Birds of Canada. 57 
inches long. Rump, back of neck, and sides of 
neck and head, ashy ; crown, chestnut; fore- 
head, black, separated in middle by white; a 
white streak over the eye; the under parts, 
white. Builds its nest in low bushes; eggs, four 
in number, greenish-blue, with dark-brown spots. 
Feeds upon seeds, berries, and insects. 
Meclospiza melodia—The Song Sparrow. 
The Song Sparrow is rufous-brown above ; 
the under parts, white; the breast and sides of 
the body and throat, streaked with dark-rufous. 
This sparrow is one of our most common birds, 
and one of the sweetest songsters of the sparrow 
family. It makes its appearance here about the 
middlé of March. The nest is usually built on 
the ground, or in a low bush; eggs, four or five 
in number, bluish-white, and variously marked. 
Two broods are raised in the season. 
M. palustris —The Swamp Sparrow. 
This sparrow arrives from the south about the 
middle of April. It prefers low, swampy locali- 
ties, and is seldom seen in the open fields. This 
sparrow is six inches long ; the crown, chestnut ; 
forehead, black; ash-colored streak on the side 
of the head and back; under parts, whitish, 
tinged with ashy. The nest is built at the foot 
of a tuft of long grass; eggs, four in number, 
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