Mars. It is curious that more jieopk- do not know this bird neighbor of ours. It 

 has an appealing beauty and appeahng haliits, and yet except for the earnest 

 field students it seems to have few intimate Innnan acquaintances. 



In the spring occasionally the W'axwing. seemingly in mere playfulness, 

 pidls the petals from the apiile l)lossoms. rolls them in its beak and lets them fall 

 to earth. In the winter during a gentle snowfall, when the big white flakes are 

 floating down, the W'axwings will fly out from their evergreen perches to catch 

 the descending morsels. Perhaps the birds think they are transformed apple 

 blossoms, but whatever they think, they are untiring in the pastime. The Cedar 

 W'axwing is with us in spring, summer, fall and frequently in winter. It is .so 

 friendlv bv nature that almost certaiid)- it must wonder why more humans do not 

 try to scrape acquaintance. 



The Savanna Sparrow {Passercid us sandwlchensis savanna) 



By W. Leon Dawson 



Length: 5j/2 inches. 



Range: Eastern North ,\merica. lireeding from northern United States to 

 Labrador and Hudson Bay territory. 



Description. — Adults in s[>ring: Superciliary line and edge of wing near 

 alula pale yellow (at a distance often not distinguishable from white) ; a huffy 

 or w'hitish median crown line separating two broad, blackish stripes ; blackish 

 (but poorly defined) maxillar\-, rictal, and post-ocular stripes — the last two 

 usually meeting behind and enclosing the bufty auriculars : above, in general, 

 brownish black, the feathers having black centers. Ijordered first by rufous or 

 ochraceous bitfif, then ashy ; below, w'hite or sordid, the belly and crissum un- 

 marked ; the chin and throat with tiny, and the breast with large, wedge-shaped 

 spots of brownish-black (sometimes coalescing to form central blotch); sides 

 and flanks heavily streaked with the same. At other seasons and in young birds, 

 the yellow is more jironounced and the general pattern is somewhat obscured by 

 a huffy or ochraceous suffusion. 



Recognition Marks. — Warbler size (but much more robust in appearance 

 than a warbler ) ; general streaky appearance : the striation of the head, viewed 

 from before, radiates in tw-elve alternating black and white (or yellowish) areas. 



Nest, on the ground, sunken flush with surface, lined indifferently with 

 grasses. Eggs, 4-6, greenish- or bluish-white, heavily spotted, mottled, or washed 

 with reddish brown or lilac. Av. size, .78 x .56 (19.8x14.2). 



Dr. Wheaton's sstatement : "Very common spring and fall migrant in 

 southern and eastern, and ])r(>bably summer resident in northern Ohio," is 

 somewhat puzzling and perhaps a little irritating to one who, having spent at 

 least parts of eleven seasons in the field, has encountered only three isolated 



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