SPARROWS 399 



County Records. — Cumberland ; a specimen taken at Scarboro, August 13, 

 1886, is in Dr. Goodale's collection, (Goodale, Auk. 4, p. 77). 



Though an abundant bird in the west, especially in the 

 Plains, it can be expected in the east only as a mere straggler. 

 I have in my collection a nest and three eggs sent me from 

 Watertown, South Dakota, where they were taken May 16,1896. 

 The nest was composed of soft prarie grass, lined with a little 

 hair and was situated on the ground, the top flush with the 

 surface of the prairie. The nest measures one and a half inches 

 in height externally by three-fourths of an inch in depth inter- 

 nally, and its diameter externally is three and a half by one and 

 three-fourths inch internally. The eggs measure 0.75 x 0.53, 

 0.74 x 0.50, 0.75 x 0.55. Three or occasionally four eggs 

 seem to be laid. These are dull white to grayish green in 

 color, speckled, spotted, blotched and even lined with reddish 

 brown and black and obscure patches of purplish or lavender. 

 Their food consists of seeds and various insects. 



Genus POCECETES Baird. 



540, Pocecetes g-ramineus {Gmel.y Vesper Sparrow ; Grass 

 Finch; Bay- winged Bunting; Gray Bird; White-tailed Field 

 Sparrow. 



Plumage of adults : general color above sepia brown, strongly streaked 

 with black and tinged slightly with ochraceous buff ; wings and tail fuscous; 

 outer tail feathers mostly white and the next inner one with some white ; 

 edgings of outer primaries white ; tips and edgings of tertiaries brownish ; 

 lesser coverts rufous ; below white, streaked with black on the breast and 

 sides and more or less buffy tinged on breast at least. Immatiu-e plumage : 

 very similar, above in general more of a clove brown cast with similar 

 streakings and edgings of feathers to adult ; streakings on breast and sides 

 below clove brown rather than blackish. Wing 3.10 ; culmen 0.43 ; tarsus 

 0.82. 



Geog. Dist. — Eastern North America, breeding from Virginia, Kentucky 

 and Missouri northward to Nova Scotia and Ontario, west to the Plains ; 

 wintering from Virginia southward. 



County Records. — Androscoggin; common summer resident, (Johnson). 

 Aroostook ; summer resident of the older settled districts, rare in the Wool, 

 astook Valley, rather common near Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle and Caribou, 



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