POCECETES GRAMINEUS : BAY-WINGED BUNTING. 24I 



This is another of the abundant New England Spar- 

 rows which, from the circumstance of its nesting on 

 the ground, is called " Ground Sparrow," and con- 

 fused with several related species. But it is one of 

 the most strongly-marked of all the plain-colored 

 streaked Sparrows, and cannot be mistaken by any 

 one possessing the slightest faculty of discrimination. 

 It is not nearly so terrestrial a bird as the Savanna 

 Sparrow, often flying among the bushes, and even 

 mounting sizeable trees by the wayside, along the 

 hedges, and in fields, sometimes in companies of a 

 dozen or more individuals. It is one of the finest song- 

 sters among the Sparrows, having a sweet and sym- 

 pathetic voice, which it delights to exercise, particu- 

 larly in the evening — a habit so confirmed as to have 

 gained for the Finch the pretty name of " Vesper-bird," 

 bestowed by one of its most appreciative friends. 



The birds come in troops to New England early in 

 April, about the time that the Savannas make their 

 appearance, and linger equally late in the fall ; being 

 prominent during the latter season among the hordes 

 of Sparrows that throng the bush and brake. In the 

 breeding season it is pretty equably distributed through 

 the meadows, pastures, and waste fields of New Eng- 

 land, and is less noticeable than during the migrations, 

 for two reasons : it keeps pretty closely concealed in 

 the grass, and it is not flocking. The nest is sunken in 

 the ground to the level of the surface, or artfully con- 

 cealed in a tuft of grass, being not easy to discover 

 except by accident. The female does not desert her 

 charge until almost trodden upon, when she will flutter 

 off feigning lameness, seeking by such pious fraud to 

 save her home, even at the risk of life. The eggs 

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