THE VESPER SPARROW 



Finch Family — Fringillidcs 



Length: A little over 6 inches; slightly larger than the field 

 sparrow. 



Male and Female: Brownish-gray above, with faint streaks of 

 black and buff; wings brownish, with bright reddish- 

 brown shoulders, giving this sparrow the name of 

 Bay-Winged Bunting. Under parts white, the sides 

 and breast streaked with black and buff; tail brown- 

 ish, with outer tail-featliers mostly white, and con- 

 spicuous in flight. 



Song: A plaintive minor strain, usually consisting of two 

 notes followed by a trill. The syllables sound like 

 Sweet' -heart, I love you-you-you-you-you. 



Habitat: Grassy pastures and plowed fields, usually in the 

 open, away from farmhouses and out-buildings. 



Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from central Canada 

 south to eastern Nebraska, central Missouri, Ken- 

 tucky, Virginia, and North Carolina, west to western 

 Minnesota; winters from the southern part of its 

 breeding range to the Gulf Coast, west to central 

 Texas. 



THE Vesper Sparrow is very easy to identify because 

 of its white tail-feathers. They show conspicuously 

 as the bird flutters beside hedges that border fields, fre- 

 quently keeping just ahead of the observer. 



The bird is less attractive in appearance than the other 

 familiar sparrows, but has to my mind the sweetest voice 

 of all the sparrows that I know except the fox sparrow. 

 Its song is pensive and tender, with a spiritual quality 



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