BIRDS OF MINNESOTA, 315 



AMMODRAMUS LECONTEII (Audubon). (548.) 

 LECONTE'S SPARROW. 



It affords me great pleasure to credit the discovery of this 

 species within our boundaries to C. L. Herrick, now quite 

 well known amongst western educators and to naturalists 

 generally. I will transcribe that portion of a report* made to 

 me, as State Ornithologist, in March, 1878, which pertains to 

 this species: 



"Six specimens have been taken in all. It was first obtained 

 by Mr. C. L. Herrick on June 20th, 1877, when an adult male 

 was secured and others noticed. On the following day a young 

 bird was taken by the same collector in the same place. On 

 the 22d, T. S. Roberts having been informed by Mr. Herrick 

 of the capture of the sparrows, and the locality, visited the 

 meadow and was rewarded with a fine male, a sight of one or 

 two others, and an acquaintance with the song. July 17th Mr. 

 R. S. Williams secured an adult female, and on August 1st a 

 young bird. The last specimen was a bird of the year taken 

 on August 8th by T. S. Roberts. These birds were all taken 

 in the same locality — a ditched, but at the same time moder 

 ately wet meadow, supporting a heavy growth of grass, per- 

 haps a foot and a half to two feet high, with here and there 

 low swamp willows. The most swampy portion of this 

 marsh is the home of marsh wrens, (both species, ) a few Vir- 

 ginia Rails, Maryland Yellow- throats. Swamp Sparrows, etc. 



' 'The bird in question, however, seemed to prefer the dryer 

 parts around the edge. Here the collector, walking quietly 

 along, may hear in the grass a smothered, rapid kind of chirp- 

 ing. Investigation shows it to proceed from Leconte's Bunt- 

 ing. The startled bird, if the collector is not a sure shot on the 

 wing, flies in a wren-like manner for a moderate distance, and 

 drops suddenly into the grass. It will now require patience to 

 flush it again, and each successive attempt grows more difficult. 

 The song is firm, wiry, and uttered with the head thrown up in 

 the manner of the Yellow- winged Sparrow {Goturniculus passer- 

 inus). In fact the general character of the song is much like 

 the ordinary efforts of this species. They sing at times on the 

 ground among the tall grass, but mounted upon a small bush 

 or other low elevation, is apparently the preference. 



"It is probable that there are but one or two broods in this 

 meadow, which was of limited extent, and as yet they have 



*T. S. Roberts. C. L. Herrick, R. S. Williams, of Minneapolis. 



