FIELD OR RUSH SPARROW. 501 



something like twe tivee tiudi, tio 'tic Hw Hw 'ho Hw, begin- 

 ning loud and slow, and going up and down, shrill and 

 quick, with a reverberating tone almost as rapid as the 

 drumming of the Ruffed Grous. At other times the sound 

 appears like te de de de de d' d' d' d^ d' d\dr\ rapid and 

 echoing ; then iceet toeet weed wat th 'd 'd VZ 'd 'd 'd, also 

 weet iveet weet weet, toV wV wV wV trr ; the whole of 

 these notes rising and running together into a short trill, 

 something like the song of the Canary, but less varied, 

 and usually in a querulous or somewhat plaintive tone, 

 though towards the close of summer, I have heard indi- 

 viduals, nearly as musical and warbling as the Common 

 Yellow-Bird, These tones are also somewhat similar to 

 the reverberations of the Chipping Bird, but quite loud 

 and sonorous, and without the changeless monotony of 

 that species. In fact, our bird would be worthy a place 

 in a cage as a sono-ster of some merit. Like most of the 

 Sparrows, the food of this species consists of seeds and 

 insects, and they also search the leaves and branches 

 at times in quest of moths, of which they appear fond. 



The Field Sparrow is about 5| inches long. (In the New Eng- 

 land male bird) the head is simply chesnut without aaiy dividing 

 line, and the brownish tint beneath very obscure, the color being 

 more of a dirty white ; the belly, breast, and vent are almost pure 

 white. Above chesnut predominates, though the feathers are edged 

 with drab, and lined in the centre with dusky ; greater wing-coverts 

 edged and tipt with brownish-white ; rump drab, inclined to brown. 

 Tail, from the insertion of the rump nearly 3 inches, dusky, forked, 

 and edged with whitish. First primary shorter than the Cth, the 3d 

 longest. Bill reddish cinnamon-color, a hard knob in the upper 

 mandible as in Emberiza. Legs and feet pale yellow, scarcely in- 

 clining to brown, the tarsus | of an inch. 



