BACHMANS SPARROW 959 



cites data supplied to him by LawTence E. Hicks on nesting habitat 

 in Ohio, and he finds similar conditions prevailing in West Virginia. 

 Both observers state that the typical habitat is an abandoned field, 

 usually fallow for 4 years or more, which is well groAvn up with golden- 

 rods and asters, various grasses, and the miscellaneous composites and 

 weeds typical of dry, eroded slopes. The presence or absence of pine 

 seedlings seems to have no bearing on the desirability of the site. 

 The cutting of the forest growth and soil erosion are the factors 

 favoring the selection of a nesting site. Also, this species is practically 

 confined to hill country, almost never appearing in the valleys or even 

 on the lower slopes of the hills. A typical territory is near the top of 

 a slope where eroded gullies have been healed and are covered with 

 shrubs, particularly blackberry bushes. 



Spring. — The coming of spring is heralded in the Deep South, even 

 as early as the last week of February, by the addition of the song of 

 Bachman's sparrow to the late mnter chorus of Carolina vrren, 

 mockingbird, bro\vn thrasher, pine warbler and cardinal. Even severe, 

 temperatiu-es are no deterrent for, as Arthur T. Wayne (1910) writes 

 from Mt. Pleasant, S.C., under date Feb. 26, 1901: "Heard a Bach- 

 man's Finch sing beautifidly at night. He sang as sweetly as if it 

 were May, although the night was very cold and the ground partly 

 covered with snow and ice." Although there must be many more 

 Bachman's sparrows in the South in winter than in summer, only the 

 most persistent searcher is aware of their presence prior to the 

 beginning of the song period. 



It is probably at this time that the northern breeding birds commence 

 their %vithdrawal from winter quarters, but the movement is so unob- 

 trusive that observers in the South are not aware of it. But the 

 arrival of singing birds in territory unoccupied in mnter is readily 

 observed and recorded. Maurice Brooks (1938) cites the earhest 

 arrival date as March 27 in Upshur County, W. Va., with a median 

 date of April 1 1 ; an early arrival date of April 10 in Ohio, with a median 

 date of April 22; and an early date of April 15 near Waynesburg, Pa. 



Courtship and nesting. — I can find nothing in the literature on the 

 courtship of this race of the Bachman's sparrow, and very little on 

 either of the other two races. In my own field work, I have never seen 

 anything in the behavior of this species that could be construed as 

 courtship activity. Actually, this is one of the most elusive of the 

 sparrows and all its actions except the attention-compeUing song are 

 shrouded in secrecy. 



On the other hand, the subject of nesting bulks large in the literature 

 and many excellent descriptions of nests are available. However, and 

 unfortunately, some of the widely accepted statements about nest con- 

 struction are very misleading. Charles E. Bendire (1888) makes the 



646-737— 68— pt. 2 24 



