6o4 Field Museum of Natural History — Zoology, Vol. IX. 



occurs more plentifully than generally supposed. Mr. Clark calls it 

 an irregular migrant in small numbers in Dunn County. Dr. Hoy 

 did not consider it rare about Racine and stated that a few nested. 

 Dr. Ogden reports it rather plenty at Milwaukee. A regular inigrant 

 at Lake Koshkonong, especially in spring and sometimes a summer 

 resident, though no nests have been found. Appears to be rather rare 

 at Delavan and not noted, as yet, except in spring." (Birds of Wis- 

 consin, 1903, p. lOl). 



The nest is on the ground, composed of grass and shreds of bark 

 and occasionally lined with hair. The eggs are from 4 to 5, pale 

 greenish or buff white, marked and spotted with rufous brown and 

 lilac brown, and measure about .78 x .60 inches. 



269. Melospiza georgiana (Lath.). 

 Swamp Sparrow. 



Distr.: Eastern North America, from the Plains to the Atlantic 

 coast, south in winter to the Gulf of Mexico; breeds from Iowa, 

 northern Illinois and Ohio northward to Athabaska and Labrador, 

 accidental in Utah. 



Adult in summer: Crown, bright chestnut, becoming blackish 

 on the forehead, usually with narrow black streaks and an irregular 

 median line of ashy (these sti'eaks occasionally absent), an ashy gray 

 superciliary line and a dusky post-ocular stripe, a dusky maxillary 

 streak often imperfect; nape with more or less ashy; back, streaked 

 with black, buff, and rufous chestnut; primaries, secondaries and 

 coverts, edged with chestnut rufous, giving a general rufous brown 

 appearance to the wing when closed; throat and belly, whitish; breast, 

 ashy; sides of body tinged with olive buff; tail, brown, narrowly 

 edged with rufous brown on outer webs. 



Adult and immature in fall and winter: Similar, but differs in 

 having the crown deep chestnut, heavily streaked with black, and 

 the median line dull olive gray; nape showing scarcely any gray; 

 breast and sides tinged with brown, especially on the flanks. 



Length, about 5.75; wing, 2.40; tail, 2.40; bill, .40. 



The Swamp Sparrow is a common summer resident in Illinois and 

 Wisconsin and a winter resident in southern Illinois. It arrives from 

 the south late in March and leaves again in October. While not as 

 often heard as that of many of our Sparrows, the song is sweet and 

 musical. It has a delightful little trill, most often heard in the spring 

 and occasionally a soft warble. 



The nest is built on the ground and is composed of dry grass and 



