HN BIB, >i'.\i;i:\\>. riv. 



usual call-note U a sharp '?">/', not unlike tlu.t of tin- \\' In!.- throated 

 Sparrow, and quite different fnnn tin- rather nasal c/un/i <>t tli-- 

 Sparrow. Their song is a simple, swi--t. hut somewhat monotonous 

 lu*rt-ticeel-ttre*t, repeated many time*, all on one note, and sometimes 

 running into a trill. 



585. Pamerella iliaca \f--r.. ...w. .*./. Upjcr part* 



raibo-br<>wn, tlif tVatluT* iimnr'uied by fiiinuiiniti l>r"\\n ; ii|>|xTtui! 

 ml tail hn.jht ru/i'U* ; wing* mar- 

 gined with rut'iiun; under parts* A< 

 Jy streaked anl K|>ottxl witli rut'.-us- 

 brown aiwl Muckisli ; mi. 1. lie of tho 

 belly white; lower niaiuliMv yllow- 

 wh.' I... M . \N . -. : 1'.. 

 50. 



Ranyt. Brctxln fpuii tho MagJa- 

 li-n l-l:iiiils aii'l Munitoha to AIaka; 

 winU-w fnnn Virginia oouUiward. . , 



Washin^'t-m, v,-ry abundant T. V., ^ ''* '' 



Feb. to A pi. 5 ; (Jet t to Nov. ; a few Fio. 87. Fox Sparrow. (Natural !*.) 

 winter. Sinjf Sinjr, toU-rably ronnnon 



T. V., M,-li. \ t.. A|.l. _>: <>,-t. 14 to Nov. 28. Cambridge, abundant T. V., 

 Mch. 15 to A pi. -"' ; >ot. -'O t> Nov. 15. 



'. of coarse grasses, lint-d with finer grasses, hair, mow, and iViiti 

 the ground, an<l in low tn-w and biuhes. fytt*, fur to five, pale blui.-ii. cvi-nly 

 speckled or heavily blotclu-^l with uinU-r or vinaocous-brown, -80 x -C3 (sec 

 r,-. Auk, vi, 1889, p. 108). 



In the early spring the Fox Sparrow is seen mostly about damp 

 thickets and roadside >lirnl)U-ry; later it takes more to wo<>d.>id<-s. 

 foraging on leaf-strewn slopes where there is little or no undergrowth, 

 often associated with small parties of Juncos. On its return in the 

 autumn it again becomes a common denizen of hedgerows and thickets. 

 and also invades the weedy grainflelds, rarely, however, straying far 

 from some thickety cover. Sometimes large numbers congregate 

 among withered growths of tall weeds, whence they emerge with a 

 loud whirring of wings as their retreat is invaded, and hie away in 

 tawny c'lond-, ftV-k after fl<>ck. It is a great scratcher among dead 

 leaves, and can make the wood rubbish fly in a %ay which, in pr<>p<>r- 

 timi t<> it.-* si/e. a barnyard fowl could scarcely excel. 



The usual note of the Fox Sparrow is a feeble txte/i. A note of 

 ,< nt is louder and sharper in tono. Its song is not surpassed 

 by that of any of our Sparrows. It is a revelation to hear it at sun- 

 down on S,>IMI' vornally softened evening of early springtime; little 

 swarms of gnats hover in the balmy air; from the twilight meadows 

 comes the welcome, half-doubtful piping of the first hylas no other 



