20 Allison, Spiring Birds of Tishomingo Co., Miss. [j a u n k 



in the above-mentioned park, on April 17; and the next day I thought 

 I saw several among pine-trees on the hills near the river. 



47. Astragalinus tristis. American Goldfinch. — Probably resi- 

 dent. I found much migrational activity when I arrived — April 17 — 

 and the finches continued to flock and sing until April 27; after that date 

 I saw them passing over in pairs, and find them recorded as "constantly 

 passing over" as late as May 6; and I took one of a mated pair on May 

 7. I found no nests; but I left with a very distinct impression that 

 Goldfinches breed in the Tennessee Valley in Mississippi. 



48. Passer domesticus. English Sparrow. — Present about the 

 farm-houses near the river, and common in Iuka. 



49. Pocecetes gramineus. Vesper Sparrow. — Saw one in a meadow 

 near Iuka, April 17. 



50. Chondestes grammacus. Lark Sparrow. — A very handsome 

 individual was feeding with a group of Chipping Sparrows in the Iuka 

 park, on April 17. Of late we have found it not very uncommon in winter 

 on the Gulf coast of Mississippi, but this is our only interior record, though 

 Mr. H. H. Kopman has reported it from Madison Parish, Louisiana, directly 

 across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg. 



51. Zonotrichia albicollis. White-throated Sparrow. — Very abun- 

 dant in thickets and hedge-rows. I heard them singing as soon as I 

 arrived at my destination, and frequently I found the hillsides covered 

 with the creeping, rustling little creatures, and the thickets bordering the 

 hills deserted; but they withdrew to cover again immediately on any 

 alarm. The bulk left about May 4, and I saw the last May 9. 



Once I heard a rather peculiar song that led me to suspect the presence 

 of Z. leucophrys; but I soon traced it to its source as an individual pecul- 

 iarity. 



52. Spizella socialis. Chipping Sparrow. — Abundant everywhere, 

 except in the extremely open country occupied by the following species. 



53. Spizella pusilla. Field Sparrow. — Common in the old fields 

 grown up with Andropogon. One of the several nests I found was placed 

 in a tussock of this grass; it was situated among the culms much as the 

 nest of a Red-wing is placed among reeds. It contained four eggs on 

 May 12. 



54. Peucaea aestivalis bachmanii. Bachman's Sparrow. — Of local 

 distribution, but not uncommon. This is a most interesting bird, and 

 varies much in its habits in different regions; even in the same locality 

 there may be two quite dissimilar songs, as I noticed here, — one quite 

 like that of the Field Sparrow, one like that of the Chipping. The birds 

 of this county are larger and grayer than those of the Gulf coast, — less 

 typical of the subspecies; and they prefer the open country to the pine 

 barrens. I have these notes of their behavior: "I found Bachman's 

 Sparrows again on the border of the pine thicket; they behaved somewhat 

 like Swamp Sparrows in the brush, though on the ground they ran rapidly, 

 flushing from it with the explosive spring of Coturniculus or Passerculus. 

 One wandered into the thick sedge-grass (Andropogon)." 



