298 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



taken by Captain Charles B. Bendire, at Fort Custer, Montana, May 

 20, 1885, and consists of four eggs ; these are of a dull pinkish-white, 

 clouded and spotted with burnt umber; sizes, .76X.60, .76X.59, .']^^ 

 .59, .79X .60 ; the other set, four in number, was taken at Fort Klamath, 

 Oregon, June 2, 1888. Their ground- color is bluish-white, with mark- 

 ings of the same color as those in the first set ; their sizes are, .83 x .57, 

 .83X.59, .82X.60, .84X.60. 



541. Ammodramus princeps (Mayn.) [192.] 



Ipswioli Sparroiv. 



Hab. Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia, south in winter to Virginia and coast of Texas. 



It has recently been discovered that the Ipswich Sparrow breeds 

 on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, and a series of its eggs are in the National 

 Museum. These are similar to the eggs of the Savannah Sparrow, 

 and, according to Prof Ridgway, they are uniformly larger ; size .81 x 

 .62. The nest is placed on the ground in meadows and other grassy 

 places. 



542a. Ammodramus sandwlchensls savanna (Wils.) [i93<?.] 



Savannah Sparroiv. 



Hab. Eastern North America, breeding from Northern United States to Labrador, and Hudson 

 Bay Territory. 



A rather common, and in some places, an abundant bird in East- 

 ern United States, usually breeding from about latitude 40° northward. 

 It is stated as breeding sparingly throughout Illinois and in some parts 

 of Missouri. In Ohio it is a rare summer resident. Throughout New 

 England the Savannah Sparrow is abundant, being found nearly all the 

 year. Its favorite resorts are salt marshes along the coast, and wet, 

 muddy, open ground, overgrown with grass and weeds in the interior. 

 It is a terrestrial bird, and is known as the " Ground Sparrow." Its 

 song is weak, squeaky and unmusical, which is at times uttered from the 

 ground, or from the tops of bushes. The breeding season is in May and 

 June. The nest is sunken in the ground, and generally well concealed 

 among the weeds and tall grass. It is usually nothing but a slight 

 arrangement of grasses in concentric rings, the brim being flush with 

 the surface. 



The eggs are three to six in number, usually four or five, and there 

 exists as great a variety in coloration as are to be found in the eggs of 

 the Song Sparrow. The ground-color is greenish or grayish-white, 

 spotted, speckled, and blotched with light brown and lilatc, particularly 

 about the larger end, and the markings are often so numerous that they 

 almost conceal the ground-color; average size .76X.54. 



