242 BACHMAN'S SPARROW 



Bachman^s Sparrow : Peuccea cestivalis bachmanii. 



Upper parts rufous, buffy line over the eye ; breast and sides 

 brownish buff, unstreaked. Length, about 5| inches. 



GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. Lower Mississippi valley north 

 to southern Indiana and southern Illinois ; west to northern 

 Texas ; east to Georgia, South and North Carolina ; south in 

 winter, in the Atlantic states, to southern Florida. 



Bachman's Sparrow is a shy bird, frequenting 

 half-cleared fields or open woods, where, when 

 alarmed, it will dive into the nearest shelter, or 

 skulk, wren-like, along the fences, dodging from 

 rail to rail. In Florida, where it spends the win- 

 ter, it is to be seen in the pine woods undergrown 

 with oaks. Its near relative, the Pine Woods 

 Sparrow, on the other hand, is found only in pine 

 woods with an undergrowth of scrub palmetto. 

 The songs of both birds are remarkable. Bach- 

 man's sings even during the heat of midday, but 

 its cousin of the pine woods needs the inspiration 

 of matins and vespers. Mr. Chapman describes 

 the song of the Pine Woods Sparrow as being 

 very simple, but possessing " all the exquisite 

 tenderness and pathos of the melody of the Her- 

 mit Thrush." 



Bachman's Sparrow completes the number of 

 the Finches and Sparrows that we shall take up. 

 The family, being the largest of our bird families, 

 is greatly varied, but its members as a rule have 

 the conical seed-eater bill (see Fig. 119, p. 193), 

 and, by combining an insect and vegetable diet, 



