LAND BIRDS. 



525 



noted the species only three times, April 16, 1889, April 18, 1891 and April 

 19, 1902. At Lansing the bird occurs in small numbers pretty regularly 

 about the middle of April, and is seen again during October and November, 

 Mr. Hankinson recorcling the last one in 1896 on November 7. 



While with us it frequents the borders of woods and fields, as well as 

 the deep woods, but it spends almost all its time on the ground, where it 

 scratches continually 

 among the leaves and 

 rubbish, often making 

 noise enough to be heard 

 at a long distance. Some- 

 times it appears in flocks 

 of fifty or more but more 

 often in twos and threes, 

 or little squads of about 

 a dozen. No't infre- 

 quently it associates with 

 Juncos, Tree Sparrows 

 and other sparrows. 



Ordinarily it has only 

 a sharp chip, but occas- 

 ionally it gives snatches 

 of a beautiful song. In 

 its summer home it 

 sings magnificently, and 

 on rare occasions the 

 greater part of its full 

 song may be heard dur- 

 ing the last of its stay 

 with us. Mr. C. J. 

 Maynard, describing its habits on the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of the 

 St. Lawrence, says: "Its magnificent song filled the clear still air with 

 melody. These fine strains consist at first of three clear rather rapid 

 notes, given with increasing emphasis, then a short pause ensues, and the 

 remainder of the lay is poured forth more deliberately, terminating with 

 a well rounded note giving a finish to a sweet song, which for sweetness 

 and clearness of tone is seldom surpassed even by our best performers." 



There is no nesting record for the United States, but it breeds abundantly 

 in most of British North America from New Brunswick and Manitoba 

 northward. The nest is placed in low bushes, or on the ground, is very 

 bulky, made of grasses, moss, feathers, etc., and the eggs are from three 

 to five, but usually four. These are pale bluish-green to fight brown, 

 heavily spotted and blotched with darker brown, and average .91 by .63 

 inches. 



Spending only the colder portion of the year with us, the food of the 

 Fox Sparrow consists of a largci- proportion of seeds and a smaller amount of 

 insect matter than in the case of our more familiar sparrows. Doubtless it 

 confers decided benefits on the farmer through the consumption of weed 

 seed, and that it occasionally does valuable work as an insect eater is shown 

 by the fact that a specimen examined by Prof. F. H. King in Wisconsin 

 had eaten 50 chinch-bugs. 



Fig. 119. Fox Sparrow. 

 Photograph from mounted specimen. 



(Original.) 



