522 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



The nest is said to be placed ii.siudl}' on the ground and to be quite 

 similar to that of the Song Sparrow. According to Chamberlain, the 

 eggs are four or five, pale green or pinkish, sometimes almost white, thickly 

 spotted and blotched with reddish brown and lilac. According to Ridgway 

 they resemble those of the Swamp Sparrow, and average .77 by .57 inches. 



TECHNICAL DESCKl I'TION. 



Second, third and fourth primaries longest and about equal, the first always longer than 

 the sixth. 



• Adult (sexes alike) : Entire upper parts olive-gray to olive-brown, narrowly and sharply 

 streaked with black, most broadly on the middle back and scapulars; top of head with a 

 median stripe of olive-gray; sides of head with essentially the same dark stripes as in the 

 Song Sparrow, but these stripes black rather than brown, and the included light stripes 

 buff or olive (usually the one over the eye olive-gray like the crown stripe, and the maxillary 

 stripe buff); throat, lower breast and belly white, buffy white or grayish-white, the chin 

 and upper throat usually with some narrow black streaks; cliest, sides and flanks distinctly 

 buff, sharply and narrowly streaked with black, but without any distinct central dark 

 patch on breast; wings and tail as in the Song Sparrow; bill blackish, only the base of the 

 lower mandible yellowish; iris brown. 



Length 5.25 to 6 inches; wing 2.30 to 2.65; tail 2.30 lo 3. 



237. Swamp Sparrow. Melospiza georgiana (LaZ/^.). (584) 



Synonyms: Swamp Song Sparrow. — Fringilla georgiana, Latham, 1790, Nutt., 1832. — • 

 Melospiza georgiana, Ridgw., 1885, A. O. U. Check-list, 188(3.— Fringilla palustris, Wils., 

 1811, Aud., 1831, and many others. 



PUite LI, Lower Figure. 



In perfect plumage the crown is rich chestnut, becoming black on the 

 forehead, and much of the back and wings is chestnut, with black streaks. 

 There are no distinct streaks or central dark spot on the breast, which is 

 ashy gray, becoming browner on the sides, the throat and belly white. 

 Often the crown is streaked brown and black with a median ashy stripe, 

 and sometimes there are obscure dusky streaks on breast and sides. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America to the Plains, north to the 

 British Provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador. Breeds from 

 the northern states northward, and winters from Massachusetts southward 

 to the Gulf States. 



The Swamp Sparrow appears to be a summer resident in suitable places 

 throughout the entire state, less abundant, however, in the southern 

 parts. It arrives from the south from the middle to the last of April, 

 but numbers continue their northward movement until late in IMay. We 

 have records of Swamp Sparrows killed on Spectacle Reef Light from 

 April 23 to May 25, and again during the southward migration from Septem- 

 ber 23 to October 8. About Lansing it is most abundant in migration, 

 during May and October. Although some linger until late in November, 

 it has never been reported from the state in winter. 



It always prefers the vicinity of water and is seldom abundant except 

 in places which can be reached only by wading or in a boat. It prefers 

 the more open marshes, avoiding those grown up to willows and trees, 

 although during migrations it may be found almost anywhere in wet 

 places. We have records of its nesting from most of the southern counties, 

 although it does not seem to nest abundantly in many of them. It is a 

 characteristic bird of the wet marshes of St. Clair Flats and vicinity, and 



