FPJXaiLLID.E — TTIK FIXCIIES. 5 



and fTHiceful, and in wavini^ undulations. On npenint,' the stomachs ol' 

 those he sliot at the Mai^nleleine Islands, ^Fr. Audubon found them contain- 

 ing' minute shell-fish, coleo])terous insects, hard seeds, berries, and grains of 

 sand. 



Xests obtained near Fort Anderson confirm the descriptions j^iven by Mr. 

 Hutchins, as ob.served in the settlement at Hudson's Bay. The egj^s, which 

 are much lar<^er than those of the other species of >y>o7/", measure .85 l)y 

 .G.J of an inch. Their ground-color is a li«j;ht ^^reen, over which the egus are 

 very generally freckled with minute markings of a foxy brown. These 

 markings are distributeil with great regularity, but so sparsely as to leave 

 the ground distinctly visible. 



Spizella pusilla, Boxap. 



FIELD SFASBOW. 



Fringilla pusilla, Wilson, Am. Oin. II, 1810, 121, pi. xvi, f. 2. — LiniT. Vorzeioh. 

 Doubl. 1823, No. 252. — Aui). Orn. Biog. 11, 1834, 299, pi. cxxxix. Spizella pusilla. 

 Bona?. List, 1838. —In. Conspectus, 1850, 480. — Baiiid, Birds X. Am. 1858, 473. 

 — Samuels, 319. EmberizLi imsiUn, Aid. Syu. 1839, 104. — In. Birds Am. Ill, 1841, 

 77, pi. clxiv. Spiiiites piisi/lus. Cab. Mus. Hein. 1851, 133. Fn'inj'lla juncorian, 

 NuTT. Man. 1, 1832, 499 (2d cd.,) 1840, 577 (supposed l)y him to be Motacilhi junco- 

 rinn, Gmelin, I, 952; Si/lvkijinicoriim, Latham, Ind. II, 511 ; Little Broicn Sparrow, 

 Catesby, Car. 1, 35). 



Sp. Char. Bill red. Crown rontinuons rufous-red. with a taint indication of an ashy 

 central stripe, and ashy nuchal collar. Back somewhat similar, with shaft-streaks of 

 blackish. Sides of head and neck (including a superciliary s ripe) ashy. Ear-coverts 

 rufous. Beneath white, tinged with yellowish anteriorly. Tail-feathers and quills faintly 

 edged with white. Two whitish bands across the wing-coverts. Autumnal specimens 

 more rufous. Length about 5.7.5 ; wing, 2.34. 



Hab. Eastern Xorth xVmerica to the Missouri River ; San Antonio, Texas in winter 

 (Dresser, Ibis, 18a5, 480). 



This species is about the size of >S^. social is, but is more rufous above ; 

 lacks the black forehead and eye stripe ; has chestnut ears, instead of ash ; 

 has the bill red, instead of black; lacks the clear ash of the run^p ; has a 

 longer tail, etc. It is more like ^tiontico/a, hut is much smaller; lacks the 

 spot on the breast, and the predominance of white on the wings, etc. The 

 young have the breast and sides streaked, and the crown slightly so. 



Habits. The common Field Sparrow occupies a well-detined and some- 

 what compact area, being resident within the United States, and in its mi- 

 grations not removing far from its summer abode. In the summer it breeds 

 from Virginia to Maine, as far as the central and western portions. It is 

 not found near Calais, but occurs and breeds near Norway, Oxford County. 

 In the interior it is found still farther north, in Canada, Iowa, and Wiscon- 

 sin, to the Red liiver settlements, where it was found breeding by Donald 

 Guun. At Hamilton, Ontario, Mr. McUwraith states it to be a rather rare 



