FIELD OR RUSH SPARROW. 499 



rustling before the cheerless blast ; and finally, as their 

 food fails, and the first snows begin to appear, advertis- 

 ed of the threatening famine, they disappear and winter 

 in the Southern States. In the month of January, in 

 Georgia, during the continuance of the cool weather, and 

 frosty nights, I frequently heard, at dusk, a confused 

 chirping or piping, like that of frogs, and, at length, dis- 

 covered the noise to proceed from dense flocks of the 

 Chipping Sparrows, roosting or huddling near together in 

 a pile of thick brush ; where, with the Song-Sparrow, 

 also, they find means to pass the cool nights. 



This species is about 5 to 5^ inches in length, and 8 in alar extent. 

 The frontlet is nearly black ; chin and line over the eye whitish ; 

 crown chesnut ; the breast and sides of the neck pale ash ; rump 

 dark cinereous ; belly and vent white. Back varied with brownish- 

 black and bay. Wings dusky, broadly edged with bright chesnut. 

 Tail dusky, forked, edged with yellovvdsh-white. Bill in winter 

 black, in summer the lower mandible is flesh-colored. Legs and 

 feet pale flesh-color, tarsus | of an inch. — The female has less 

 black on the frontlet, and the bay duller. 



FIELD OR RUSH SPARROW. 



{Fringilla juncorum, Nobis, Sylvia juncorum, Lath. ii. p. 511. 

 Little Brown Sparrow, Catesby, Car. i, p. 35. F. pusilla, Wil- 

 son, ii. p. 121. pi. 16. fig 2. Phil. Museum, No. 6560.) 



Sp. Charact. — The 1st primary shorter than the 6th ; crown ches- 

 nut; body above varied with bay, drab, and a little dusky; 

 cheeks, throat, and breast, pale brownish drab ; bill and slender 

 legs, brownish cinnamon-color, the latter paler ; hind nail as 

 long as the toe. 



This small species, in size and general color, is scarcely 

 distinguishable from the Chipping Sparrow ; it is how- 

 ever much brighter, inclining more to bay above, and 

 the tail is about half an inch longer in relative propor- 

 tion. 



