NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 319 



part of the North American continent. The present species is one of 

 the sweetest of songsters and is a familiar bird in Eastern United 

 States, where, east of the Alleghanies, it breeds from South Carolina 

 north into the British Provinces. West of the Alleghanies it breeds 

 chiefly north of 40 latitude, and is resident throughout the year in a 

 large portion of the area in which it breeds. Its nest may be found 

 all through the summer months, two or three broods being reared; 

 if the nest is destroyed or robbed, a fourth or fifth is frequently built, in 

 which eggs are deposited. 



It is generally placed on the ground or in low bushes. The 

 materials used in its composition are grasses, weeds and leaves, lined 

 with fine grass stems, roots, and in some cases hair. Nests of this bird 

 have been found built in holes of apple trees, and on the branches six 

 or eight feet from the ground. Again they have been placed by the 

 side of a railroad track where the trains were continually passing. It is 

 very frequently built in honeysuckle and other vines against the sides 

 of houses. Curious places are often selected as nesting sites, such as 

 a horse's skull in a grassy field, or under an old tin pan which has a 

 hole in the top. 



The eggs are usually four or five, sometimes six, and rarely seven. 

 So great is the diversity in their coloration and size that they generally 

 serve to represent the eggs of several different species of " ground- 

 birds" in the small boy's collection. They vary from greenish or 

 pinkish-white to light bluish-green, more or less thickly spotted with 

 dark reddish-brown ; the ground color and the spots have a diversity of 

 shades ; sizes range from .75 to .85 in length by .55 to .60 in breadth. 



5810. Melospiza fasciata fallax (BAIRD.) [2310, part.} 



Desert Song Sparrow. 



Hab. Arizona. 



A common bird in the lower regions of Arizona, inhabiting the 

 willow thickets and marsh grass near water. Its general habits, nest- 

 ing and eggs on the whole are said to be indistinguishable from those 

 of M. fasciata ; three of four eggs being the usual numbers laid. 



581. Melospiza fasciata montana HENSH. [23 ia, part.} 



Mountain Song Sparrow, 



Hab. Rocky Mountain district Colorada, Utah, Nevada, Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington 

 Territory. 



There is no essential difference between the nesting and eggs of 

 this Song Sparrow and those of M. fasciata. 



58k. Melospiza fasciata heermanni. (BAIRD.) [231^.] 



Heermanu's Song Sparrow. 



Hab. Interior districts of California including the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. 



The California Song Sparrow was named in honor of Dr. A. L,. 



