5.34 NoKTii ami:ki('a\ uikds. 



(iosse. It is sciircclv possililc to «listinmiisli tlifsc .I;nn;ii(':in s])0('iiii('Tis from 

 examples from tlie Kjistcrii Province (»f tlif liiited Stales, tliou^lj minute 

 ditVerenees are ol»serval»le. Their size is soniew hat smalh-r, l»nt they are resi- 

 dent in the region where ohtained : and the shach's of color are ju: t aj)j>r»'- 

 ciahly darker. Thcn'c^ are, Imwi-vcr, no ditfer(;nees sutlicient to justify retain- 

 hi*s the nanje tij'icrus, to desi-^tiate even a \arietv. 



All tin* speeimcns in 'lie co'^ction from Mi'xieo and (Guatemala are in 

 the autumnal or winter dress, so that it is prol»al»le that they are not resi- 

 dent there; they appear to he identical with North American specimens, and 

 referrihle to the variety passcri/uoi as restricted. 



IJetween summer and winter specimens ureat ditlepMiees are ohservahle ; 

 in the former season the edges of the feathers hecome worn, so that often the 

 chestnut spots disappear entirely, while the other marV.ii.;js become poorly 

 defined, leaving the hlack blenches predominant. 



IIaiuts. The comnntn Yellow- winged Sparrow appears to be a bird of 

 irregular and une«[ual distribution, found in certain localities in great almn- 

 dance, and not seen in the intervening districts. According to some writers, 

 it is partial to sandy i)laces near the sea, and this is certainly true of the 

 neighborhood of Xew York City, and also of a large portion of the Xew 

 Jersey coast. It is likewise the case in certain portions of Eastern Massa- 

 chusetts, as, according to Mr. ^laynard, this species is very numerous in 

 Xantucket, where it breeds abinidantly. I have never met with this Sparrow 

 in Mas.sachu setts, except in a single instance, near lioston, nor in any collec- 

 tions of eggs have I seen any that I supposed could be tho.se of this species ; 

 yet in the western part of the State, according to Mr. Allen, it is an abun- 

 dant summer visitant, arriving there about the first week in May, and leav- 

 ing early in September, bree»ling in dry fields and ])asture.s, and raising two 

 broods in a .season. According to Mr, l>oardman, it is an occasional visitant 

 in tlie neighborhood of Calais, yet rare ; arriving there the first of April, five 

 weeks earlier than it shows itself in Springfield. Yet that this bird has 

 ever been met with between Boston and Calais does not appear. It was not 

 seen in Western Maine by Professor Verrill. 



In the vicinity of Hartford, Conn., this bird appears also to be a not un- 

 common sunnner resident. In 18()(), I received f'om Mr. T. S. l*»randiiree 

 several nests found in that neighborhood. Thev we:e all constructed on the 

 ground, in a field of thin grass, and their tops were all nearly covered over. 

 Dr. Heermann states that he found this bird a not uncommon species, in 

 the summer seascm, near San Antonio ; and Mr. Dresser also jirocured a speci- 

 men there in the early summer. Dr. Lincecum mentions it as a common 

 resident in \Vashingtf)n County, in the .same State. He describes it as a 

 close-hiding Grass Sparrow, running on the ground in the manner of a mouse, 

 and never seen to alight on trees. Dr. Cones speaks of it as a resident 

 species in South Carolina., especially abundant during the period of migra- 

 tion, j 



