OF NEW ENGLAND. 207 



(B) LiNCOLNi. Lincoln's Finch. Lincoln's Sj)a.rrmv. 



(Of great rarity in Massachusetts, occurring as a summer- 

 resident.) 



(n). 5^ inches long. Below, white ; dusky-streaked, except 

 on the belly. Breast hand (and side-shading), broivnish-yelloiv. 

 Above, graj'ish-brown ; crown and back streaked with blackish, 

 brownish, and paler ; tail scarcely' marked. Wings with some 

 bay and white. (Abridged from Coues.) 



(V). The nests hitherto found have all been placed upon the 

 ground. An egg in my collection measures about 'ToX "55 of an 

 inch, and is light green, finely blotched all over with a medium 

 brown, which is purple-tinged. Dr. Brewer describes others, 

 having "a pale greenish-white ground," "thickly marked with 

 dots and small blotches of a ferruginous-brovyn," etc. 



(c). The Lincoln's Finches are very rare in Massachusetts, 

 a few specimens only having been hitherto obtained in this 

 State. Their summer-habitat is an extensive one, — "the 

 United States from Atlantic to Pacific," — including the North, 

 for they were "first met with by Mr. Audubon in Labrador." 

 As I have seen them but once, my brief description of their 

 habits is gathered from Dr. Brewer's account of them.'^'^ The 

 Lincoln's Finch is allied in habits to the Song Sparrow, singing 

 "for whole hours at a time" from the top of some shrub, often 

 diving into thickets, and, when frightened, flying "low and 

 rapidly to a considerable distance" (as the Song Sparrow does 

 not) "jerking its tail* as it proceeds, and throwing itself into 

 the thickest bush it meets." Audubon found the Lincoln's 

 Sparrows chiefly near streams ; and apparently these birds are 

 often gregarious, at least during the migrations. 



(d). Their song is said to be a fine one, and is described 

 "as composed of the notes of a Canary and a Woodlark of 

 Europe." They have also a "chuck." 



ecjMy biography of this species was -written before I had access to the works of 

 Audubon. 



