THE SONG SPARROW 



Finch Family — Fringillidce 



Length: A little over 6 inches; about the size of the English 

 sparrow. 



General Appearance: A small brown bird with a grayish 

 breast, a body heavily streaked with black, a black 

 spot in the center of breast, and at each side of the 

 throat. 



Male and Female: Brown head with black streaks, a grayish 

 line in center and over eye; brown line back of eye; 

 back brown and gray, streaked with black; wings 

 brown, with black spots, — no white bars; throat 

 grayish-white; a dark patch on each side of throat; 

 a conspicuous black spot in center of breast; belly 

 white; sides whitish, streaked with brown and black; 

 tail long, brown, darkest in center. 



Call-note: Chip, chip — sharp and metallic. 



Song: A sweet cheerful strain, with considerable variety in 

 different individuals. It usually consists of three 

 notes that sound like "See? See? See?" fol- 

 lowed by a short trill. Henry van Dyke inter- 

 prets the song as Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry 

 cheer. 



Habitat: Bushes; near water, preferably. 



Range: North America, east of the Rocky Mts. Breeds in 

 Canada from Great Slave Lake to Cape Breton Is- 

 land, south to southern Nebraska, central Missouri, 

 Kentucky, southern Virginia, the mountains of North 

 Carolina. Winters from Nebraska, Illinois, Massa- 

 chusetts (locally) and New Jersey, south to the Gulf 

 Coast. « 



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