214 LAND-BIRDS. 



B. LINCOLNII. Lincoln's Finch. Lincoln's Sparrow. 

 Of great rarity in Massachusetts, occurring as a summer resi- 

 dent.* 



a. 5J inches long. Below, white ; dusky-streaked, except 

 on the belly. Breast land (and side-shading), brownish 

 yellow. Above, grayish brown; crown and back, streaked 

 with blackish, brownish, and paler; tail, scarcely marked. 

 Wings, with some bay and white. [Abridged from Coues.] 



b. The nests hitherto found have all been placed upon the 

 ground. An egg in my collection measures about .75 X .55 

 of an inch, and is light green, finely blotched all over with 

 a medium brown, which is purple - tinged. Dr. Brewer de- 

 scribes others, having " a pale greenish white ground," " thickly 

 marked with dots and small blotches of a ferruginous brown," 

 etc. 



c. The Lincoln's Finches are very rare in Massachusetts, a 

 few specimens only having been hitherto obtained in this State. 

 Their summer habitat is an extensive one, "the United 

 States from Atlantic to Pacific," including the north, for 

 they were "first met with by Mr. Audubon in Labrador." 

 As I have seen them but once, my brief description of their 

 habits is gathered from Dr. Brewer's account of them. 83 

 The Lincoln's Finch is allied in habits to the Song Sparrow, 

 singing " for whole hours at a time " from the top of some 

 shrub, often diving into thickets, and, when frightened, flying 

 " low and rapidly to a considerable distance " (as the Song 

 Sparrow does not) " jerking its tail as it proceeds, and throw- 

 ing itself into the thickest bush it meets." Audubon found 

 the Lincoln's Sparrows chiefly near streams ; and apparently 

 these birds are often gregarious, at least during the migra- 

 tions. 



* Lincoln's Sparrow is now known bridge, and in the course of a single 



to occur very regularly during the morning I have started a dozen or more 



spring and autumn migrations at many birds from a single field at Lake Um- 



localities in both northern and south- bagog. It has not as yet, been found 



ern New England. It is, while with breeding in New England, but its nest 



us, a silent, retiring bird, easily over- has been taken in the Adirondacks. 



looked, and hence by many collectors it W. B. 



is considered a prize of considerable 83 My biography of this species was 



rarity. But at the proper seasons it written before I had access to the works 



is often not uncommon about Cam- of Audubon. 



