308 USEFUL BIRDS. 



The alarm note is a metallic cJiip ; and the song, which is 

 often heard in May, is a sweet whistled strain, which has 

 been rendered "Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody," and 

 from this fancied resemblance to these words it is called the 

 Peabody Bird. 



In May, when the White-throat passes north, it is of some 

 service in the destruction of beetles. In the fall it feeds to 

 some extent on berries and berry seeds, but its main useful- 

 ness at this season lies in the destruction of weed seeds. 

 It is very fond of the seeds of ragweed and polygonum. 

 Dr. Judd says that in October (when these birds are com- 

 mon in Massachusetts) ragweed seed constitutes forty-five 

 per cent, of their food. 



Grasshopper Sparrow. 

 Ammodramus sacannarum australis. 



Length. — About five inches. 



Adult. — Upper parts generally brown, streaked with black on back, much varie- 

 gated, quail-like, and mixed with gray on rump ; crown very dark, with a 

 buffy line through it ; a buffy-yellow stripe over eye ; under parts buff, 

 fading to whitish on the belly ; no noticeable breast streaks ; wings below 

 the bend edged with bright yellow, ordinarily concealed from vieiv ; tail 

 short. 



Young. — Similar, but breast streaked with blackish. 



Nest. — On ground. 



Eggs. — White, brown-spotted. 



Season. — May to September. 



The Grasshopper Sparrow is common locally in eastern 

 Massachusetts, but rare or wanting in many localities. In the 

 southeastern part of the State it is hardly locally common, 

 except in Nantucket. It is found through middle and south- 

 ern Worcester County and in the Connecticut valley, and is 

 probably much more common than is generally believed, as 

 it is never conspicuous, and is largely confined to the open 

 fields, where it readily hides in the grass. Minot says "they 

 frequent almost exclusively dry fields, particularly such as do 

 not contain a luxuriant vegetation." While this appears to 

 be true of eastern Massachusetts, where many neglected fields 

 are of that character, it is not altogether true of Worcester 

 County. Although this Sparrow is never found in swamps, 

 it is seen occasionally in meadows, and often inhabits fertile 



