of an ashy central stripe, and ashy nuchal collar. Back somewhat similar, with shaft-streaks of blackish. Sides of head and neck (including a superciliary stripe) ashy. ar-coverts rufous. Beneath white, tinged with yellowish anteriorly. Tail-feathers and quills faintly edged with white. Two whitish bands across the wing-coverts. Autumnal specimens more rufous. Length about 5.75; wing, 2.34. Has. Eastern North America to the Missouri River; San Antonio, Texas in winter (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 489). This species is about the size of S. socialis, but is more rufous above ; lacks the black forehead and eye stripe; has chestnut ears, instead of ash ; has the bill red, instead of black; lacks the clear ash of the rump; has a longer tail, etc. It is more like monticola, but is much smaller; lacks the spot on the breast, and the predominance of white on the wings, etc. The young have the breast and sides streaked, and the crown slightly so. Hasits. The common Field Sparrow occupies a well-defined and some- what compact area, being resident within the United States, and in its mi- erations not removing far from its summer abode. In the summer it breeds from Virginia to Maine, as far as the central and western portions. It is not found near Calais, but occurs and breeds near Norway, Oxford County. In the interior it is found still farther north, in Canada, Iowa, and Wiscon- sin, to the Red River settlements, where it was found breeding by Donald Gunn. At Hamilton, Ontario, Mr. Mcllwraith states it to be a rather rare 6 . NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. summer resident. It breeds in Southern Wisconsin and in Iowa, but is not abundant. It does not appear to have been found west of the Missouri Valley. This Sparrow arrives in Massachusetts early in April, and is found almost exclusively in open pastures, old fields, and in clearings remote from villages. It is a shy, retiring bird, and seems to avoid the near presence of man. Wil- son states that it has no song, nothing but a kind of chirruping, not much superior to the chirping of a cricket. But this is quite a mistake, as it is in reality a very varied and fine singer. Its notes are not very powerful, and cannot be heard any distance, but they are very pleasing, although little known or appreciated. It continues in full song until into July, when the second brood is about hatching, when its notes relax, but do not cease until just before its departure in September or early October. Mr. D. D. Hughes, of Grand Rapids, Mich., in an interesting paper on the habits of this species, speaks of its beautiful tinkling song as one of its most marked features. To his ear it resembles the ringing of a tiny bell more nearly than anything else. In the early morning and at evening the fields ring with their plaintive and tender peals. It sings at all hours of the day, during the nesting-season, even in the noonday heat of summer, when most other birds are silent. In Virginia these birds may be found throughout the year, though probably not the same birds in the same localities, some retiring farther south and others coming to take their places from the north. In winter they are found in the greatest abundance in South Carolina and Georgia, occurring in large loose flocks, found chiefly along the roadsides and in old fields and pastures in the rural districts. The Field Sparrow nests both on the ground and in low bushes, or among tangled clusters of vines. I have found their nests in all these situations, and have no doubt the nature of the surface may have something to do with the position. In high dry pastures, in sheltered situations, I have always found their nests on the ground. In the wet meadows and fields subject to a rise of water, as about the Potomac, near Washington, where these birds are very abundant, they almost invariably nest in bushes at a height of two or three feet. Mr. Audubon says that during the winter these birds are quite common throughout Louisiana, and the country about the Mississippi, as far as Ken- tucky. They begin to depart from the South early in March, and move slowly northward as the season advances. He states that they begin to nest in May, and raise three broods in a season. This is not the case in New Eng- land, where they do not often have more than a single brood. Their nests are constructed in a manner very similar to those of the Chip- ping Sparrow, loosely made of a few stems of vegetables, grasses, and sedges, and lined with hair or fine rootlets. Those placed on the ground are larger and more bulky, and those wrought into the twigs of a bush are made with PLATE XXVII. “LEG ong ‘19L WOpFayse AL *LO09F “RAIS ‘Wupoour] “uyeyyns “BON Fe ” “81 ” al Z1d80}9W ‘ET ‘068% “SIN AN00Y “PY “oMoIq ‘neces ‘uptaoN J ‘XRITRI ” or "860L “18Q ‘stjonuus ” "L ‘PY ‘epyred ” '6ZSEG ‘BPBAON BIOIg P ‘puUeUIOOY # 6 “L892 “Vd “ByporuL BzIdsojeyY “9 ‘BLEL “tL $ “Blysnd —,, “LLG ‘HBTpoy "syusTsut vzjdsojow ‘g “BlOOIUOM BTaZIdg “¢ “OSIOL “Ba “PY “sy[Byoos vljezdg iy oY a | ” 47 . ‘3 € aL FRINGILLIDZ — THE FINCHES. 7 more care and neatness of interweaving. The eggs are usually five in num- ber, of an oblong-oval shape. The ground is a whitish clay-color, marked more or less fully with blotches of a ferruginous-brown. In some these markings are few, and arranged only about, the larger end. In others they are generally diffused, and impart a deep ferruginous color to the whole egg, and disguise or conceal the ground. They vary also in size, —in length from .70 to .63 of an inch, and in breadth from .52 to .50. Their usual size is .70 by .52. Two nests of this bird taken in Lynn, Mass., by Mr. George O. Welch, are characteristic of their usual style in architecture. One of these has a diam- eter of four and a height of two and a half inches. Its base, as well as the great mass of its periphery, is made of a very loose intertwining of mi- nute stems of vegetables and dry grasses. The ends of these project from the exterior of the nest at the upper rim, and present a very peculiar appearance, as of an enclosure of palisades. The interior is lined with horsehair. The other is made of similar materials, of a less rigid character and closer tex- ture. Its rim presents the same peculiarities of projecting ends, arranged like a fence above the nest itself. Its dimensions also are about the same. It is, however, much more compactly constructed, with thicker walls and a less open network of dry grasses, and stiff wiry stems of dried plants intermixed with a few pine leaves. The whole is very carefully and warmly lined with horsehair and the softer fur of small quadrupeds. These nests con- tained, one three, and the other four eggs. Spizella socialis, Bonap. CHIPPING SPARROW; CHIPPY. Fringilla socialis, Wiuson, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 127, pl. xvi, f. 5. —Aup. Orn. Biog. Il, 1834, 21; V, 517, pl. civ. Spizella socialis, Bon. List, 1838. Is. Conspectus, 1850, 480. — Barrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 473. — CooPER & SUCKLEY, 203. —SAMUELS, 320. Emberiza socialis, Aup. Syn. 1839. — Is. Birds Am. III, 1841, 80, pl. elxv. Spinites socialis, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851, 133. Sp. Cuar. Rump, back of neck, and sides of neck and head, ashy. -Interscapular region with black streaks, margined with pale rufous. Crown continuous and uniform chestnut. Forehead black, separated in the middle by white. A white streak over the eye to nape, and a black one from the base of the bill through and behind the eye. Lores dusky. Under parts unspotted whitish, tinged with ashy on the sides and across the upper breast. Tail-feathers and primaries edged with paler, not white. Two narrow white bands across the wing-coverts. Bill black. Length, 5.75; wing, nearly 3.00; tail, 2.50 (or less). : Young. Immature birds and frequently the adult females with the cap streaked with blackish lines, the chestnut nearly or sometimes quite wanting. Birds of the year streaked beneath and on rump. The color of bill varies; sometimes entirely black throughout, sometimes very light (but never reddish as in S. pusilla), with all intermediate stages. There is usually, however, a 8 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. dusky tinge in the upper bill, wanting in pusilla, and the lores are almost always more or less dusky in all stages of plumage. Has. Eastern Province of North America; north to Great Slave Lake, and south to Orizaba, Eastern Mexico, where it is resident. Oaxaca (perhaps var. arizone), Jan. (Sct. 858, 304); Xalapa (Scu. 1859, 365) ; Cordova (Scx. 1856, 305); Cuba (Lawr. 1860, VII., 1269). Hasits. The common Chipping Sparrow, so familiar to all in the eastern portion of the United States, is not only one of the most abundant, but one of the most widely distributed of our North American birds. It is found from the Atlantic to the Pacific in its two races, and breeds from Georgia to the Arctic Circle. At different seasons of the year it is found in all por- tions of North America to Mexico. Along the Atlantic coast it nests at least as far north as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; in the extreme northern portion of the latter Province I found it one of the most abundant birds. The late Mr. Robert Kennicott met with them in considerable numbers at Fort Resolution, on Great Slave Lake, and there he obtained quite a number of their nests, all of which were in trees or bushes, from two to three feet above the ground. These were all met with between the Ist and the 26th of June. Mr. B. R. Ross also met with these birds in considerable numbers at Fort Simpson and at Fort Rae. On the Pacific coast the Chipping Sparrow is stated by Dr. Cooper to be quite as abundant in the northern parts of California, and in Oregon and Washington Territory, as on the Atlantic coast. He found them wintering in the Colorado Valley in large numbers, but met with none about San Diego. They spend their summers in the northern part of California, building their nests, as with us, in the shrubbery of the gardens, and coming familiarly about the doorsteps to pick up crumbs. In autumn they collect in large flocks, and frequent the open fields and pastures. Dr. Cooper found them in flocks on Catalina Island in June, but could discover no nests. They were all old birds, and the conclusion was that they had delayed their more north- ern migrations. Dr. Suckley found this species extremely abundant in the open districts on the Columbia River, as well as upon the gravelly prairies of the Puget’ Sound district. It is not named as having been met with by Mr. Dall or any of the Russian Telegraph party in Alaska. It was found in abundance during the summer by Mr. Ridgway in all the wooded portions of the country of the Great Basin. He did not meet with any among the cottonwoods of the river-valleys, its favorite haunts appear- ing to be the cedars and the nut-pines of the mountains. In July and August, in such localities, on the East Humboldt Mountains, it was not only the most numerous species, but also very abundant, nesting in the trees. About the middle of August they congregated in large numbers, preparing for their departure. FRINGILLIDA — THE FINCHES. 8) At Sacramento it was also very abundant among the groves of small oaks. He could not observe the slightest difference in habits or notes between the eastern and the western specimens of this form. He found them breeding at Salt Lake City, June 19, the nest being in a scrub-oak, six feet from the eround. In Arizona, Dr. Coues found the Chippy a very abundant summer resident, arriving the third week of March and remaining until the latter part of November. A few may spend the winter there. As described, it seems more gregarious than it is with us, arriving in the spring, and remaining for a month or more in large flocks of fifty or upwards. In New England they always come in pairs, and only assemble in flocks just on the eve of their departure. Mr. Dresser met with these Sparrows, and obtained specimens of them, near San Antonio, on the 10th of April. Dr. Heermann, in his Report upon the birds observed in Lieutenant Williamson’s route between the 32d and 55th parallels, speaks of finding this species abundant. Dr. Gerhardt found this Sparrow not uncommon in the northern portions of Georgia, where it is resident throughout the year, and where a few remain in the summer to breed. Dr. Coues also states that a limited number sum- mer in the vicinity of Columbia, S. C., but that their number is insignificant compared with those wintering there between October and April. They collect in large flocks on their arrival, and remain in companies of hundreds or more. Mr. Sumichrast states that it is a resident bird in the temperate region of Vera Cruz, Mexico, where it remains throughout the year, and breeds as freely and commonly as it does within the United States. Although found throughout the country in greater or less numbers, they are noticeably not common in the more recent settlements of the West, as on the unsettled prairies of Hlinois and Iowa. Mr. Allen found them quite rare in both States, excepting only about the older settlements. As early as the first week in April, 1868, I noticed these birds very common and familiar in the streets of St. Louis, especially so in the business part of that city, along the wharves and near the grain-stores, seeking their food on the ground with a confidence and fearlessness quite unusual to it in such situ- ations. The tameness and sociability of this bird surpass that of any of the birds I have ever met with in New England, and are only equalled by similar traits manifested by the Snowbird (J. hyemalis) in Pictou. Those that live about our dwellings in rural situations, and have been treated kindly, visit our doorsteps, and even enter the houses, with the greatest familiarity and trust. They will learn to distinguish their friends, alight at their feet, call for their accustomed food, and pick it up when thrown to them, without the slightest signs of fear. One pair which, summer after summer, had built their nest in a fir-tree near my door, became so accustomed to be fed that they would clamor for their food if they were any morning forgotten. One VOL, II. 9 “= 10 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. of these birds, the female, from coming down to the ground to be fed with crumbs, soon learned to take them on the flat branch of the fir near her nest, and at last to feed from my hand, and afterwards from that of other members of the family. Her mate, all the while, was comparatively shy and distrust- ful, and could not be induced to receive his food from us or to eat in our presence. This Sparrow is also quite social, keeping on good terms and delighting to associate with other species. Since the introduction of the European — House Sparrow into Boston, I have repeatedly noticed it associating with them in the most friendly relations, feeding with them, flying up with them when disturbed, and imitating all their movements. The Chipping Sparrow has very slight claims to be regarded as one of our song-birds. Its note of complaint or uneasiness is a simple chip, and its song, at its best, is but a monotonous repetition of a single note, sounding like the rapid striking together of two small pebbles. In the bright days of June this unpretending ditty is kept up incessantly, hours at a time, with only rare intermissions. The nest of this bird is always in trees or bushes. I have in no instance known of its being built on the ground. Even at the Arctic regions, where so many of our tree-builders vary from this custom to nest on the ground, no exceptional cases are reported in regard to it, all its nests being upon trees or in bushes. These are somewhat rudely built, often so loosely that they may readily be seen through. Externally they are made of coarse stems of grasses and vegetable branches, and lined with the hair of the larger animals. These birds are devoted parents, and express great solicitude whenever their nests are approached or meddled with. They feed their young almost exclusively with the larve of insects, especially with young caterpillars. When in neighborhoods infested with the destructive canker-worm, they will feed their young with this pest in incredible numbers, and seek them from a considerable distance. Living in a district exempt from this scourge, yet but shortly removed from them, in the summer of 1869, I noticed one of these Sparrows with its mouth filled with something which inconvenienced it to carry. It alighted on the gravel walk to adjust its load, and passed on to its nest, leaving two canker-worms behind it, which, if not thus detected, would have introduced this nuisance into an orchard that had previously escaped, showing that though friends to those afflicted they are dangerous to their neighbors. This Sparrow is also the frequent nurse of the Cow Blackbird, rearing its young to the destruction of its own, and tending them with exemplary fidelity. Their eggs, five in number, are of an oblong-oval shape, and vary greatly in size. They are of a bluish-green color, and are sparingly spotted about the larger end with markings of umber, purple, and dark blackish-brown, intermingled with lighter shadings of faint purple. The largest specimen FRINGILLIDZ — THE FINCHES. TG I have ever noticed of this egg, found in the Capitol Grounds, Washington, measures .80 by .58 of an inch ; and the smallest, from Varrell’s Station, Ga., measures .60 by .50. Their average measurement is about .70 by .54. They are all much pointed at the smaller end. Spizella socialis, var. arizone, CovEs. WESTERN CHIPPING SPARROW. Spizella socialis, var. arizonw, Cours, P. A. N. S. 1866. — Cooper, Orn. Cal. I, 207. Sp. Cuar. Similar to socialis, but tail and wing longer, the bill narrower, and colors paler and grayer. Rufous of the crown lighter and less purplish, generally (always in specimens from southern Rocky Mountains) with fine black streaks on the posterior part. Ash of the cheeks paler, throwing the white of the superciliary stripe and throat into less contrast. Black streaks of the back narrower, and without the rufous along their edges, merely streaking a plain light brownish-gray ground-color. A strong ashy shade over the breast, not seen in socialis ; wing-bands more purely white. Wing, 3.00; tail, 2.80; bill, .36 from forehead, by .18 deep. (40,813 @, April 24, Fort Whipple, Ariz., Dr. Coves.) Has. Western United States from Rocky Mountains to the Pacific; south in winter into Middle and Western Mexico. ; All the specimens of a large series from Fort Whipple, Arizona, as well as most others from west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast, agree in the characters given above, as distinguished from eastern specimens of socialis. The variations with age and season are simple parallels of those in socialis. Hasits. The references in the preceding article to the Chipping Sparrow as occurring in the Middle and Western Provinces of the United States, are to be understood as applying to the present race. Spizella pallida, Bonar. CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. Emberiza pallida, Sw. F. Bor.-Am. II, 1831, 251 (not of AuDUBON). Spizella pallida, Bonar. List, 1838. — Barrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 474. Spinites pallidus, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851, 133. Emberiza shattucki, Avp. Birds Am. VII, 1848, 347, pl. eceeexcili. Spizella shattucki, Bonar. Conspectus, 1850, 480. Sp. Coan. Smaller than S. socialis. Back and sides of hind neck ashy. Prevailing color above pale brownish-yellow, with a tinge of grayish. The feathers of back and crown streaked conspicuously with blackish. Crown with a median pale ashy and a lateral or superciliary ashy-white stripe. Beneath whitish, tinged with brown on the breast and sides, and an indistinct narrow brown streak on the edge of the chin, cutting off a light stripe above it. Ear-coverts brownish-yellow, margined above and below by dark brown, making three dark stripes on the face. Bill reddish, dusky towards tip. Legs yellow. Length, 4.75; wing, 2.55. 12 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. Has. Upper Missouri River and high central plains to the Saskatchewan country. Cape St. Lucas, Oaxaca, March (Sc. 1859, 379); Fort Mohave (Cooper, P. A. N.S. Cal. 1861, 122); San Antonio, Texas, spring (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 489; common). The ashy collar is quite conspicuous, and streaked above with brown. The rump is immaculate. The streaks on the feathers of the crown almost form continuous lines, about six in number. The brown hne above the ear- coverts is a post-ocular one. That on the side of the chin forms the lower border of a white maxillary stripe which widens and curves around behind the ear-coverts, fading into the ashy of the neck. The wing-feathers are all margined with paler, and there is an indication of two light bands across the ends of the coverts The young of this species is thickly streaked beneath over the throat, breast, and belly, with brown, giving to it an entirely different appearance from the adult. The streaks in the upper parts, too, are darker and more conspicuous. The margins of the feathers are rather more rusty. This species is readily distinguishable from the other American Spizellas, except S. breweri (which see), in the dark streaks and median ashy stripe on the crown, the paler tints, the dark line on the side of the chin, etc. Hasirs. The Clay-colored Bunting was first discovered by Richardson, and described by Swainson, in the Fauna Bor.-Amer. The only statement made in regard to it is that it visited the Saskatchewan in considerable num- bers, frequented the farm-yard at Carlton House, and was in all respects as familiar and confiding as the common House Sparrow of Europe. The bird given by Mr. Audubon as the pallida has been made by Mr. Cassin a different species, S. brewert, and the species the former gives in his seventh volume of the Birds of America as Lmberiza shattucki is really this species. It was found by Mr. Audubon’s party to the Yellowstone quite abundant throughout the country bordering upon the Upper Missouri. It seemed to be particularly partial to the small valleys found, here and there, along the numerous ravines running from the interior and between the hills. Its usual demeanor is said to greatly resemble that of the common Chipping Sparrow, and, like that bird, it has a very monotonous ditty, which it seems to delight to repeat constantly, while its mate is more usefully employed in the duties of incubation. When it was approached, it would dive and conceal itself amid the low bushes around, or would seek one of the large clusters of wild roses so abundant in that section. The nest of this species 1s men- tioned as having been usually placed on a small horizontal branch seven or eight feet from the ground, and occasionally in the broken and hollow branches of trees. These nests are also stated to have been formed of slender grasses, but in so slight a manner as, with their circular lining of horse or cattle hair, to resemble as much as possible the nest of the common socialis. The eggs were five in number, and are described as being blue with reddish-brown spots. These birds were also met with at the Great Slave Lake region by Mr. Kennicott, in the same neighborhood by B. Kk. FRINGILLIDA — THE FINCHES. 13 Ross and J. Lockhart, and in the Red River settlements by Mr. C. A. Hub- bard and Mr. Donald Gunn. Captain Blakiston noted the arrival of this bird at Fort Carlton on the 21st of May. He speaks of its note as very peculiar, resembling, though sharper than, the buzzing made by a fly in a paper box, or a faint imitation of the sound of a watchman’s rattle. This song it utters perched on some young tree or bush, sometimes only once, at others three or four times in quick succession. Their nests appear to have been in all instances placed in trees or in shrubs, generally in small spruces, two or three feet from the ground. In one instance it was in a clump of small bushes not more than six inches from the ground, and only a few rods from the buildings of Fort Resolution. Both this species and the S. brewer were found by Lieutenant Couch at Tamaulipas in March, 1855. It does not appear to have been met with by any other of the exploring expeditions, but in 1864, for the first time, as Dr. Heermann states, to his knowledge, these birds were found quite plentiful near San Antonio, Texas, by Mr. Dresser. This was in April, in the fields near that town. They were associating with the Melospiza lincolni and other Sparrows. They remained about San Antonio until the middle of May, after which none were observed. The eggs of this species are of a light blue, with a slight tinge of greenish, and are marked around the larger end with spots and blotches of a purplish- brown, rather finer, perhaps, than in the egg of S. socialis, though very similar to it. They average .70 of an inch in length, and vary in breadth from .50 to .52 of an inch. Spizella pallida, var. breweri, Cassin. BREWER’S SPARROW. Emberiza pallida, Aup. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 66, pl. cecxeviii, f. 2. —Is. Synopsis, 1839. —-Is. Birds Am. III, 1841, 71, pl. clxi (not of Swarnson, 1831). Spizella breweri, Cassin, Pr. A. N. Sc. VIII, Feb. 1856, 40.— Barrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 475. — CoopsEr, Orn. Cal. I, 209. Sp. Cuar. Similar to S. pallida ; the markings including the nuchal collar more obsolete; no distinct median and superciliary light stripes. The crown streaked with black. Some of the feathers on the sides with brown shafts. Length, 5 inches; wing, 2.50. Young streaked beneath, as in pallida. Has. Rocky Mountains of United States to the Pacific coast. This race is very similar to the S. pallida, and requires close and critical comparison to separate it. The streaks on the back are narrower, and the central ashy and lateral whitish stripes of the crown are scarcely, if at all, appreciable. The clear unstreaked ash of the back of the neck, too, is mostly wanting. The feathers along the sides of the body, near the tibia, 14 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. and occasionally elsewhere on the sides, have brownish shafts, not found in the other. The differences are perhaps those of race, rather than of species, though they are very appreciable. . Hapits. This species bears a very close resemblance to the S. pallida in its external appearance, but there are certain constant differences which, with the peculiarities of their distinctive distributions and habits, seem to estab- lish their specific separation. The present bird is found from the Pacific coast to the Rocky Mountains, and from the northern portion of California to the Rio Grande and Mexico. Dr. Kennerly found it in February, 1854, throughout New Mexico, from the Rio Grande to the Great Colorado, along the different streams, where it was feeding upon the seeds of several kinds of weeds. Dr. Heermann, while accompanying the surveying party of Lieutenant Williamson, between the 32d and 35th parallels, found these Sparrows throughout his entire route, both im California and in Texas. On the pas- sage from the Pimos villages to Tucson he observed large flocks gleaning their food among the bushes as they were moving southward. In the Tejon valley, during the fall season, he was constantly meeting them associated with large flocks of other species of Sparrows, congregated around the cul- tivated fields of the Indians, where they find a bountiful supply of seeds. For this purpose they pass the greater part of the time upon the ground. Dr. Woodhouse also met with this Sparrow throughout New Mexico, wherever food and water were to be found in sufficient quantity to sustain life. In Arizona, near Fort Whipple, Dr. Coues states that this bird is a rare summer resident. He characterizes it as a shy, retiring species, keeping mostly in thick brush near the ground. Mr. Ridgway states that he found this interesting little Sparrow, while abundant in all fertile portions, almost exclusively an inhabitant of open situations, such as fields or bushy plains, among the artemesia especially, where it is most numerous. It frequents alike the valleys and the moun- tains. At Sacramento it was the most abundant Sparrow, frequenting the old fields. In this respect it very much resembles the eastern Spizella pusula, from which, however, it is in many respects very different. The song of Brewer’s Sparrow, he adds, for sprightliness and vivacity is not excelled by any other of the North American Fringillide, being inferior only to that of the Chondestes gramumaca in power and richness, and even excelling it in variety and compass. Its song, while possessing all the plain- tiveness of tone so characteristic of the eastern Field Sparrow, unites to this quality a vivacity and variety fully equalling that of the finest Canary. This species is not resident, but arrives about the 9th of April. He found its nest and eggs in the Truckee Reservation, early in June. The nests were in sage-bushes about three feet from the ground. Dr. Cooper found small flocks of this species at Fort Mohave, after March FRINGILLIDA — THE FINCHES. 15 20, frequenting grassy spots among the low bushes, and a month later they were singing, he adds, much like a Canary, but more faintly. They are pre- sumed to remain in the valley all summer. The eggs, four in number, are of a light bluish-green color, oblong in shape, more rounded at the smaller end than the eggs of the socialis, and the ground is more of a green than in those of S. pallida. They are marked and blotched in scattered markings of a golden-brown color. These blotches are larger and more conspicuous than in the eggs of the other species. They measure .70 by .51 of an inch. Spizella atrigularis, Barrp. BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW. Spinites atrigularis, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1851, 133. Spizella atrigularis, Barrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 476, pl. lv, f. 1.—Is. Mex. Bound. u, Birds, p. 16, pl. xvii, f. 1.— Cooper, Orn. Cal. I, 210. Struthus atrimentalis, Coucu, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. VII, April, 1854, 67. / Sp. Cuar. Tail elongated, deeply forked and divaricated. General color bluish-ash, paler beneath, and turning to white on the middle of the belly. Interscapular region yellowish-rusty, streaked with black. Forehead, loral region, and side of head as far as eyes, chin, and upper part of throat black. Quills and tail-feathers very dark brown, edged with ashy. Edges of coverts like the back. No white bands on the wings. Bill red, feet dusky. Immature birds, and perhaps adult female, without any black on head. Length, 5.50; wing, 2.50; tail, 3.00. Has. Mexico, just south of the Rio Grande; Fort Whipple, Ariz. (Cours); Cape St. Lucas. This species is about the size of S. pusilla and S. socialis, resembling the former most in its still longer tail. This is more deeply forked and divari- cated, with broader feathers than in either. The wing is much rounded ; the fourth quill longest ; the first almost the shortest of the primaries. Hasits. This species is a Mexican bird, found only within the limits of the United States along the borders. But little is known as to its history. It is supposed to be neither very abundant nor to have an extended area of distribution. It was met with by Dr. Coues in the neighborhood of Fort Whipple, Arizona, where it arrives in April and leaves again in October, collecting, before its departure, in small flocks. In the spring he states that it has a very sweet and melodious song, far surpassing in power and melody the notes of any other of this genus that he has ever heard. Dr. Coues furnishes me with the following additional information in regard to this species: “This is not a common bird at Fort Whipple, and was only observed from April to October. It unquestionably breeds in that vicinity, as I shot very young birds, in August, wanting the distinctive head-markings of the adult. A pair noticed in early April were seemingly about breeding, as the male was in full song, and showed, on dissection, highly developed 16 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. sexual organs. The song is very agreeable, not in the least recalling the monotonous ditty of the Chip Bird, or the rather weak performances of some other species of the genus. In the latter part of summer and early autumn the birds were generally seen in small troops, perhaps families, in weedy places, associating with the western variety of Spizella socialis, as well as with Goldfinches.” Lieutenant Couch met with individuals of this species at Agua Nueva, in Coahuila, Mexico, in May, 1853. They were found in small flocks among the mountains. Their nest and eggs are unknown. | Genus MELOSPIZA, Bairp. Melospiza, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1868, 478. (Type, Mringilla melodia, WIL.) Gen. Cnar. Body stout. Bill conical, very obsoletely notched, or smooth; somewhat compressed. Lower mandible not so deep as the upper. Commissure nearly straight. Gonys a little curved. Feet stout, not stretching beyond the tail; tarsus a little longer than the middle toe; outer toe a little longer than the inner; its claw not quite reaching to the base of the middle one. Hind toe appreciably longer than the middle one. Wings quite short and round- ed, scarcely reaching beyond the base of the tail; the tertials considerably longer than the secondaries; the quills considera- bly graduated ; the fourth longest; the first not longer than the tertials, and almost the shortest of the primaries. Tail moderately long, rather longer from coccyx than the wings, and considerably graduated; the feathers oval at the tips, and not stiffened. Crown and back similar in color, and streaked; beneath thickly streaked, except in MZ. palustris. Tail immaculate. Usually nest on ground; nests strongly woven of grasses and fibrous stems; eggs marked with rusty- brown and purple on a ground of a clay color. Melospiza melodia. This genus differs from Zonotrichia in the shorter, more graduated tail, rather longer hind toe, much more rounded wing, which is shorter ; the tertiaries longer ; the first quill almost the shortest, and not longer than the tertials. The under parts are spotted; the crown streaked, and like the back. There are few species of American birds FET that have caused more perplexity to the pages sg ornithologist than the group of which Melospiza melodia is the type. Spread FRINGILLIDA — THE FINCHES. ie over the whole of North America, and familiar to every one, we find each region to possess a special form (to which a specific name has been given), and yet these passing into each other by such insensible gradations as to render it quite impossible to define them as species. Between J/. melodia of the Atlantic States and Jf dinsiynis of Kodiak the difference seems wide; but the connecting links in the intermediate regions bridge this over so completely that, with a series of hundreds of specimens before us, we abandon the attempt at specific separation, and unite into one no less than eight species previously recognized. Taking, then, the common Song Sparrow of the Eastern Atlantic States (M. melodia) as the starting-point, and proceeding westward, we find quite a decided difference (in a variety fallax) when we reach the Middle Province, or that of the Rocky Mountains. The general tints are paler, grayer, and less rusty ; the superciliary stripe anteriorly more ashy ; the bill, and espe- cially the lees, more dusky, the latter not at all to be called yellow. The bill is perhaps smaller and, though sometimes equal to the average of eastern specimens, more slender in proportion. In some specimens (typical fallax) the streaks are uniform rufous without darker centres, —a feature I have not noticed in eastern melodia. Another stage (deermannz) is seen when we reach the Pacific coast of California, in a darker brown color (but not rufous). Here the bill is rather larger than in var. fallax, and the legs colored more like typical melodia. In fact, the bird is like melodia, but darker. The stripes on the back continue well defined and distinct. Jf samuelis (=youldi) may stand as a smaller race of this variety. Proceeding northward along the Pacific coast, another form (var. guttata), peculiar to the coast of California, is met with towards and beyond the mouth of the Columbia (coming into Southern California in winter). This is darker in color, more rufous; the stripes quite indistinct above, in fact, more or less obsolete, and none, either above or below, with darker or black- ish centres. The sides, crissum, and tibia are washed with ochraceous- brown, the latter perhaps darkest. The bill is proportionally longer and more slender. This race becomes still darker northward, until at Sitka (var. rufina) it shows no rufous tints, but a dusky olive-brown instead, in- cluding the streaks of the under parts. The markings of the head and back are appreciable, though not distinct. The size has become consider- ably larger than in eastern melodia, the average length of wing being 3.00, instead of 2.60. The last extreme of difference from typical melodia of the east is seen in the variety insignis from Kodiak. Here the size is very large: length, 7.00 ; extent, 10.75; wing, 3.20. The bill is very long (.73 from forehead), the color still darker brown and more uniform above ; the median light stripe of vertex scarcely appreciable in some specimens ; the superciliary scarcely showing, except as a whitish spot anteriorly. The bill and feet have become almost black. VOL. Il. 3 18 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. The following synopsis may serve as a means by which to distinguish the several races of this species, as also the two remaining positive species of the genus : — Species and Varieties. A. Lower parts streaked. 1. M. melodia. White of the lower parts uninterrupted from the chin to the crissum ; the streaks of the jugulum, etc., broad and cuneate. a. Streaks, above and below, sharply defined, and distinctly black medially (except sometimes in winter plumage). Ground-color above reddish-gray, the interscapulars with the whitish and black streaks about equal, and sharply contrasted. Rump with reddish streaks. Wing, 2.70; tail, 2.90; bill .36 from nostril, and .30 deep. Hab. Eastern Province of United States, to the Plains on the west, and the Rio Grande on the south var. melodia. Ground-color above ashy-gray, the interscapulars with the black streaks much broader than their rufous border, and the-whitish edges not in strong contrast. Rump without streaks. Wing, 2.80; tail, 3.15; bill, .83 and .22. Hab. Middle Province of United Soa : z : : - var, fallam. Ground-color above Agee pure gray, ie fntarsbanalas with the black streaks much broader than the rufous, and the edges of the feathers not appreciably paler. Rump without streaks. Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.85; bill, .32 by .27. Hab. California, except along the coast; Sierra Nevada 3 : : : var. heermanni. Ground-color above grayish-olive, the jnteraeanelaes with the black streaks much broader than their rufous border; edges of the feathers scarcely appreciably paler. Rump and tail-coverts, above and below, with distinct broad streaks of black. Wing, 2.40; tail, 2.50; bill, 387 and .24. Hab. Coast region of California var. samuelis.* Ground-color above olive-rufous, the edges of the interscapulars, alone, ashy; dorsal black streaks very broad, without rufous border. Rump streaked with black. Wing, 2.60; tail, 2.85; bill, 34 and .25. Hab. Puebla, Mexico : 4 ; var. mexicana.® a) 1 Winter plumage. Rusty prevailing above, but hoary whitish edges to feathers still in strong contrast ; streaks beneath with a rufous suffusion externally, but still with the black in excess. 2 Winter plumage. Gray above more olivaceous, the black streaks more subdued by a rufous suffusion ; streaks beneath with the rufous predominating, sometimes without any black. 3 Winter plumage. Above rusty-olive, with little or no ashy, the black streaks broad and distinct. Streaks beneath with the black and rusty in about equal amount. * In summer the streaks beneath are entirely intense black ; in winter they have a slight © rufous external suffusion. 5 Melospiza melodia, var. mexicana, RipGway. Mexican Song Sparrow. ?? Melospiza pecto- ralis, VON MULLER. Sp. CHar. (Type, 60,046, Puebla, Mexico, A. Boucagp.) Similar to IM. melodia, but. ground-color above olive-brown ; inner webs of interscapulars pale ashy, but not in strong contrast. Crown and wings rusty-brown, the former with broad black streaks, and divided by a just appreciable paler line ; back with broad black streaks without any rufous suffusion. Superciliary stripe pure light ash, becoming white anterior to the eye ; two broad, dark-brown stripes on side of head, — one from the eye back along upper edge of auriculars, the other back from the rictus, along their lower border. Lower parts pure white, the flanks and crissum dis- tinctly ochraceous ; markings beneath broad and heavy, entirely pure deep black ; those on the jugulum deltoid, on the sides linear.. Wing, 2.60; tail, 2.85; bill, .87 and .24; tarsus, .85 ; FRINGILLIDA — THE FINCHES. 19 6. Streaks, above and below, not sharply defined, and without black medially. Above rufescent-olive, the darker shades castaneous ; streaks be- neath castaneous-rufous. Wing, 2.60; tail, 2.50; bill, .35 and .23. Hab. Pacific Province from British Columbia, southward . var. guttata. Above sepia-plumbeous, the darker shades fuliginous-sepia ; streaks beneath fuliginous-sepia. Wing, 3.00; tail, 3.00; bill, .41 and .25. Hab. Pacific Province from British Columbia northward. var. rufina. Above plumbeous, the darker markings dull reddish-sepia in winter, clove-brown in summer; streaks beneath castaneous-rufous in winter, dull sepia in summer. Wing, 3.40; tail, 3.60; bill, .50 and .30. Hab. Pacific coast of Alaska (Kodiak, etc.) . var. insignis. 2. M. lincolni. White of the lower parts interrutped by a broad pectoral band of bud; streaks on the jugulum, etc., narrow linear. A vertex and superciliary scripe of ashy; a maxillary one of buff. Wing, 2.60; tail, 2.40; bill, .30 and .25. Hab. Whole of North America; south, in winter, to Panama. B. Lower parts without streaks (except in young.) 3. M. palustris. Jugulum and nape tinged with ashy; outer surface of wings bright castaneous, in strong contrast with the olivaceous of the back ; dorsal streaks bruad, black, without rufous externally ; a superciliary and maxillary stripe of ashy. @. Crown uniform chestnut, forehead black. 9. Crown similar, but divided by an indistinct ashy stripe, and more or less streaked with black (autumnal or winter @ similar). Juv. Head, back, and jugulum streaked with black on a yellowish-white ground; black pre- vailing on the crown. Hab. Eastern Province of North America. Melospiza melodia, Bairp. SONG SPARROW. Fringilla melodia, Witson, Am. Orn. II, 1810, 125, pl. xvi, f. 4. — Licnt. Verz. 1828, No. 249. — Aup. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 126; V, 507, pl. 25. — Is. Syn. 1839, 120. — Is. Birds Am. III, 1841, 147, pl. elxxxix. — Max. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 275. Zonotrichia melodia, Bon. List, 1838. —Is. Conspectus, 1850, 478. 2? Fringilla fasciata, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 922. Nurrautt, Man. I, (2d ed.,)' 1840, 562. ?? Fringilla hyemalis, GMELIN, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 922. Melospiza melodia, Barrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 477. — SAMUELS, 321. Sp. Cuar. General tint of upper parts rufous and distinctly streaked with rufous-brown, dark-brown, and ashy-gray. The crown is rufous, with asuperciliary and median stripe of dull gray, the former lighter; nearly white anteriorly, where it sometimes has a faint shade of yellow, principally in autumn ; each feather of the crown with a narrow streak of black forming about six narrow lines. Interscapulars black in the centre, then rufous, then pale grayish on the margin, these three colors on each feather very sharply con- trasted. Rump grayer than upper tail-coverts, both with obsolete dark streaks. There is middle toe without claw, .68. This may possibly be the Jf. pectoralis of von Miiller. The de- scription cited above, however, does not agree with the specimen under consideration. The pec- toral spots are expressly stated to be brown, not even a black shaft-streak being mentioned, whereas the pure black spots of the specimen before us render it peculiar in this respect, being, in fact, its chief characteristic. 2() NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. a whitish maxillary stripe, bordered above and below by one of dark rufous-brown, and with another from behind the eye. The under parts are white; the jugulum and sides of body streaked with clear dark-brown, sometimes with a rufous suffusion. On the middle of the breast these marks are rather aggregated so as to form a spot. No distinct white on tail or wings. Length of male, 6.50; wing, 2.58; tail, 3.00. Bill pale brown above; yellowish at base beneath. Legs yellowish. Has. Eastern United States to the high Central Plains. Specimens vary somewhat in having the streaks across the breast more or less sparse, the spot more or less distinct. In autumn the colors are more blended, the light maxillary stripe tinged with yellowish, the edges of the dusky streaks strongly suffused with brownish-rufous. The young bird has the upper parts paler, the streaks more distinct; the lines on the head scarcely appreciable. The under parts are yellowish; the streaks narrower and more sharply defined dark brown. As already stated, this species varies more or less from the above descrip- tion in different parts of North America, its typical races having received specific names, which it is necessary to retain for them as varieties. Hasits. The common Song Sparrow of eastern North America has an extended range of distribution, and is resident throughout the year in a large part of the area in which it breeds. It nests from about South Carolina north to the British Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick at the east, and to a not well-defined limit in British America. The most northern points to which it has been traced are the plains of the Saskatchewan and the southern shore of Lake Winnepeg, in which latter place Mr. Kennicott found it breeding. It is said by Dr. Coues to breed in South Carolina, and by Mr. Audubon in Louisiana, but I have never seen any of their eggs from any point south of Washington. In winter it is found from Massachusetts, where only a few are observed, to Florida. It is most abundant at this period in North and South Carolina. It is not mentioned in Dr. Ger- hardt’s list as being found in Northern Georgia at any season of the year. Mr. Ridgway informs me that it does not breed in Southern Ilinois. Its song is not popularly known there, though he has occasionally heard it just before these Sparrows were leaving for the north. This species winters there in company with the Z. albicollis and Z. leucophrys, associating with the for- mer, and inhabiting brush-heaps in the clearings. To Massachusetts, where specimens have been taken in every month of the year, and where they have been heard to sing in January, they return in large numbers usually early in March, sometimes even in February. It is probable that these are but migrants, passing farther north, and that our summer visitants do not appear among us until the middle of April, or just as they are about to breed. They reach Maine from the 15th to the 25th, and breed there the middle of May. In Massachusetts they do not have egos until the first week in May, except in very remarkable seasons, usually not until after the Bluebird has already hatched out her first brood, and a week later than the Robin. FRINGILLIDA — THE FINCHES. oT The tide of returning emigration begins to set southward early in October. Collecting in small loose flocks, probably all of each group members of the same family, they slowly move towards the south. As one set passes on, another succeeds, until the latter part of November, when we no longer meet with flocks, but solitary individuals or groups of two or three. These are usually a larger and stouter race, and almost suggest a different species. They are often in song even into December. They apparently do not go far, and are the first to return. In early March they are in full song, and their notes seem louder, clearer, and more vibratory than those that come to us and remain to breed. The Song Sparrow, as its name implies, is one of our most noted and con- spicuous singers. It,is at once our earliest and our latest, as also our most constant musician. Its song is somewhat brief, but is repeated at short intervals, almost throughout the days of spring and early summer. It some- what resembles the opening notes of the Canary, and though less resonant and powerful, much surpasses them in sweetness and expression. Plain and homely as this bird is in its outward garb, its sweet song and its gentle con- fiding manners render it a welcome visitor to every garden, and around every rural home wherein such attractions can be appreciated. Whenever these birds are kindly treated they readily make friends, and are attracted to our doorsteps for the welcome crumbs that are thrown to them; and they will return, year after year, to the same locality, whenever thus encouraged. The song of this Sparrow varies in different individuals, and often changes, in the same bird, in different parts of the year. It is even stated by an observing naturalist — Mr. Charles 8S. Paine, of Randolph, Vt. — that he has known the same bird to sing, in succession, nine entirely different sets of notes, usually uttering them one after the other, in the same order. This was noticed not merely once or during one season, but through three successive summers. The same bird returned each season to his grounds, and came each time provided with the same variety of airs. Mr. Nuttall, who dwells with much force upon the beauty and earnestness of expression of the song of this species, has also noticed and remarked upon the power of individuals to vary their song, from time to time, with very agreeable effect, but no one has recorded so remarkable an instance as that thus carefully noted by Mr. Paine. These birds are found in almost any cultivated locality where the grounds are sufficiently open. They prefer the edges of open fields, and those of meadows and low grounds, but are rarely found in woods or in thick bushes, except near their outer edges. They nest naturally on the ground, and in such situations a large majority build their nests. These are usually the younger birds. A portion, almost always birds of several summers, probably taught by sad experiences of the insecurity of the ground, build in bushes. A pair which had a nest in an adjoining field had been robbed, by a cat, of their young when just about to fly. After much lamentation, and an interval of a 99) NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. week, I found this same pair, which I easily recognized, building their nest among some vines near my house, some eight feet from the ground. They had abandoned my neighbor’s grounds and taken refuge close to my house. This situation they resorted to afterwards for several successive summers, each season building two nests, never using the same nest a second time, although each time it was left as clean and in as good condition as when first made. Indeed, this species is remarkable for its cleanliness, both in its own person and in its care of nestlings and nests. They feed their young chiefly with insects, especially small caterpillars ; the destructive canker-worm is one of their favorite articles of food, also the larvee of insects and the smaller moths. When crumbs of bread are given them, they are eagerly gathered and taken to their nests. In the Middle States they are said to have three broods in a season. This may also be so in New England, but I have never known one pair to have more than two broods in the same summer, even when both had been suc- cessfully reared. Nests found after July have always been in cases where some accident had. befallen the preceding brood. The nest of the Song Sparrow, whether built on ground, bush, or tree, is always well and thoroughly made. Externally and at the base it consists of stout stems of grasses, fibrous twigs of plants, and small sticks and rootlets. These are strongly wrought together. Within is made a neat, well-woven basket of fine long stems of grasses, rarely anything else. On the ground they are usually concealed beneath a tuft of grass; sometimes they make a covered passage-way of several inches, leading to their nest. When built in a tree or shrub, the top is often sheltered by the branches or by dry leaves, forming a covering to the structure. The eggs of the Song Sparrow are five in number, and have an average measurement of .82 by .60 of an inch. They have a ground of a clay-color or dirty white, and are spotted equally over the entire egg with blotches of a rusty-brown, intermingled with lighter shades of purple. In some these markings are so numerous and confluent as to entirely conceal the ground- color; in others they are irregularly diffused over different parts, leaving patches unmarked. Occasionally the eggs are unspotted, and are then not unlike those of Leucosticte yriseinucha. Melospiza melodia, var. fallax, Barrp. WESTERN SONG SPARROW. Zonotrichia fallax, Bairp, Pr. A. N. Se. Ph. VII, June, 1854, 119 (Pueblo Creek, New Mexico). ? Zonotrichia fasciata, (Gm.) GAMBEL, J. A. N. Se. Ph. 2d Series, I, 1847, 49. Melospiza fallax, Bartrp, Birds N. Am. 1858, 481, pl. xxvii, f. 2. — KENNERLY, Pe Re eRaesG 0. pl.