SONG-BIRDS. Junco 



Nest : Of grass, in low shrubs or on ground. 

 Eggs : 4, cloudy white, spotted and specked with brown. 

 Range: Eastern United States and southern Canada, west to the 

 Plains. 



This is the tuneful Sparrow of fields and meadows that, 

 rising as you approach, goes with a wavering flight to the 

 next rift of grasses, never letting you come near it, and yet 

 not appearing to be shy. At first you will think it a Chippy, 

 but a glance with your field-glass will show you its reddish 

 bill, longer tail, and red-brown upper back, and while you 

 are considering these differences it will perhaps perch on a 

 branch and sing (it seldom sings while flying), and then you 

 will have been formally introduced to the Field Sparrow. 



The three whistles which begin the song are very soft and 

 sweet, having nothing sibilant about them, and the final trill 

 dies away gradually, as if the bird was moving away as he 

 sang. The quality of song resembles the Vesper Sparrow's, 

 but has less variety. I have seen Field Sparrows here as 

 late as Thanksgiving, but the records go to prove that the 

 general range is more southerly than the Chippy's, and that 

 it cannot be called common north of Massachusetts. 



Slate-coloured Junco : Junco hy emails. 

 Snowbird. 



PLATE 29. FIG. 2. 



Length : 6-6.50 inches. 



Male and Female : Dark bluish slate all over, except lower breast and 

 belly, which are grayish white and form a vest. Several outer 

 tail feathers white, conspicuous in flying. Female, with a more 

 rusty cast and vest less distinct. Bill flesh-white, dusky at tip. 



Song : A crisp call note, a simple trill, and a faint whispering warble, 

 usually much broken, but not. without sweetness. (Bicknell.) 

 Song sometimes heard before it leaves in spring. 



Season : Common winter resident ; late September to April. 



Breeds : From the higher parts of the Alleghanies and northern New 

 York and northern New England, northward. 



Nest : On ground, Sparrow-like. 



Eggs : 4-6, white, peppered with reddish brown. 



Bange : North America at large, but chiefly east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains ; south in winter to the Gulf States. 

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