WESTERN BIRDS Sparrow 



black markings on the latter. The inner tail feathers 

 and the end of the wings are dark and a touch of the 

 rusty appears on the sides; otherwise the birds are white. 

 They are dwellers of the ground, almost never seeking 

 shelter in a tree, preferring the base of some corn stalk, 

 weed, or bush, or even the snow itself as a refuge. As 

 they flit about among the brown weeds that show above 

 the white ground, their protective coloration is perfect. 



These fascinating waifs that come to enliven the land- 

 scape when most other life has deserted us, are slightly 

 larger than an English Sparrow — about seven inches 

 long, Dawson speaks of the notes of these birds as a 

 mild babel of tut-ut-ut-tews. 



GENUS POCECETES: VESPER SPAR- 

 ROW. 



Vesper Sparrow: Pocecetes gramineus gramineus. 

 FAMILY— FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



We turn with regret from the bright, or distinctly 

 plumaged members of this family, to those of somber 

 garb, not because the gayer ones are the most interesting, 

 but because the brown Sparrows are so hard to differen- 

 tiate. In many cases it is almost impossible for the 

 ordinary student to distinguish between them. 



The Vesper Sparrow is one of these confusing birds, 

 having his prevailing upper parts brownish, with black 

 and buff streakings on back, with some of the upper wing 

 coverts tipped wuth white, and two above these that have 

 rufous tips; the two outer tail feathers are white, for 

 which we are duly grateful. The white under parts 

 are streaked with black and buffy. 



This little Sparrow is a ground bird and during the 

 summer is abundant in many parts of the middle and 



167 



