BIRDS OF KANSAS. 461 



uous and uniform chestnut. Forehead black, separated in the middle by white. 

 A white streak over the eye to nape, and a black one from the base of the bill 

 through and behind the eye. Lores dusky. Under parts unspotted whitish, 

 tinged with ashy on the sides and across the upper breast. Tail feathers and 

 primaries edged with paler, not white. Two narrow white bands across the 

 wing coverts. Young: Immature birds and frequently the adult females with 

 the cap streaked with blackish lines, the chestnut nearly or sometimes quite 

 wanting. Birds of the year streaked beneath and on the rump." 



Stretch of 

 Length. wing. \Ving. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 5.60 8.70 2.75 2.50 .65 .37 



Female... 5.25 8.25 2.55 2.20 .63 .35 



Iris brown; the color of the bill varies, usually dusky, some- 

 times the under is pale at base; legs and feet flesh color; claws 

 brown. 



These well known little Sparrows frequent the cultivated 

 fields, public ways, gardens and dooryards, and even make their 

 homes in cities, seeming to prefer, rather than shun, the pres- 

 ence of man, often raising their young in a bush by the door- 

 side, and fearlessly picking up the crumbs and seeds dropped 

 from the hand. When the breeding season is over, they usually 

 collect together in small flocks, or family groups, but they are 

 not, strictly speaking, gregarious birds. They derive their com- 

 mon name from their sharp, characteristic "Chip." Their song 

 is simply a monotonous repetition of a single note, uttered in 

 rather an unmusical trill. It is often repeated during the mated 

 season, and is occasionally heard in the night. 



Their nests are placed in low trees and bushes, and are loosely 

 constructed of grasses and rootlets, and lined thickly with hairs. 

 Eggs three to five, .70x. 51; bluish green, thinly spotted around 

 the larger end with purple, light and blackish brown; in form, 

 oval. 



Spizella pallida (SWAINS.). 



CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. 

 PLATE XXVIIL 



Migratory; quite common throughout the State. Arrive the 

 last of April to first of May; return in October, a few occasion- 

 ally remaining until about the middle of November. 



B. 360. K. 212. C. 272. G. 108, 229. U. 561. 



