LAND BlliDS. 491 



'not infrequently three. We have a set of eggs from Montcalm county 

 taken July 18, 1883, and another from Kalamazoo county taken July 26, 

 1890, both by Westnedge. 



The food consists mainly of grass-seeds and weed-seeds, but insects are 

 taken freely, particularly grasshoppers. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult (sexes alike) : Upper parts brownish-gray, streaked with darker brown or blackish, 

 tlie streaks narrower and sharper on the head (without median Hght stripe) and neck, 

 broader and more diffuse on the back, almost wanting on the rump; under parts whitish, 

 washed with buff across the breast and along the sides, these parts also streaked with brown 

 or blackish, the streaks often tending to form a spot on the chest; middle of throat and 

 belly unstreaked; a whitish or buffy stripe runs backward from the base of the lower mandi- 

 ble, bounded above by the dark auriculars and below by a series of narrow dark streaks 

 along the sides of the throat; wings and tail brownish-black, the lesser wing-coverts 

 (shoulders) bright reddish-brown or chestnut, the greater and middle coverts tipped with 

 wliitish; outer tail-feather mostly white, the next one usually with a Httle white; upper 

 mandible brown, lower yellowish; iris brown. Young, similar to adult, but colors softer 

 and markings not so sharp. 



In late summer and autumn all the white areas (except possibly the throat) are strongly 

 tinged with buff, and the tertiaries and secondaries are broadly edged with the same color. 



Length 5.50 to 6.70 inches; wing 2.95 to 3.40; tail 2.40 to 2.75; culmen .38 to .45. 



221. Savanna Sparrow. Passerculus sandwichensis savanna (Wils.). (542a) 



Synonyms: Ground-bird, Field Sparrow (incorrect). — Fringilla savanna, Wilson, 1811. 

 — Passerina savanna, Vieill.^Passerculus savanna, Bonap., B. B. & R., and many others. 

 — Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna, Ridgw., 1885, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most 

 recent authors. 



A small gray or gray-brown, streaked sparrow, similar in many respects 

 to the Vesper Sparrow, but distinguished by the absence of the white 

 outer tail-feathers and the almost invariable presence of a yellow line or 

 area above the eye and a more or less distinct yellow edging at the bend of 

 the wing. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding from the northern 

 United States to Labrador and Hudson Bay territory. 



This pretty little sparrow is really a rather abundant migi-ant in all parts 

 of Michigan, arriving between April 1 and 15, according to latitude, and 

 departing from the northern part of the state in September or early October, 

 but lingering indefinitely in the southern counties. Among the birds killed 

 on lighthouses in Michigan waters it has been recorded more frequently 

 probably than any other sparrow. It was reported from Spectacle Reef 

 Light on thirty-four different dates, the earliest being April 23, 1889, and 

 the latest October 4, 1893, the larger part of the dates falling in May and 

 September. Although generally distrilnited during migrations, the bird 

 seems to nest somewhat sparingly, or else ver}^ locally, since it is reported 

 by most observers as not known to nest. However, we know that it breeds 

 somewhat regularly in Wayne county (Swales, Taverncr) ; St. Clair county 

 (Swales, Taverner); at Grand Rapids and at Ann Arbor (R. H. Wolcott, 

 L. J. Cole); near Lansing (T. L. Hankinson, L. J. Cole, and the author); 

 Marquette (O. B. Warren); Isle Iloyale (Peet). It seems probable from 

 these facts that the bird nests regularly at suitable places in all the in- 

 tervening territory. 



Its habits are somewhat peculiar; dui'ing spi-ing and fall it keeps very 

 closely on the ground, running like a mouse among the long grass (prefer- 



