360 FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



lie will cling there switching his tail and uttering his sharp call -note 

 till you leave. 



583a. M. 1. striata Brewst. Forbush Sparrow. 



Similar to lincolnii, but superciliary stripe and upper parts more strongly 

 olivaceous, and dark streaks, especially on back and upper tail coverts, 

 coarser, blacker, and more numerous. Wing : 2.85, tail 2.23. 



Distribution. — British Columbia and western Washington ; migrates to 

 California. 



584. Melospiza georgiana {Lath.). Swamp Sparrow. 



Adults. — Crown chestnut, forehead black or broadly streaked with black 

 and divided by a gray or buffy median line ; rest of upper parts rusty 

 brown, back broadly streaked with black ; tail with middle feathers with 

 narrow blackish median stripe ; under parts gray, darker on chest, but 

 unstreaked or very indistinctly streaked ; sides and flanks brown. Youtig : 

 upper parts heavily streaked and under parts streaked on chest and sides. 

 Male: length (skins) .5.11-.5.79, wing 2.30-2..58. tail 2.18-2.51, bill .43-.47. 

 Female : length (skins) 4.80-5.54, wing 2.27-2.45, tail 2.06-2.41, bUl .42-.47. 



Distribution. — Breeds from the Hudson Bay south to the northeastern 

 United States ; west to the Plains ; winters from Massachusetts south to 

 the (tuK states and to western Texas. 



Nest. — On low, wet, grassy land, made of grasses and lined with leaves 

 and stems. Eggs: 4 or 5, pale bluish to greenish white, spotted with 

 lilac and shades of yellowish and brown, most thickly about larger end. 



Food. — Mainly insects and seeds. 



GENUS PASSERELLA. 



General Characters. — Bill moderate or swollen, conical ; feet and claws 

 large, side claws reaching much beyond end of middle toe ; tarsus about 

 twice as long as bill, stout. 



KEY to species. 



1. Back brown or marked with brown. 



2. Back streaked or spotted with brown. Winters from Atlantic to 



Rocky Mountains iliaca, p. 360. 



2'. Back plain brown. Ala.ska ; in winter to southern California. 



unalaschcensis,! p. 361. 

 1'. Back gray. 



2. Smaller, with more slender bill. Rocky Mountain district. 



schistacea, p. 362. 

 2 . Larger, with thicker bill. 



3. Depth of bill at base .49. Sierra Nevada and Coast Range. Cali- 

 fornia megarhyncha, p. 362 



3'. Depth of bill at base .56. San Bernardino Mountains, California. 



Stephens!, p. 363. 



585. PassereUa Hiaca (Merr.). Fox Sparrow. 



Adults. — Upper parts mixed with strongly contrasting slate gray and 

 reddish brown in varying propol*tions amounting to gray and brown 

 phases ; brown brightest on wings, rump, and tail ; wings with two white 



1 Mr. Ridgway has restricted unalaschcensis to Alaska. See Birds of North and Mid- 

 dle America^ i. 389. 



