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. Aramodramus 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 ; edg'e of wing 



^^8- '^"-^- yellow ; tail double rounded and feathers 



sharp pointed. Adults in ivinter: 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 2.25-2.61, 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, bill .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, Avith 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 flyiug, it drops down and runs off through the 

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

 say^, 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. Ammodramus 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 



