GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. 



546. Coturniculus savannarum passerinus. S l /2 inches. 



Crown blackish with a central buffy stripe; nape 

 brown and gray; sides of head, breast and flanks, buffy 

 without streaks. 



These strange little fellows are found in dry pas- 

 tures and fields. When started from the ground they 

 usually make a * ' bee line ' ' for .the nearest wall or 

 large stone in the field, where they sit and utter their 

 weak insect-like song until you are out of sight. 



Song. A weak, insect-like zee-e-e-e-e sometimes pre- 

 ceded with a low chip. 



Nest. A grass-lined hollow in a field, with the top 

 arched over so as to keep off the sun and conceal the 

 eggs. In June four or five white, brown specked eggs 

 are laid (.75x.55). 



Range. U. S. east of the Plains; winters in south- 

 ern U. S. 



Sub-species. 546a. Western Grasshopper Sparrow 

 (bimaculatus), found from the Plains to the Pacific. 

 546b. Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (floridanus), a 

 darker race found on the plains of interior Florida. 



