SWAMP SPABROW 229 



unconscious expression of contented companion- 

 ship." 



The Tree Sparrow is a striking illustration of 

 the good done by seed-eating birds, for Professor 

 Beal has calculated that in Iowa alone this little 

 bird destroys 875 tons of noxious weed seeds 

 every year. 



Swamp Sparrow : Melospiza georgiana. 



Crown and -vvings chestnut ; back light brown heavily streaked 

 with black ; sides washed with brown ; middle tail feathers 

 darker on shafts. In winter, head streaked with black and 

 brown. Length, about 6 inches. 



Geographic Distribution. — Eastern North America ; breeds 

 from northern Illinois and Pennsylvania northward to Labra- 

 dor ; winters from southern Illinois and Massachusetts to the 

 Gulf. 



" While wintering in the south, Swamp Spar- 

 rows frequently belie their name, and I have 

 often found numbers of them in dry ' old fields ' 

 of broom sedge ; but at the north they are more 

 consistent, and one rarely sees them beyond the 

 confines of a wet meadow, or, more preferably, 

 a large grassy marsh with reed-bordered streams. 



" Swamp Sparrows may be distinguished from 

 their cousins, the Song Sparrows, by their un- 

 streaked breasts and totally different notes. Their 

 usual call note is a sharp chcep^ not unlike that 

 of the White-throated Sparrow, and quite dif- 

 ferent from the rather nasal clump of the Song 

 Sparrow. Their song is a simple, sweet, but 



