FiUN(jn.LII).K - THE FIXCIIKS. 



»>« 



'J! I 



lostcd. it I K'ct lilies vt'iv tiiiiiiliiir. :iimI the old birds itiinu' tliuir youn^r to ihc 

 (hinr In ftu'd, as soon us tlu'V can leave their in*st. Their soiiij: is said to so 

 rloselv resenihlo that of the eastern Itird, in melody and varictv, that it is 

 ini|M»ssi]»le either to tell wliich is the superior or to point out the diU'erencos. 

 In wild districts it is always to 1m^ t'ouiid near the sides ot" hrooks, in thickets, 

 from whieh it jealously drives olf other hirds, whether of its own or other 

 si>eeies, as if it considere(l itself the proprietor. Its nest is huilt on the 

 <j;ronnd or in a low hush. Dr. Cooper has seen newly lled^ied yoiiiij,' as early 

 as Mav ♦), at Olvmpia, though the riiinv sea.son was then haidlv over. 



Mr. Xuttall pioiKMinees its son<,' as sweeter and more varied in tone than 

 that of the Sonj,^ Spari'ow. He heard their eheerful notes throu<4hout the 

 summer, and every tine day in winter until tlie month of Xovember, j)articu- 

 larly in the mornini;, their son^^ was still continued. Their nests and eg^^s 

 were not distini,'uishahle from those of /' nn/ofiuL The nests were composed 

 of drv i^rasses, lined with tincr materials of the same, and occasionally with 

 deer's hair. He stales that they kee}) much in low «;round and alluvial situ- 

 ati<ms, amidst rank weeds, willows, jind hrandiles, whert* they are freipiently 

 to be seen hoj>j)ing about and searching after insects, in the manner of the 

 Swamp Sparrcnv, which they so nnich resemble in their plumage. They are 

 usually very solicitous for the safety of their young or for their nests and 

 eggs, kee}»ing up an incessant chirj). They raise several broods in a season, 

 and are, like the Song Sparrow, also engaged nearly the whole of the summer 

 in the cares of rearing their young. 



Mr. Townsend met with this si)ecies through several hundred miles of the 

 Platte country in great numbers, as well as on the banks of the Columbia, 

 generally frecpienting the low bushes of wormwood {Arttiiilsia). It appeared 

 also to be a very })Ugnacious sjiecies. Two of the males were often observed 

 fighting in the air, the beaten party going off crestfallen, and the coujjueror 

 repairing to the nearest bush to celebrate his triumph by his lively and tri- 

 umphant strains. He again met with these birds, though not in abundance, 

 in June, 1825, at the mouth of the Lewis lii ver, on the waters of the Colmnbia. 



This Sparrow was also found very numerous at Sitka, by Mr. liischofF, but 

 no mention is made of its habits. 



Melospiza melodia, var. rufina, Baird. 



BUSTY SONG 8FABR0W. 



EmherizK rttfina, " Brandt, De.^c. Av. Kossic 1S3«;, tab. ii, r» (Sitka)," Bonaparte. Pas- 

 serclla rujina, Boxap. ron.sjt. IS.'M), 477. (This may refer to A'Ascn/Za /ojnm/irfi, but 

 is more probably the jmsent bird. ) Melospiza cinered, Fin.sch, Abh. Nat. HI, 1872, 

 41 (8itka). (Not Frinyilla c. Gmel.) M. giUtata, Fin.sch, Abh. Nat. Ill, 1872, 41 

 (Sitka). (Not Frhigilla g. Nitt.) 



Sf. Char. Resembling M. guttata in the nndefined markings, slender bill, etc., but 

 olivaceous-brownish instead of rufous above, the darker markings sepia-bruwii instead 



