124 Contributions from the Charleston Museum. 



213. Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmel.)- White-throated 

 Sparrow. 



The White-throated Sparrow is exceedingly abundant in au- 

 tumn, winter, and spring. It arrives with great regularity in 

 autumn, and I give two dates upon which the first birds have 

 been observed, namely — October 9, 1895, and October 9, 1897. 

 I have observed a few birds as late as May 16, but the great 

 majority migrate towards the end of April. Audubon's state- 

 mentHhat "it arrives from the north in South Carolina about 

 the first of November, and departs in the end of March" is, 

 therefore, inaccurate. 



This species inhabits thickets and is seldom seen in open woods 

 where there is no cover. While it obtains its food on the ground 

 during the winter months, its habits are changed with the ap- 

 proach of spring, for at that season it resorts to the tops of the 

 tallest oaks and maples to feed upon their buds. 



All through the winter the birds sing in a subdued manner, 

 but the full volume of their song is not heard until March and 

 April. The feathers of the head and throat are moulted in March 

 and April, and I have also observed an autumn moult after the 

 birds arrive here. I secured a beautiful albino of this species 

 at Pinopolis on December 3, 1889. 



This species breeds from Massachusetts, northern New York, 

 etc., northward to Great Bear Lake. 



214. Spizella passerina (Bechst.). Chipping Sparrow. 

 Since a few individuals of this species regularly breed on and 



near the coast, it is a permanent resident. My first record of the 

 breeding of this bird was made at Ridgeville on June 3, 1886, 

 when a female was taken with an egg in the oviduct, ready to 

 be laid. This egg was plain blue in color, without marking. 

 On May 29, 1896, I discovered in the interior of a large pine forest 

 near Mount Pleasant, a brood of young just able to fly and being 

 fed by their parents. I have since observed this pair or their 

 descendants breeding annually in the same forest, which is within 

 a mile of the salt marshes. I have not, as yet, taken a nest 

 with eggs. 



The Chipping Sparrow is most abundant in autumn, winter, 

 and early spring, when it is found in thousands. The birds fre- 



* Birds of America, III, 154. 



