LARK SPARROW. 



552. Chondestes grammacus. 6^4 inches. 



These handsome sparrows are very abundant in the 

 Mississippi Valley; their favorite resorts are fields, 

 pastures and prairie lands, or along dusty roadsides. 

 Their song is one of the sweetest of any of the Spar- 

 rows, and is freely given throughout the summer. 



Song'. — A hurried gush of silvery tremulous notes. 



Nest. — Sometimes in bushes but usually on the 

 ground; of grasses arranged in a hollow to form a little 

 cup, and usually concealed under a tuft of grass or 

 bunch of clover. The birds usually run some distance 

 from the nest before flying, so that they are quite hard 

 to find. They lay three to five eggs, white, speckea 

 and scrawled sparingly with blackish (.80 x .60.), 

 wholly different from those of any other Sparrow. 



Range. — Mississippi Valley, breeding from Texas to 

 Manitoba; winters in southern U. S. and Mexico. 



Sub-species. — 552a. Western Lark Sparrow (striga- 

 tus) is slightly paler and less heavily marked; found 

 from the Plains to the Pacific, 



