THE GRASS FINCH. 303 



The male, during the mating and the early part of the 

 oreeding season, has a very sweet and pretty song which he 

 chants most often at morning and early evening, and during 

 dark and cloudy weather. 



This song is difficult of description : it resembles nearly 

 the syllables 'chewSe 'chewitt 'chewitt 'chewitt 'cheweet 'chewte, 

 uttered slowly and plaintively. It has also a short chirp, 

 quite faint, yet shrill, which, as Mr. Nuttall truly remarks, 

 almost exactly resembles the chirping of a cricket. 



AJ)out the first week in October, this species gathers in 

 small, detached flocks; and, after frequenting the stubble- 

 fields and gardens a week or two, the whole leave for the 

 South. 



POO(LETES, BATED. 



Bill rather large'; upper outline slightly decurved towards the end, lower straight ; 

 commissure slightly concave; tarsus about equal to the middle toe; outer toe a 

 tittle longer than the inner, its claw reaching to the concealed base of the middle 

 claw, hind toe reaching to the middle of the middle claw; wings unusually long, 

 reaching to the middle of the tail, as far as the coverts, and pointed, the primaries 

 considerably longer than the secondaries, which are not much surpassed by the 

 tertiaries; second and third quills longest; first little shorter, about equal to the 

 fourth, shorter than the tail ; the outer feathers scarcely shorter ; the feathers rather 

 stiff, each one acuminate and sharply pointed; the feathers broad nearly to the end, 

 when they are obliquely truncate; streaked with brown above everywhere ; beneath, 

 on the breast and sides; the lateral tail feather is white. 



POOC^TES GEAMINEUS. Baird. 

 The Grass Finch; Bay-winged Bunting. / 



(nngitta graminea, Gmelin. Syst. Nat., I. (1788) 922. Aud. Orn. Biog., I. 

 1 S3 1,473; V. 502. 

 P.mberiza graminea, Wilson. Am. Orn., IV. (1811) 51. 



DESCRIPTION. 



i'aii feathers rather acute; above light yellowish-brown; the feathers everywhere 

 streaked abruptly with dark-brown, even on the sides of the neck, which are paler; 

 beneath yellowish-white; on the breast and sides of neck and body streaked with 

 brown; a faint light superciliary and maxillary stripe; the latter margined above 

 and below with dark-brown; the upper stripe continued around the ear coverts, 

 which are darker than the brown color elsewhere; wings with the shoulder Jight 

 chestnut-brown, and with two dull-whitish bands along the ends of the coverts ; the 

 outer edge of the secondaries also is white ; outer tail feather, and edge and tip 

 of the second, white. 



