^62 XJ.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part z 



upwards, at an angle of about 15° * * *. The entrance to the 

 majority of the nests found faced the west." 



Eggs. — Bachman's sparrow {A. aestivalis) lays from three to five 

 eggs. They are ovate, slightly glossy, white and unspotted. The 

 measurements of 71 eggs average 19.3 by 15.3 mLlluneters; the eggs 

 showing the four extremes measure 20.9 by 16.8, 17.8 by 15.2 and 

 18.0 by 14.0 milUmeters. 



For A. a. bachmani the measurements of 50 eggs average 19.4 by 

 15.3 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 20.9 

 by 16.3, and 18.0 hj I4.O milluneters. 



Young. — Bachman's sparrow is so secretive in all its actions, ex- 

 cept singing, that Uttle can be found in the literature on the various 

 phases of nesting and the rearing of the young. Even the exact 

 period of incubation of the present race is not stated by any writer, 

 though I have found mention of this point for one of the other two 

 races. Several observers agree that both parents attend to the feeding 

 of the young. 



Incubating or brooding birds are particularly difficult to see actually 

 on the nest. In the few cases in my experience, the adult bird ran 

 from the nest while I was still several feet away, no matter how cau- 

 tiously I approached. In only one instance did I see the adult fly 

 directly from the nest. Maurice Brooks (1938) writes: "Brooding 

 birds were foimd to sit very close, allowing themselves to be ap- 

 proached within a few feet before flushing. When flushed, the bird 

 would frequently drag its wing, flutter along the ground, and, in 

 general, go through a performance that we have come to think of as 

 'injury-feigning* * * * much like the performance of a Killdeer 

 * * * leaving her nest." Albert F. Ganier (1921) cites a similar 

 experience near Nashville, Tenn., as follows: "I flushed a Bachman's 

 sparrow which feigned crippledness as it fluttered off through the 

 grass. A search revealed two young birds just learning to fly and 

 which were captured. The one parent bird present remained near 

 and most persistently endeavored to lure me away by fluttering 

 through the grass * * *." Charles E. Bendu-e (1888) quotes William 

 C. Avery, of Greensboro, Ala., stating that the flushed bird invariably 

 runs (not ffies) away from the nest, and that it imitates the move- 

 ments of a snake, even giving at this time a distinct hissing note. 



The actions of adult birds, even when not disturbed by intrusion, 

 are secretive in the extreme. Maurice Brooks (1938) writes: "Parent 

 birds do not fly directly to the nest, but * * * drop inconspicuously 

 into the grass and weeds from low perches at some distance from the 

 nest, making their approach in such a manner that it is very difficult 

 to foUow them. In one case where we found a nest by watching the 

 birds the habitual approach was from an old rail fence about thirty 



