ONTARIO. 



marsh. Occasionally, during the excitement of the mating sea- 

 son, a male will mount a bulrush and warble out his not un- 

 pleasant song, but most of their time is spent in places which 

 are difficult of access either by land or water, and so they are 

 seldom seen. 



They arrive from the south early in May and leave again in 

 October, none being observed during winter. 



GENUS PASSERELLA SWAINSON. 

 225. PASSERELLA ILIACA (MERR.). 585. 



Fox Sparrow. 



General color ferrugineous or rusty-red, purest and brighest on the rump, 

 tail and wings, on the other upper parts appearing as streaks laid on an ashy 

 ground ; below white variously but thickly marked, except on the belly and 

 crissum, with rusty red, the markings anteriorly in the form of diffuse conflu- 

 ent blotches, on the breast and sides consisting chiefly of sharp sagittate 

 spots and pointed streaks ; tips of middle and greater coverts forming two 

 whitish wing-bars ; upper mandible dark, lower mostly yellow ; feet pale. 

 Length, 6f-yJ ; wing and tail, each 3 or more. 



HAB. Eastern North America, west to the Plains and Alaska (Valley of 

 the Yukon to the Pacific), and from the Arctic Coast south to the Gulf 

 States. Breeds north of the United States; winters chiefly south of the 

 Potomac and Ohio Rivers. 



Nest, indifferently, on the ground or in a tree ; composed of grass, moss 

 and fibrous roots, lined with hair and feathers. 



Eggs, 4 to 6 ; greenish-white thickly spotted with rusty-brown. 



This large and handsome Sparrow breeds in the north and 

 winters in the south, but by what particular route it passes 

 between the two points I am at a loss to determine, for in this 

 part of Ontario it is seldom seen. 



In the London list it is mentioned as "rare during migration, 

 4 or 5 specimens taken." In all my rambles I have only met 

 with it a few times, and but once have I heard it utter its rich, 

 musical notes, which are the admiration of all who hear them. 

 Speaking of this species, Dr. Coues, in his Birds of the North- 

 west, says : " During the sunny days which precede their depar- 

 ture the males are fond of perching on the top of a small tree or 



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