GRASSHOPPER SPARROW 741 



striatus) approaches, the grasshopper sparrows stop singing at once, 

 give a few alarm notes, and drop into the grass. After the hawk has 

 disappeared, they come out of hiding and resume their singing. 



The cowbird {Molothrus ater) parasitizes a few nests of the grass- 

 hopper sparrow, but the incidence is extremely low. Friedmann 

 (1938) lists three known occurrences of parasitism of the eastern 

 grasshopper sparrow and three for the western race. Hicks (1934b) 

 found one grasshopper sparrow nest containing a cowbird egg in Ohio. 

 This low incidence reflects the difficulty cowbirds must have in locat- 

 ing nests of this species. 



Walkinshaw (1940) observed small red ants attacking young birds 

 in the nest and entering two pipped eggs. The female ate all the ants 

 in and around the nest. 



Terres (1939) reports that an immature grasshopper sparrow was 

 caught ill the vertical web of a golden garden spider {Aliranda aurantia) . 

 The bird was released, apparently unharmed. 



Fall and winter. — By late August the nesting season is over, the 

 young grasshopper sparrows are independent, and the adults are silent 

 and more retiring than ever. The birds stay close to the grass 

 and refuse to fly unless very closely pressed and when flushed quickly 

 seek cover again. Unlike many other sparrows, they do not flock. 

 During migration they may join other migrant fringfllids, like the 

 field and song sparrow, and appear in rather unlikely places. I have 

 observed migrating birds along brushy fencerows, and I caught one 

 immature individual in a trapping station in an elderberry thicket. 

 By late September most grasshopper sparrows have left the breeding 

 grounds, although a few may linger on until late October and early 

 November. 



Simmons (1925) writes that the eastern grasshopper sparrow during 

 migration in the Austin region of Texas is found in "closely cropped 

 pastures dotted with mesquite, floored with some stubble and buffalo 

 grass, and edged with weed patches, brush thickets, weedy fencerows, 

 and plowed ground." 



Skinner (1928) writes that in the sandhills of North Carohna 

 wintering grasshopper sparrows inhabit sandy grassy fields, especially 

 those with broomsedge. Lowery (1955) states that this species is a 

 "rather uncommon or at least seldom observed winter resident" 

 in Louisiana, where it inhabits "broomsedge fields with a few small 

 trees or brush piles." Tyler (1913) writes that in California wintering 

 grasshopper sparrows inhabit "old weedy fields, weed-grown vineyards 

 and berry patches." 



There are few winter records north of the above range. Trautman 

 (1940) reports a male bird found on Dec. 29, 1928, in the Buckeye 

 Lake, Ohio, region with a "pathological condition present in the bill 



