NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 55 



lar. This bird appears to be peculiar to the coast region of CaHfornia in 

 the neighborhood of San Francisco. 



231(^. Rusty Song Sparrow — melospiza fasciat.a. guttata. Hardly 

 distinguishable from those of the Eastern Song Sparrow. The Oregon or 

 Rusty Song Sparrow is a resident of the higher Sierra Nevada and on the 

 border of the evergreen forests towards the Columbia River, thence north- 

 ward. Like M. fasdata, this bird builds its nest on the ground or in low 

 bushes ; it is composed of dry grass, lined with finer materials of the same, 



and occasionally deer's hair. Hab Pacific Coast of United states to British Columbia. 



233. Swamp Sparrow — melospiza palustris. Light green, some- 

 times light clay, marked and blotched with reddish and purplish-brown 

 spots, varying in size and number, occasionally forming a confluent ring 

 around the greater end; the eggs cannot be distinguished from those of 

 the Song Sparrow, perhaps averaging a trifle smaller. The nest is also 

 alike, placed in a grassy tussock or low bush. The bird inhabits thickets 

 in wet places. Distributed during the breeding season throughout Eastern 

 United States, from the latitude of Pennsylvania north to that of Canada. 



Hab. North America from the Atlantic to Utah; north to Labrador, but chiefly Eastern United States 

 and Canada. 



234. Lincoln's Finch — melospiza lincolni. Greenish-white, more 

 or less thickly spotted and blotched with different shades of reddish- 

 brown, often so numerous and confluent as to partially conceal the ground; 

 not distinguishable from those of the Song Sparrow, but average smaller. 

 The nest is also quite similar. This bird breeds from Wisconsin and 

 Northern New York northward, and in the west south to the Mountains 



of Colorado. Hab. Whole of North America, Mexico, Guatemala. 



235. Fox-colored Sparrow — passerella iliaca. Light bluish-white, 

 thickly spotted with a rusty-brown, often so fijllyas to conceal the ground, 

 oblong in shape, four or five in number; size .94 by .71. This is one of 

 the largest and finest of the Sparrows. It is not known to breed within 

 the limits of the United States, but has been found nesting in Labrador 

 and British America. The nest is built either on the ground or in trees; 

 it is constructed of grass, moss, and fibrous roots, with hair and feathers. 



Hab. Eastern Province of North America, north to mouth of Yukon; west to edge of Great Plains. 

 Colorado. 



235f. Slate-colored Sparrow — passerella iliaca schistacea. Light 

 green, blotched and marked chiefly at the larger end with golden-brown 

 spots; the eggs are similar to those of the Song Sparrow; usually four in 

 number, and measure about .80 by .67. This bird has been found in 

 abundance among the thickets in the Upper Humboldt Valley, and Wah- 



