The Song Sparrow, 



195 



5. Habits. — What are its peculiar tricks of 



attitude, motion and expression ? Does 

 it hop or run ? Is its flight ever un- 

 dulatory, like that of its relatives? Is 

 it nocturnal or aquatic at all? Does it 

 ever wade for food or swim to escape 

 its enemies ? Does it feed on the wing ? 

 Does it regurgitate pellets of indigesti- 

 ble matter ? Does it indulge in any 

 sort of play, especially in a social way ? 

 Does it enter holes or burrows? Does 

 it distinguish poisonous plants or in- 

 sects? How do individuals communi- 

 cate with each other? 



6. Condition of each Specimen. — Give full 



notes re genitalia watching for cases of 

 sterility, hermaphroditism or disease, 

 counting if possible the number of 

 ■ova, especially of those enlarged; giv- 

 ing the general condition of the speci- 

 men; stating whether fat or lean, dis- 

 eased or healthy, parasitized or not, in- 

 ternally or externally, and to what ex- 

 tent. 



7 Food. — Give in full — contents of mouth, 

 gullet and gizzard, and preserve the 

 same in labeled phials. 



2>. Plumage. — Particularize each specimen 

 in form, color and measurement, not- 

 ing differences of sex, season, age, 

 moult and locality. 



9. Mating. — Note fully any courtship ob- 



served, with maneuvres of both birds, 

 or competitions of rivals; is it ever 

 polygamous? do the same birds re- 

 main paired throughout the season, or 

 for more than a season ? 



10. Nesting. — Give full particulars of con- 



struction, materials, proximity to the 

 ground and to the water of each nest, 

 preserving, photographing or sketch- 

 ing the same, and observing whether 

 covered over or approached by a cov- 

 ered way; giving details of laying, 

 time between each oviposition, varia- 



tion of the eggs in size and color, stat- 

 ing whether those first laid are larger 

 or more heavily marked than those 

 laid later; are the eggs turned daily, 

 and if so by which bird. 



11. Broods. — Number per season; average 



of each. Are later broods less ? How 

 long is each cared for by the par- 

 ents? Is the female first to desert her 

 charge ? 



12. Cowbird Parasitism. — Is the song spar- 

 row ever imposed upon by the cow- 

 bird ? Particularize each case ob- 

 served. 



13. Young. — Give in full their habits, food, 

 plumage, comparing them with their 

 parents and with their near congeners. 

 Are they ever fed from the crop of 

 the parents? Is there any evidence 

 of a late summer northward migration 

 among them ? 



14. Relatives. — What are their nearest con- 



geners ? Compare them in range, local 

 habitat, changes of plumage, etc. 



15. Competitors. — With what species do 

 they most actively come into competi- 

 tion in the struggle for life ? 



16. Natural Enemies. — Enumerate preda- 



tory birds, mammals, reptiles, etc. 

 Also meteorological phenomena, and 

 means employed to combat, elude or 

 withstand in each case. 



17. Fall Migration. — Particularize as in 



spring ditto, giving latest appearance. 



Does it arrive in the spring singly and 



go in the fall in flocks ? Is it ever a 



winter resident here ? 

 Of course no one would expect to eluci- 

 date many of these points in a single sea- 

 son, but it is believed that enough may be 

 gathered to form a valuable contribution 

 to ornithological literature, and to decide 

 whether or not the investigation may ulti- 

 mately be made a complete success. — 

 Ernest E. Thompson in Forest and Stream. 



