VESPER SPAEROW 119 



Furthermore, the student who is interested in not- 

 ing bird songs will find the Song Sparrow's well 

 worth study, for it varies remarkably. Fifteen 

 varieties of its song have been noted in one week, 

 and the same individual often has a number of 

 tunes in his repertoire. ^ 



Vesper Sparrow ; Grass Finch : Pooccetes gramineus. 



Brownish gray, streaked ; imUh on wings, reddish brown ; outer 

 . tail feathers showing white inflight. Length, about 6 inches. 

 Geographic Distribution. — North America ; breeds from 

 Missouri, southern Illinois, and Vii'ginia northward to Mani- 

 toba and Nova Scotia ; winters on the Atlantic coast froni 

 Virginia southward. 



When scared up from roadside fences, this Spar- 

 row may be known by its color, which is lighter 

 than the Song Spar- 

 row's, in connection with 

 the white feathers that 

 flasli from the sides of 



its tail as it goes. As its "^ ^^^ p^q 



name indicates, its most ^^.^ ^^ y^^^^^ Sparrow, 



interesting character is 



its evening song. One of its twilight recitals is 

 especially marked in my memory. The choral 

 society was an Easthampton one, and some en- 

 thusiastic bird-lovers in the beautiful old Mas- 

 sachusetts town invited me to attend its vespers. 

 A brilliant Bluebird led us from the long, shaded 

 village street into 'Green Lane,' an old grassy 

 way bordered by rail fences leading west to the 



