LE CONTE'S sparrow. 331 



As a winter bird of passage it is common in South Carolina, 

 and equally abundant in the pine forests of Florida, seeking 

 out by choice the light sandy soils overgrown with pines, 

 though it keeps on the ground wholly, running with celerity, 

 and threading its way through the grass with the nimbleness 

 of a mouse. 



Henslovv's Sparrow breeds from southern New England to South 

 Carolina, and from Ontario and Illinois southward, and has been 

 found in New Hampshire and Vermont. It is more abundant to 

 the westward than near the Atlantic seaboard. 



LE CONTE'S SPARROW. 

 le conte's bunting. 

 Ammodramus leconteii. 



Char. General color reddish brown, streaked with brownish black, 

 the feathers margined with pale buff ; crown with two black stripes sepa- 

 rated by a narrow stripe of pale bufifish gray ; cheeks and stripes over the 

 eyes buff; hind neck rufous; under parts buff, paler on the belly; no 

 streaks on the breast. Bill small and slender ; tail-feathers narrow, 

 tapering, and extremely pointed. Length about 5 inches. 



Nest. In a marsh or wet meadow, raised from the ground by tangled 

 grass ; made of fine grass. 



Eggs. 3- ? ; delicate pink, with a few spots of brownish and of black 

 towards the larger end; 0.75 X 0.50. (Thompson.) 



This interesting bird was first described by Audubon in the 1843 

 edition of his work, — issued after Nuttall had written. Audubon 

 secured but one specimen, and only one other was discovered until 

 1873, when Dr. Coues took several examples on the Dakota plains. 

 Since then the species has been found by a number of naturalists, 

 and it is now known to breed on the plains of Dakota, Minnesota, 

 and Manitoba, migrating in the autumn through Illinois, Iowa, 

 Kansas, etc., to South Carolina and Florida. It is by no means 

 a rare bird, — Ridgeway thinks it abundant in Illinois, and Thomp- 

 son reports it common in Manitoba ; but, as Dr. Coues suggests, its 

 retiring habits and the nature of its resorts have doubtless caused 

 it to be overlooked. 



The birds resemble Henslow's Sparrow, and the habits of the 

 two species are similar. Only one nest and set of eggs have been 

 discovered, and they were taken by Mr. Ernest Thompson on the 

 Manitoba plains. 



