VESPER SPARROW " 173 



Beginners have much difficulty in distinguishing the 

 song of this sparrow from that of the Song Sparrow. The 

 opening notes of the latter are very various, but are almost 

 always three, rather brisk and high. Those of the Vesper 

 Sparrow are two, low, long, and sweet ; then after two 

 higher notes the song runs off into a succession of trills, 

 not musical in themselves, but aiding in giving the whole 

 performance more dignity and sweetness than the Song 

 Sparrow's livelier effort. The time is distinctly slower, and 

 the whole number of notes greater than in the Song Spar- 

 row's song. In certain regions the first of the opening notes 

 is omitted, as in Berkshire County, Mass., and northern New 

 England, or they are modified, as on Nantucket, where they 

 resemble those of the Field Sparrow. 



To distinguish between the A'^esper Sparrow and the Song 

 Sparrow, observe, if possible, the white outer tail-feathers 

 of the former ; these, however, are often not clearly visible, 

 — the bird must spread its tail fully to show them. One 

 may also note the grayer shade of the Vesper Sparrow's 

 brown, the dusky cheek-patch, and the absence at the sides 

 of the throat of the reddish-brown marks, which on the 

 Song Sparrow form a triangle with the dark breast-spot. 

 The Vesper Sparrow is a less nervous bird than the Song 

 Sparrow ; it often runs or squats before one, either in the 

 road, where it dusts itself like a hen, or in the grass 5 the 

 Song Sparrow darts with a jerk of its tail into the nearest 

 bushes. 



Laplaxd Longspur. Calcarius Uqjponicus 



6.25 



Ad. $ in autumn. — Top of head and back brown, streaked 

 with black ; sides of head and line behind eye bufify ; reddish- 

 chestnut collar on hind neck obscured by gray ; wings chestnut, 

 with two white bars ; tail nearly black, outer pair of feathers 

 tipped with white ; black feathers of the breast and sides veiled 

 with gray; belly white. Ad. <^ in autumn. — Similar, but with 



