% THE WI L&ON QUARTERLY 



on beams of buildings. 1 have found more nests in orna- 

 mental shade and garden trees than an wy here else. The 

 social habits of this sparrow lead it to appropriate the art- 

 ificial shrubbery in lawns and nesting sites. It is very in- 

 teresting to note with what regularity and precision birds- 

 Avill return to their old nesting tree or shrub and build a 

 gain their new home witliin it. 



The nest is made of much the same material the country 

 through. It gives the impression of being rather frail, 

 with only dry graS'S and a lining of long hairs ; but in fact 

 the nest is quite durable and compact. Often nests 

 are wholly made of hair. And it is worth noticing that the 

 long hairs from a cow's tail are more commonly used than 

 horse-hair. 



Chippy lays four eggs usually, rarely five, late in the sea- 

 son only three. It is one of the birds most imposed upon 

 by the Cowbird. I have several times found three eggs of 

 Cowbird in one nest with only two Chippies" eggs. 



The eggs are a uniform gieenish blue or bluish green, 

 sparingly speckled and spotted with blackish brown and 

 purplish, chiefly aiound the larger end. Mr. E. B. Peck 

 gives the average measurements as .G'.; x .50, which is the 

 average for Iowa- 

 Mr Clark says that the period of incubation is thirteen 

 days, and that the young leave the nest in ten days. We 

 might expect a period of only twelve days with so i-mall a bird. 



SpizeUa pnsilla. Field Sparrow. 



The breeding range of Field Sparrow seems to be farther 

 south than that of Chippy. Mr. Oldright finds it a com- 

 mon breeder in Travis County, Texas, while Chippy whs 

 only a winter visitor there. The notes represent it as oc- 

 curring in every locality as a breeder. 



In Texas it begins to breed April 15. and continues till 

 May 15. In North Carolina the first nest may be found the 

 first week in May, and the last one the last week in June. 

 In Iowa the first nest is May 10, the last July 10. In Wis- 

 consin the first is a little later— May HO, the last June :28. In 



