JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 99 



'other, at least so to the ordinary observer, hence with its four or five 

 are considered under one name; indeed, our people generally recog- 

 nize but two species, which they designate as the Field and Bush or 

 Tree Sparrow, while in fact there are ten species that frequent our 

 section. These are the Song, the Bay-winged, the Savannah, the 

 Field, the Chipping, the Tree, the Swamp, the Fox-colored, the 

 White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows. 



The Song Sparrows are the first singing birds that reach our 

 section on return of spring. They come in advance of the Robins 

 and Bluebirds even, and he generally expected to hear their song 

 about the middle of March. The present year they made their 

 appearance in the open grounds near his residence as early as the 

 first of March. They are exceedingly active on their arrival, flitting 

 from shrub to fence rail and from the fence rail to the smaller trees 

 of the garden, frequently pouring forth, but with subdued voice, their 

 highly musical notes — -and to his mind there are few better songsters 

 among our feathered visitors. They perform their migratory 

 journeys in the night. The Song Sparrow, in our section, com- 

 mences building its nest the latter part of April, generally in pasture 

 grounds, under a tussock of grass, but sometimes in a bush or 

 stunted cedar tree. A favorite resort of these birds in summer is on 

 the southern slope of Munjoy Hill, near the railroad, where the 

 males often mount to the top of the telegraph poles and sing by the 

 half hour to their mates, who are probably ensconced upon their eggs 

 in grassy nooks near at hand. Their nests are formed of slender 

 grass lined with horsehair. They lay from four to six eggs, some- 

 times as many as seven, and hatch three broods in a season, each 

 time constructing a new nest. The Song Sparrows are widely scat- 

 tered over our country, and are very numerous. Unlike many other 

 birds, they continue their song long after the breeding season is 

 over, and may be sometimes heard late in the fall. A prominent 

 mark of the species is a dark spot in the center of the breast. 



The Bay-winged Sparrow or Bunting {Emberiza graminea) , 

 does not make itself quite so sociable as the Song Sparrow. lyike 

 the former, however, it delights in open fields and pasture lands, 



