Open Nests on the Ground 
581. Song Sparrow: Melospiza fasciata (Gmel.) 
Aduit—Upper parts rich brown streaked with black, the head 
having a light gray line in the centre, either side of the crown 
being brown ; throat and breast light gray, with brown 
marks which usually form an irregular blotch on the breast. 
Length—. 30. 
Breeding Range—Throughout the Eastern States. ‘‘ East of the 
Alleghanies, it breeds from South Carolina north to the Brit- 
ish provinces.” 
The nest varies greatly both as to the materials used in its 
construction and to where it is placed ; sometimes it is a bulky 
structure of coarse grass, weeds, leaves, and bark, lined with hair, 
being as much as two and a half inches deep inside, and then 
again it may be a flimsy, shallow affair made of grass and lined 
with fine grass ; it is placed on the ground, in open fields or in 
woody places, or it is sometimes built in bushes as high as five 
feet from the ground. The eggs vary greatly, both as to colour 
and size, ranging from .76 to .85 in length and from .55 to .60 in 
diameter ; the ground colour is white, sometimes tinged with 
green or blue, with irregular brownish blotches and markings, 
which in some cases nearly conceal the ground colour. See Fig. 
4, Plate B. 
The Song Sparrow shows a nature of such extraordinary 
adaptability to all sorts of conditions that in this one respect he 
proves himself to be a remarkable little character—a character very 
well worth studying. Everything about him is made and done 
with apparently but little regard to rules of any kind. Each sea- 
son he rears an indefinite number of families, ranging from one to 
four. The nests are made in various sizes, of various materials, 
and built in any sort of place, from an old tin can to a hole in a 
tree, but usually either on the ground or ina bush ; if on the 
ground it may be in a fine large breezy meadow, where the ground 
is dry, or on the top of a tussock in a swampy thicket. 
The time for singing his familiar song varies greatly both as 
to hour and season ; one must not be surprised if at any hour of 
the day or night his song is heard, whether it be on a bleak March 
day or when the trees have taken on the glories of the rich au- 
tumn colouring ; time and place matter but little to this happy 
songster. Nesting begins about May Ist. 
4 49 
