EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1493 



melodia seems to be the song sparrow found back in the thickets 

 (Stone, 1937), and Dexter (1944) has reported a nest of this race in 

 a salt marsh on a tidal inlet at Gloucester, Mass. But these lowland 

 situations are only a first preference, for the bird is tolerant of a wide 

 range of conditions. It is often found in brushy fence rows and along 

 country roads; and it sometimes breeds even in rocky wooded clear- 

 ings in Maine, in small wooded openings only a few rods in diameter 

 in New York (Eaton, 1914), and in second-growth woodland in 

 Pennsylvania (Todd, ' 1940). Gardens and yards offer the song 

 sparrow sunny, bushy, moist cover, and the bird is a common nesting 

 species in suburbs and small towns. On Mount Mitchell, North 

 Carolina, the highest point in the eastern half of the United States, 

 Burleigh (1941) observed individuals of the race euphonia as high as 

 6,300 feet above sea level during the summer. 



Spring. — Although a few song sparrows winter far north, most 

 withdraw from that part of the range in Canada and northern New 

 England. M. M. Nice (1933) has cited the evidence, from banding 

 records, that some individuals of this subspecies are resident "in 

 regions where most of their kind are migratory." Hervey Brackbill 

 (1953) has found that the breeding population of Maryland contains 

 both migratory and sedentary individuals. In the Hudson River 

 valley and around New York City the species is a common winter 

 resident. The arrival of migrants, and the return to their breeding 

 territories of birds that have wintered, normally begins in the latter 

 half of February in the southern part of the range, while the first 

 spring arrivals appear in Maine in mid- and late March and in Canada 

 in March and early April. In Maine migration continues into early 

 May (Palmer, 1949). 



Carl H. Helms (1959) weighed song sparrows captured in Massa- 

 chusetts just before and just after a large night migration in April. 

 Birds weighed before the flight averaged 1.41 grams heavier than 

 those that arrived as the result of the movement. These post-flight 

 individuals were noticeably less fat. 



The song sparrow sings even on cold clear mornings of late winter, 

 and its voice is a characteristic sound of early spring. Aretas A. 

 Saunders (1947) reports singing in Connecticut when the temperature 

 was -2°F. 



Territory.- — Territory appears to be established principally or 

 entirely by the male. E. H. Forbush (1929) has described behavior 

 that probably includes elements both of territorial defense and of 

 courtship or pair formation: "There is considerable rivalry among 

 the males, but their contests appear to be mainly competitions in 

 song and flight. They chase the females and each other about through 

 the air with fluttering wings, often sailing and singing. Their pursuit 



