FAMILY Frlnglllldx. 



melodic value of the songs above recorded and say to the 

 one -till unconvinced " Match these if you can ! " 



In appearance the Swamp Sparrow re- 

 Sparrow sembles the Chippy, but he is a trifle 



larger, and his coloring is not quite the 

 L^sSs 'inches same - Crown chestnut or Venetian red, 

 April ioth, or forehead black; a gray stripe over the eye 

 all the year and a sepia line back of it; neck below the 

 crown ashen gray slightly striped with sepia; back 

 ruddy brown with black and ochre or buff streaks; 

 throat dull white toned to light gray on the breast; >ul-s 

 gray brown; under parts dull white; wing coverts ruddy 

 brown; tail gray-brown. Female similarly marked. 

 Nest built on the ground, and similar to that of tlfe Song 

 Sparrow. Egg also similar to that of the Song Sparrow, 

 but more heavily marked. This bird is common on wet 

 meadows, in the thickets of marshes, and on the margins 

 of streams bordered with cat-tails or reeds. It is dis- 

 tributed throughout eastern North America. Not in- 

 frequently it winters in Massachusetts, or the States 

 farther south. 



This Sparrow is rarely seen beyond his chosen retreat; 

 he is a persistent skulker among the thickets of the 

 swamp or the borders of the wet meadow, and, as a con- 

 sequence, his song is scarcely as common as the mon- 

 otonous one of the Chippy which it resembles. But 

 there is a distinct difference between the voice of this 

 bird and that of the Chippy; as a monotone it may be 

 considered a trifle more musical, and nearer related to 

 the voice of the Field Sparrow; but it certainly lacks the 

 sweetness of tone which characterizes the music of the 

 latter bird, and it is equally certain it is pitched lower 

 than the stridulous effort of ihe Chippy. The song 

 scarcely deserves a record, yet it could be adequately 

 rendered thus: 



Bvd.... Accelerando. 





W<*t-eet-tYe>et'eet-t-t-t-t etc. 

 124 



