220 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 
and again snatches or parts of it are sometimes sung. It is 
more often whistled in the morning and at evening than any 
other times of the day, and it may be sometimes heard at night. 
How often have I listened to its almost plaintive tones in 
the stillness and cool of the New Hampshire woods, and how 
charmed have I been to hear it sung at night, as one may some- 
times hear it in the summer-homes of these attractive birds. 
(B) tevcorpurys. White-crowned Sparrow. 
(A generally rare migrant through New England, breeding 
in the North.) 
(a). About seven inches long. Crown like that of albicollis 
(A), but with the median and superciliary lines much broader, 
and meeting behind. Rump and tail, and the under parts also, 
as in albicollis, but with the colors beneath less distinct. Nape 
and. sides of head, light-colored. Back streaked with brown 
(= ‘‘purplish-bay” ) and ashy-white. Wings with two white 
bars. 
(b). ‘*Eggs of this species, from Wyoming Territory, meas- 
ure from ‘90 to *95 of an inch in length by :70 in breadth, and 
are of an oblong-oval shape. The ground-color is a light 
greenish-white, thickly marked with reddish-brown and lighter 
markings of an obscure purplish-brown. The intensity, depth 
of coloring, and size of the darker brown markings, vary. 
They are principally disposed about the larger end.” 
(c). Ishall not here give a detailed account of the White- 
crowned Sparrows, since they are closely allied to the White- 
throated Sparrows, of whose habits and notes a full description 
has been given in the preceding pages. They are very rare in 
Eastern but not so in Western Massachusetts, through which 
State they pass about the middle of May, and again in Sep- 
tember or early October. It is in spring, when traveling to 
the land north of the United States, that they are most com- 
mon. They do not often mingle with the ‘‘ White-throats,” 
but often reach the neighborhood of Boston rather later, and, 
instead of gathering in flocks, usually go about individually or 
paired. They feed on the seeds, and perhaps the insects, which 
