PASSERCULUS PiiJ^'CEPS. 



485 



DESCRIPTION or NESTS AND EGGS. 



Ncs/s, placed on the ground, composed cf grass loosely armngod and lin.'^d with finer. Dimensions; external diameter, 

 3-50, internal, 2-25. Externrd depth, 2-00, internal, 1-25. 



Eyr/s, fjur or five in number, oval in form, bluLsh-whits in color, thickly blotched, and some portions nearly covered, 

 ■\vitli reddish-brown. Some eggs, however, are marked with very distinct spots of umlier and I have occasionally seen them 

 lin^d with tlie same color. Dimensi.ms from 77' s "HO to 'STx 'GS. 



ILABITS. 



The savannahs of Florida arc wide spread pkins, either fresh or salt. The foi'mer arc cov- 

 ered with a luxuriant growth of grass often six feet high, while on the latter the herbage is 

 shorter, and consists of several species of plants among which is the peculiar sea purslane, 

 (S^suvium portulacastrum.) This creeping herb quite covers the ground in many localities 

 ;ind the red, succulent leaves yield a peculiar spicj'^ scent when crushed beneath the feet. 

 This aromatic odor always reminds me of the marshes of Indian River, for it was there that 

 I first saAV the plant growing to perfection. These salt plains are the resorts of many birds, 

 but none are more abundant there than the little Sparrows which I have under consider- 

 ation, and which derive their common and specific names from their habit of frequenting 

 savannahs. Many other species of the family are arboreal, but none among them are so 

 fond of open, grassy sections as the Savannah Sparrows. In Florida they are abundant 

 in the marshy country along the sea board or rivers of the interior, and arc common on 

 the plantations of Georgia and the Carolinas. In Pennsylvania they are found in the rich 

 interval lands, in IMassachusetts and Maine they swarm along the sand hiUs and marshes 

 of the coast, and I have even found them on the grassy hill sides of the Magdalen Islands, 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence. They are retiring in habit, often running a long distance before 

 flying. The males, however, are fond of perching on a low limb of a tree or fence top to 

 give their peculiar lay, which consists of a few lisping notes terminating in a fiiint warble; 

 the whole performance being rather an unsatisfactory apology for a song. 



The nests are built on the ground in open fields, along the edges of the sand hills, or 

 on the marshes. There is very little attempt at concealment, but as the females sit closely 

 it is exceedingly difUcult to flush them, and when forced to leave they will frequently run 

 some distance before rising, often feigning lameness in order to attract attention from the 

 nests. The eggs are deposited about the first of June and a second litter in July. They 

 breed a little later on the Magdalen Islands where I should judge that they only rear one 

 brood. They leave Florida early in May, arriving in New England about the middle of 

 April, and remain until the first of November. 



PASSERCULUS PRINCEPS. 



Pallid Sparrow; 



Passcrculu.i prinrriis JlAVXARn, American Naturalists, Vol., VI, 1872, G37. 



DESCRIPTION. 

 Plate III. Adult in spring. 

 Sp. Cn. Form, rather robust. Size, large. Tongue, somcwiiat ilesliy, horny at tip which is jjrovided with a tcnuinul 

 frin"e of cilia. Sternum, with the keel a little higher and the coracoiJs a trifle longer, than those o( savanna. 



