44:2 HISTORY OF THE 



the short tail. The tarsus is about equal to the elongated middle toe; the lat- 

 eral toe equal, their claws falling considerably short of the base of the middle 

 one; the hind claw equal to the lateral one. "Wings short, reaching only to the 

 base of the tail; much rounded; the secondaries and tertials equal, and not 

 much shorter than the primaries. The tail is rather shorter than the wings, 

 and graduated laterally; each feather stiffened, lanceolate and acute. Color: 

 Streaked above and across the breast; very faintly on the sides. The essential 

 characters consist in the slender and elongated bill; the long legs reaching con- 

 siderably beyond the tail, with the lateral claws falling considerably short of the 

 middle one; and the very short, rounded wings, rather longer than the cuneate 

 tail, with its stiffened and lanceolate feathers." 



Subgenus PASSERCULUS Bonaparte. 

 Outer pair of tail feathers longer than middle pair; difference between length 

 of tail and wing much greater than length of bill from nostril (the wing much 

 the longer), and depth of bill at base much less than its length from nostril. 

 Tail three times as long as tarsus, slightly emarginate or double rounded, the 

 depth of the emargination much less than the distance from eye to nostril, the 

 feathers broader and less pointed at tip. {Ridgicay.) 



Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna (Wils.). 



SAVANNA SPARROW. 

 PLATE XXVII. 



An occasional winter sojonrner in the southeastern part of 

 the State; abundant during migration. Leave in April; begin 

 to return the last of September. 



Prof. W. W. Cooke, in his report on "Bird Migration in the 

 Mississippi Valley, ' ' says: "The Savanna Sparrow usually breeds 

 from latitude 40° northward, but Mr. Kidgway states that it 

 breeds throughout Illinois, and Mr. Nehrling has found it breed- 

 ing at Pierce City, Mo. Dr. Watson thinks that in former 

 years he found it nesting at Ellis, Kansas." The birds may 

 occasionally breed in the eastern part of the State, but their 

 natural breeding grounds are northward and eastward. It was 

 probably the western form, alaudinus^ that Dr. Watson thinks 

 he found nesting at Ellis. 



B. 832. R. 193a. C. 227. G. 96, 216. U. 542a. 



Habitat. Eastern North America; west to the plains; south 

 in winter to the Gulf States (Cuba?); breeding from the north- 

 ern United States to Labrador and Hudson's Bay Territory. 



Sp. Char. "Feathers of the upper parts generally with a central streak of 

 blackish brown; the streaks of the back with a slight rufous suffusion laterally; 



