334 FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



Nest. — On ground in open situations, composed of dried grasses. Eggs : 

 3 to 5, whitish, varying in tint, and spotted with reddish brown and lined 

 with black. 



In North Dakota, Dr. Fisher has found the Baird sparrow common 

 in " low depressions of the prairie where the high grass has been left 

 standing." 



Subgenus Coturniculus. 



Tail weak, of narrow lanceolate feathers ; wing short, with inner sec- 

 ondaries reaching nearly to tip when closed, seventh secondary much the 

 longest. 



546a. Ammodramus savannarum bimaculatus (Swains.). 



Western Grasshopper Sparrow. 



Adults in summer. — Under parts huffy on throat and sides, unmarked ; 



upper parts reddish brown, black, gray, and buffy ; crown with median 



buffy stripe between two blackish stripes; 



nuchal patch ash gray, marked with reddish 



brown ; feathers of back with black eye spots 



nicked with reddish brown ; edge of wing 



Fig. 423. yellow ; tail double rounded and feathers 



sharp pointed. Adults in winter: brighter colored, chest and sides sometimes 



indistinctly streaked with brown. Young : with little or no reddish brown 



on upper parts, the feathers being more conspicuously bordered with buffy 



and whitish ; median crown stripe more ashy ; lower parts entirely dull 



buffy whitish, chest distinctly streaked with dusky. Male : length (skins) 



4.20-5.10, wing 2.2-5-2.61, tail 1.69-2.02, bill .40-.46. Female: length 



(skins) 4.40-4.85, wing 2.39-2.51, tail 1.82-2.00, biU .40-.44. 



Distribution. — Breeds in the western United States from the Plains to 

 the Pacific coast, from British Columbia, Dakota, and Montana south to 

 southern California and Arizona ; migrates to Cape St. Lucas, Lower Cali- 

 fornia, and Central America. 



Nest. — On ground, bulky, with deep cavity, often more or less arched 

 over on top, and composed of dried grasses. Eggs : 3 to 5, white, spotted, 

 chiefly on larger end, with reddish brown, sometimes mixed with a few 

 small black markings and touches of lilac gray. 



The western grasshopper sparrow lives in grassy fields, where it 

 often sings from the top of a tall weed for an hour at a time. When 

 startled, instead of flying, it drops down and runs off through the 

 grass. Like most members of the genus Ammodramus, Dr. Judd 

 says, it feeds much less on vegetable matter than most other spar- 

 rows. "Insects form their staple diet, and of these, beetles, grass- 

 hoppers, and caterpillars are the most important. As a destroyer 

 of insect pests the grasshopper sparrow is most efficient." 



547a. Ammodraraus henslowii occidentalis Brewst. West- 

 ern Henslow Sparrow. 

 Adults. — Top of head and nape grayish olive, head with two broad 

 stripes of black spots, nape more finely and sparsely spotted ; feathers of 

 back with coarse median streaks of black, bordered with pale chestnut, 

 changing to a broad grayish margin; under parts dull white, breast and 



