FINCHES 



23 



VESPER SPARROW 

 Pooecetes gramineus gramineus {Giiiclin) 



A. O. V XumlKr ;40 See Culor Pbtc 8.- 



Other Names. — Bay-winged Bunting; Grass Finch; 

 Gray Bin! ; Pasture Bird ; Grass Sparrow ; Ground- 

 bird ; Bay-winged Finch. 



General Description. — Length, 6'^ inches. Upper 

 parts, grayish-brown, streaked witli black ; under parts, 

 white. Bill, small ; wings, long and pointed ; tail, about 

 ii length of wing, forked, and with the feathers rather 

 narrow. 



Color. — Adults: .\bove, light grayish-brown (hair- 

 brown) conspicuously streaked with lilack, the streaks 

 broadest on back, less distinct on rump ; lessor wing- 

 coverts, cinnamon or russet with a dusky ( mostly 

 concealed) wedge-shaped central space; wings other- 

 wise and tail dusky, the feathers edged with light 

 grayish-brown, especially the larger wing-coverts and 

 secondaries, the former (middle and greater coverts) 

 indistinctly tipped with pale dull buffy. forming in- 

 distinct narrow bands ; outcniwst tail-fcallicrs. larrjcly 

 while: region over eye, light grayish brown or brown- 

 ish gray, narrowly and indistinctly streaked with dusky ; 



ear region, browner : a white or bufTy white cheek 

 stripe margined below by a series of dusky streaks 

 along each side of throat ; under parts dull white 

 tinged with pale bufify on chest, sides, and flanks ; iris, 

 brown. 



Nest and Eggs.— Xest : Always placed upon the 

 ground, sunk level, in pastures, meadows or along 

 roadsides in the brush ; rather bulky, thick rimmed, 

 well cupped but not tightly woven; constructed of 

 dried grass, weed stalks, some bark strips, and lined 

 with fine grass and hair. Eggs : 4 to 6, grayish 

 or bluish-white spotted with burnt umber and chest- 

 nut. 



Distribution. — Eastern I'nited .States and more 

 southern British provinces ; breeding from Virginia, 

 Kentucky, Missouri, etc.. northward to Nova Scotia ( ?), 

 Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick( ?), Province 

 of Quebec( ?), eastern Manitoba ( ?), etc.; south in 

 winter to Gulf coast (Florida to eastern Texas); 

 casual in Bermudas. 



It has been said that what the Veery's song 

 is to the deep woods, the Vesper .'-iparrow's is 

 to the fields and pastures. There is a certain 

 accuracy in this comparison, and yet the son.gs 

 are essentially different in spirit ; for the \''eery's 

 resonant tremolo has an elfin-like ring, which is 

 entirely absent from the Sparrow's simple little 

 expression of qniet thankfulness and very beau- 

 tiful contentment. Both songs may be heard at 

 any hour of the day, but there seems to be an 

 especial sincerity and spontaneity in the Spar- 

 row's utterance when it blends perfectly, as it 



always does, with the spirit of the evenin'^' and 

 the advancing shadows. Then it is truly vcspc- 

 rian, and in that respect few birds have been 

 more a|)propriately named. 



Some listeners consider the song similar to that 

 I if the .Song Sparrow, but such similarity cer- 

 tainly is not invariably ]>resent ; and generally 

 the songs are qm'te different in mood and musical 

 structure. Air. Torrey expressed this .general 

 difference accurately when he said that the Song 

 Sparrow's utterance is more declamatory and the 

 X'esper's more cantabile. l^requentlv the \^es- 



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Fhotograph by A. A. Alle 



FOUR lAPI-AND LONGSPURS AND FOUR PRAIRIE HORNED LARKS 



