BIRDS OF NEW YORK 289 



It arrives from the south from the 23d to the 30th of March in the warmer 

 portions of the State, from the 1st to the 10th of April in the northern 

 counties. In the fall it is extremely abundant from the 20th of September 

 to the middle of October, the migration ending between the 25th of October 

 and the 15th of November. 



Haunts and habits. The haunts of the Savannah sparrow are open 

 grassy fields; but it prefers damper situations than those chosen by the 

 Vesper sparrow and frequently is found nesting in wet meadows. Wherever 

 such situations abound, this bird will be found, even in the southern 

 portion of the State. It also nests in meadows where the grass is denser 

 than would be attractive to the Vesper sparrow and where few other birds 

 are at home excepting the Bobolink and Meadowlark. In the fall it is 

 found both in the marshes and the dry upland pastures and weed fields. 

 It lies closer than most of our native sparrows, often rising from beneath 

 one's feet with a whirring noise suggestive almost of a diminutive Bob- 

 white, and, darting rapidly away in wide sweeping undulations, pitches 

 headlong again into the marsh or the dense weeds some distance from 

 the observer. 



The song of this species is an insignificant note and has often been 

 taken for that of the Grasshopper sparrow by the uninitiated. It can 

 rarely be heard more than a few rods and consists of 3 or 4 " tsips " at 

 the beginning, ending with a reedy trill something like " tsi p-tsi p-tsi p-se- 

 e-e-e, r-r-r " (Chapman), or " tsi p-tsi p-tsi p-ts-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e, tsee-ee-ee-ee." 

 Besides this song, which is heard from the first of April till late in June, 

 sometimes as late as July, is the ordinary call note, somewhat suggestive 

 of the Chipping sparrow, and a loud insistent chip, uttered when one 

 approaches its nest or disturbs its coverts. 



The food of this species does not differ materially from that of 

 the Vesper sparrow. It can be ranked as a wholly beneficial species, 

 the immense numbers which are found here during the fall migra- 

 tions destroying many tons of weed seed during their stay of several 

 weeks. 



