144 l'"'- KlJ'STY SONG SPAKRc »\\ . 



in mating time; luil tlicv like to assure ihenisclves, neverllieless. tliat a dozen 

 of tlieir felk)\vs are witliin call against a time of need. 



Silver-tongue is a birtl of the ground and contiguous levels. When 

 hiding, he does not seek the depths of the foliage in trees, but skulks among 

 tlie lUad leaves on the ground, or even tineads his way tiiru log heaps. If 

 driven from one covert, the bird dashes to another with an odd jerking 

 lliglit. working its tail like a pump-handle, as iho to assist progress. Ordi- 

 narilv the bird is \v>i fearful, altho retiring in dis|)osition. .\i)art from the 

 haunts of men the Song Sparrow of western Washington is closely attached 

 to the water; and is not to i)e looked for save in damj) wofxls, in swamps, 

 in tiie vicinity of open water, whether of lake or ocean, or along the brushy 

 margins of streams. Indeed, its habits are beginning to assume a slightly 

 ;i(|ualic character. Not only does it jilash about carelessly in shallow water, 

 hut it sonietimes seizes and devours small minnows. 



Save in favored localities, such as the margins of a tule swanii), nests 

 of the Rustv Song Sparrow are not obtrusively common. "Back F.ast." 

 ill a season of all around nesting, about one-fifth of the nests found would 

 be those i>f the Song Sparrow. Xot so on Puget Sound; for, altho tin- 

 birds arc common, heavy cover is ten times more common, and I would 

 sooner undertake to find a dozen Warblers* nests than as many Song 

 Sparrows'. Nesting begins about April 1st. at which time nests are com- 

 monlv built u])on the ground or in a tus.sock of grass or tules. The cn<l 

 •if a log, overshadowed i)y growing ferns, is a favorite place later in the 

 sea.son ; while brush-hca])s, bushes, fir sa|)lings. trees, or clambering vines, 

 such as ivy and clematis, are not despised. 



The eggs, Mr. Bowles finds, arc almost invariably four in number, as 

 in a verv large number of sets examined only one contained five eggs. 

 Thev are of a light greenish blue in groun<l color, and are sjxitted and 

 blotched heavilv and irregularly witli reddish browns, especially alvnil the 

 larger en<l. Several brootls are raised each season. 



Tiie Rustv Song Sparrow, because of its abundance in winter, affords 

 the impression of lieing strictly a resident bird in western Washington. Such 

 may be the case with a majority of the individuals, but there is still evi<lence 

 of a southward movement of tlie race, the place of local birds being supplied 

 in winter partly by British C<ilumbia birds, which show a heavier and more 

 uniformlv blen<led type <if plumage. ap|)roacliing llial of .1/. c. riithui. 



