THE BIRDS OF WAYNE COUNTY. 309 



GENUS PASSER BRISSON. 



112. Passer domesticus (LINN.). 

 European House Sparrow; English Sparrow. 



An abundant resident ; very generally distributed throughout the County. It of 

 course frequents preferably the streets of the towns, but is in very many places 

 numerous in the farming districts, where it may be seen in the trees and shrubbery 

 about the hous-s, also in orchards, hedges, and along the public roads. 



Among its favorite resorts for breeding are the apple orchards its nests being 

 built among the branches of the trees, in Woodpeckers' excavations, or in natural 

 cavities such as the House Wren or Bluebird might select. It is in this section, as 

 everywhere, a great nu : sance; in town nesting abundantly behind sign-boards, under 

 the eaves, and in all sorts of nooks about the buildings. Nest-construction is some- 

 times begun in February, especially if the season be mild. Five eggs is a common 

 complement. 



The following account of its advent into Wayne County has been furnished the 

 writer by Dr. J. H. Todd, of Wooster, and is given in his own words : 



" In the fall of 1876 a li tie troop of nine English Sp?rrows presented themselves 

 in my yard, at once seemed at home, and assisted the chickens in disposing of their 

 'food. I was familiar with the Sparrow in New York, but they were a novelty in 

 Wooster, none having been seen by any one, to my knowledge, in the County before. 

 Many people came to see them, all supposing I had brought them ; but I had not, and 

 knew no more of where they came from tkan any of the numerous visitors that went 

 to the yard to see them. In the spring they left as mysteriously as they had come. 

 The next fall six came back, and from that time on the Sparrow was a permanent resi- 

 dent of Wooster. 



GENUS AMMODRAMUS SWAINSON. 



SUBGENUS PASSERCULUS BONAPARTE. 



113. Ammodranms sandwichensis savanna (WILS.). 

 Savanna Sparrow'. 



A transient visitor ; apparently rare, though in proper localities usually to be 

 found in the spring. Not observed in the fall. It arrives about the middle of April, 

 the sixteenth of this month being the earliest date recorded. It has been noted only 

 on the meadows of the bottom-lands, where it frequents thickets, fence-rows, and the 

 grass in the open fields. It is perhaps more common than the notes of the writer 

 indicate. 



SUBGENUS COTURNICULUS BONAPARTE. 



114. Ammodramus savannarum passerinus (WILS.). 

 Grasshopper Sparrow ; Yellow- winged Sparrow. 



A common summer resident. It arrives in May, usually about the middle of the 

 month, though in 1892 it was noted May i. It has not been observed later than 

 August 20 (1893), and is not conspicuous after the first of this month. 



