198 THE SAVANNA SPARROW. 



young colt, though in a more shrill and savage tone." Cooper 

 also speaks of their calling to each other with a "loud 

 scream." 



THE SAVANNA SPARROW. 



From the 15th to the 20th of April, the Savanna Sparrow 

 (JPasser cuius savanna) arrives in these parts, and is an 

 abundant resident until late in October or early in No- 

 vember. About 5.50 long, with the common marking 

 of the Sparrows above, white beneath, breast thickly spotted 

 in streaks, this is one of the lighter colored Sparrows, and is 

 always distinguishable by means of its yellow streak over 

 the eye and yellowish wash on the cheeks, combined with 

 the spotted breast, none other of our Sparrows having both 

 of these characters. It has also a little yellow on the edge of 

 the shoulder of the wing. In its colors and markings gen- 

 erally it resembles the Bay-winged Sparrow in the distance^ 

 but is readily differentiated by its smaller size, and the absence 

 of the white in the outside feathers of the tail. It has the sharp 

 chipping note of its family, but its song is strongly marked, 

 and may be represented by the notes, zip-zip-zip-zwree-e-e-e- 

 e-e, zwree, the first three being short, subdued, and uttered 

 in quick succession, while the fourth is louder and drawn 

 out into a sort of trill or twitter on the upward slide, and 

 the latter is much shorter, and with the falling inflection. 

 The song is not loud, and has but little variation, but is one 

 of those gentle, drowsy sounds in nature which are decid- 

 edly soothing. While this species is not generally 

 dispersed, it seems almost to monopolize certain upland 

 fields and meadows, in which places its melodies are almost 

 the only bird-song to be heard. Being strictly terrestrial, 

 almost never rising above the fence, and keeping so closely 

 to the fields as scarcely ever to be seen in the highway, thus 

 being very unlike the Bay-wing, its nest is sunk into the 



