ANDERSON — THE BIRDS OF IOWA. 323 



mon summer resident in all parts of the state from abont'the first 

 week in April until the middle of October. It is an inconspicuous 

 bird with a rather high-keyed monotonous song, chippy -chippy - 

 chippy, often repeated. It nests commonly about houses, in trees 

 and shrubs, or in low bushes in open woods, building a nest of 

 fine dried grass, lined w'ith horse-hair. The eggs are laid from 

 the first week of May until July. 



Although the species was found here before the settlement of 

 the state, being noted by Thomas Say at Engineers' Cantonment 

 in 1819-20 (Long's Exp., i, p. 264), and by Audubon near Coun- 

 cil Bluffs, May 10, 1843 (Journals, i, p. 481), the species has 

 undoubtedl)' increased in numbers with the cultivation of the 

 land and the growth of artificial shrubbery. In 1868 J. A. Allen 

 noted the species as rather rare in w^estern Iowa as well as in Illi- 

 nois, only observed about the settlements (Mem. Bost. Soc, i, 

 1868, p. 446). 



In some localities the species seems to be less frequent about 

 towns than it was a few years ago, however, owing to persecu- 

 tion by the omnipresent and pugnacious English Sparrow. 



254. (561). Spizella pallida (Swains.). Clay-colored Sparrow. 



The Clay-colored Sparrow is a bird of the central region of the 

 United States and British America, east to Iowa and Illinois. It 

 is reported from nearly all parts of the state as a migrant, rare in 

 most localities in eastern Iowa, and tolerabl}- common in central 

 and western Iowa, migrating in the latter part of April, more 

 numerously in early May and during September and October. 



It is found rather sparingly as a summer resident in the 

 northern part of the state and a few nests have been found. J. 

 W. Preston found it breeding in Winnebago county in June, 1885, 

 frequenting the edges of brush and timber. The nests were 

 placed on the ground; one, however, was built in the branches of 

 a low hazel. . The materials used in the construction of the nests 

 were fine, round grasses and blades, with a lining of hair; eggs 

 three to five, usually four, similar in size and color to those of 

 the Chipping Sparrow (Davie's Nests and Eggs of N. A. Birds, 

 1889, p. 308; 5th Ed., 1898, p. 380). A set of four eggs were 

 taken at Lake Mills by J. Eugetie Law, birds identified by Lattin. 

 I have frequently seen the birds in summer in Winnebago and 



