Eoberts on some Minnesota Birds. 153 



These six birds are all that have been taken up to the present date, and 

 are all that have been identified with certainty. They were found in a 

 small, ditched meadow, on the outskirts of the city of Minneapolis. The 

 meadow was quite swampy in places, supported a heavy growth of grass, 

 and was dotted here and there with clumps of swamp willows. The local- 

 ity was a good one for birds, the immediate neighbors of the Buntings 

 being Savanna, Song, and Swamp Sparrows, Marsh Wrens (both species), 

 Maryland Yellow-throats, Bobolinks, Red-winged Blackbirds, a few Vir- 

 ginia Rails, and others, all of which were breeding in various parts of the 

 meadow. The LeConte's Bunting had undoubtedly bred here, also. But 

 in view of the repeated and careful search that was made it does not seem 

 possible that there could have been above one or two pairs and their 

 progeny. The song, as well as the manner in which it is delivered, closely 

 resembles the ordinary effort of the Yellow-winged Sparrow. While on 

 the ground, among the long grass, they utter a rapid, smothered chirping, 

 which may be interrupted at times by the song proper. They are hard to 

 flush from the grass, and each successive attempt grows more difficult. 



Through the kindness of Messrs. Herrick and Williams, I have had the 

 opportunity of examining their four specimens and comparing them with 

 mine. There are three adults in full plumage and three young birds. As 

 the latter were taken at dates considerably apart, and probably belonged 

 to the same brood, they present some points of interest in regard to the 

 plumage of the first year. The youngest, taken on June 20, shows dis- 

 tinct maxillary streaks, and the breast is streaked entirely across for a dis- 

 tance of half an inch. The color of the whole under parts and broad 

 edgings of the feathers above is a pale, brassy yellow. There is no indi- 

 cation of the collar of mingled chestnut and grayish, nor of the buff of the 

 anterior under parts. In the second specimen, taken August 1, the max- 

 illary streaks and breast-markings have become indistinct, while in the 

 third, taken August 8, the former have disappeared entirely and the latter 

 are confined to the sides. This last bird also approaches the adult in an 

 imperfect separation of the under parts into the buffy anterior and light 

 posterior areas, in the appearance of rufous on a few of the feathers of the 

 back, and in the whitening of the back part of the median line of the 

 crown. 



Nothing certain was heard of the species during the summer of 1878. 

 The notices of Dr. P. L Hatch (Bull. Minn. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1878, 

 p. 345), and of Mr. W. L. Tiffany (Am. Nat. XII., July, 1878, p. 471), are 

 based upon the capture of these six specimens. 



3. Zonotrichia leucophrys intermedia. Ridgway's Sparrow. 

 — On October 5, 1877, while collecting along a thick hedge between 

 two fields, I shot two specimens of this variety of the White-crowned 

 Sparrow. Together with others of the species, they were in company 

 with many White-throats, Snow-birds, and a few Lincoln's Finches and 

 Tree Sparrows. On the 17th of the following May (1878) three more 



