SPARROWS 419 



A typical nest was found at Hermon, June fourth, 1905, sit- 

 uated on a hummock in low, wet, rather open woods. This 

 nest measures four and a half inches in diameter externally by 

 two and a half internally. Its height is two and a half exter- 

 nally by one and a half internally. The four eggs were advanced 

 in incubation and measure 0.75 x 0.59, 0.78 x 0.60, 0.77 x 

 0.60, 0.78 X 0.61. Another set of eggs taken May 24, 1896, 

 measure 0.85 x 0.64, 0.85 x 0.61, 0.87 x 0,60, 0.85 x 0.61. 

 Though four eggs usually are laid, sets of three and five rarely 

 form the complement. The ground color varies from pale 

 greenish blue to bluish white, variously speckled, spotted, 

 sprinkled and clouded with rufous, brown, cinnamon and 

 umber. One type of eggs is evenly and finely sprinkled all 

 over, another type is covered with larger spots or blotches, 

 scattered irregularly all over but largest and heaviest toward 

 the larger end. An occasional egg has a few lines of black on 

 it. The general tendency is towards an uniform sprinkling and 

 suffusion of marks all over. 



The food in summer consists largely of beetles, flies, grubs, 

 while in spring and fall seeds of grasses and weeds form a con- 

 siderable portion of their diet. 



Genus SPIZELLA Bonaparte. 



559. Spizella monticola (Gmel.). Tree Sparrow; Winter 

 Chippy. 



Plumage of adults : top of head chestnut ; feathers of back centrally 

 black, bordered by chestnut and edged with buff ; rump grayish brown ; 

 greater and median wing coverts edged with chestnut and white tipped 

 forming two white bands ; a faint dark spot in center of breast ; grayish 

 line over eye with brownish line behind it ; sides grayish brown ; breast 

 grayish white ; middle of belly white ; outer web of outer tail feather whit- 

 ish. Immature plumage : streaked sepia and clove brown with chestnut 

 washings on crown and back ; wings and tail brown, edged with grayish 

 white ; coverts and tertiaries edged pale buff ; grayish on throat ; sides 

 washed with pale cinnamon ; otherwise much as in adults. Wing 2.96 ; cul- 

 men 0.40 ; tail 2.76. 



