no Land Birds of New England 



56. TREE SPARROW ; WINTER CHIPBIRD 



( Spizella mon ticola . ) 



Upner parts gray, streaked with black, bay, and flaxen ; crown 

 chestnut, bordered on either side by a broad gray stripe, and this 

 again by a narrow chestnut stripe which runs through the eye ; 

 wing with two white bars ; under parts ashy ; sides of belly 

 somewhat rusty ; breast with an obscure dusky spot in the cen- 

 tre. Beak conical, dark above, light below ; feet strong, dark. 

 Bird nearly as large as an English sparrow. Sexes similar. 



THE tree sparrow is one of our winter residents, 

 arriving in late October or early November, and 

 remaining until early May. During most of the 

 season when he is here, the field sparrows and chip- 

 ping sparrows, with which he may very easily be 

 confounded, are in the South ; but the three birds 

 overlap in the spring and fall. It may therefore be 

 worth while to point out that the tree sparrow differs 

 from the others in being distinctly larger, and in 

 ordinarily having an obscure dark spot on the 

 breast. He is to be sought in weedy fields and 

 along roadsides, and often in apple-trees. It is 

 very common to find him with his mates in com- 

 pany with black snowbirds, though he usually rather 

 avoids the neighborhood of houses. 



Breeding takes place in Arctic countries only ; 

 the nest is placed on the ground or in a low bush. 



The song is loud, clear, and strong, starting, ac- 



