VESPER SPARROW. 32 I 



the fence of some elevated pasture-field, in the cool of the 

 summer evening, when other songsters have retired to rest, the 

 Grass Sparrow, more than usually wakeful, after a silence which 

 has perhaps continued nearly through the warmer part of the 

 day, pipes forth his clear and slender, though now almost mo- 

 notonous song, near to the favorite spot where his mate hatches 

 or fosters her tender brood ; and from all the neighboring 

 meadows, at this silent hour, as the last rays of the sun are re- 

 flected from the dusky horizon, we hear a constant repetition 

 of an echoing and shrill tsh 'tsh ^tshe tc tshete tshete, with warb- 

 ling tones blended and varied, at the beginning and close of 

 tfiis simple, rather pensive, but agreeable ditty. They are 

 more common in fields than thickets, and run along the ground 

 in the manner of the Lark. They likewise frequent ploughing 

 fields, searching on the ground for insects, and are very fond 

 of dusting themselves and basking in dry places. 



Being nearly sedentary, they raise probably several broods 

 in the season. Sometimes when started from the nest, the 

 female simulates lameness with remarkable dexterity, so as 

 very readily to draw off the attention of her enemies or in- 

 truders. The young are easily raised from the nest, and 

 become very tame, clean, and domestic, but readily quarrel 

 with each other. 



The " Bay-winged Bunting" of earlier writers was named "Ves- 

 per Sparrow " by Wilson Fla<if,% from its habit of singing during 

 the early evening. It breeds from Virginia and Kentucky to Mani- 

 toba and the Maritime Provinces, and is one of the most abundant 

 Sparrows in New England and Ontario. It winters from X'irginia 

 southward. 



The song is much more effective than Nuttall's description indi- 

 cates. The voice is of sweet tone, and the theme, though simple, 

 is exceedingly tender and plaintive. 



VOL. I. 



