Moments with the LeCdnte Sparrows. 19 



vine, located in some abandoned village lots and abutting on 

 an unfrequented street. 



There around a water-hole grew a patch of weeds, triang- 

 ular in shape and measuring about seventy-five feet on each 

 side. The weeds were mostly rag-weeds, interspersed with 

 some Spanish needle's and smart-weed and a few sunflowers. 

 The sloping ground on the west was covered with pig-weeds, 

 while on the level land to the north and east grew the wild 

 grass of the slough. The attraction of weeds and water we.rc 

 sufficient to draw numbers of nearly all the , sparrow species 

 that pass this way ; the handsome. Fox and the no less striking 

 Harris's .Sparrows were there in small numbers ; Swamp 

 Sparrows were numerous, and at the height of their migra- 

 tion, Lincoln's Sparrows outnumbered the Song Sparrows, as 

 many as a dozen being present at one time. Among the rarer 

 of the visitors were a Henslow's Sparrow and a Bittern. The 

 first Leconte's Sparrow was found there on September ;33. 

 and the last one was seen on October 20. 



Since the days of Audubon the Leconte's Sparrow has been 

 tenned " shy," " skulking " or " elusive " as \s exemplified 

 by Dr. R. M. Anderson's comment in The Birds of Iowa, 

 when he says: " It is seldom seen on account of its habit of 

 skulking in the thick dead grass along the borders of sloughs 

 and in low places. It seldom rises unless almost stepped on, 

 flies a short distance, dropping out of sight again in the dense 

 grasses." This characteristic is implied in a statement of 

 Kumlien and Hollister taken from their Birds of Wisconsin : 

 " One of the most difficult birds imaginable to icollect, as it is 

 never seen until flushed, must be shot on the wing, and last, 

 but not least, found after it is, killed." The behavior of the 

 Leconte's 'Sparrow that came under my observation did not 

 conform to the usual descriptions. Why this was so may be 

 a difficult problem to solve, unless the absence of all collect-- 

 ors had something to do with it. 



In the period of four weeks from the first to the last date 

 of their appearance an absence from home and inclement 

 weather prevented visits to their haunts on eight days, leaving 



