FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 387 



hairs, on the ground. Eggs, 4-5, bluish white or pinkish white, speckled and 

 spotted with rufous-brown or umber, 1 '83 x '61. Date, Chester Co., Pa., 

 May 5; Norwich, Conn., May 8; Cambridge, May 10; se. Minn., May 6. 



In walking through dry upland fields or along dusty roadsides a 

 rather pale, streaked Sparrow will sometimes run rapidly ahead of 

 you, wait for you to catch up, then run ahead again. It is best to be 

 content with what measure of his confidence and society he voluntarily 

 grants you, for, if you quicken your steps and try to overtake him, he 

 will rise and bound on before you or swing off to one side, showing, as 

 he flies, the white feathers on each side of his tail. 



Frequently he will alight on a fence rail or even the higher branch 

 of a tree, for, although a field Sparrow, he is by no means a purely ter- 

 restrial one. When singing, he generally selects an elevated perch and 

 gives himself entirely to his musical devotions. Early morning and 

 late afternoon are his favorite hours, but he can be heard at other times. 

 His song, which is loud, clear, and ringing, may be heard at a distance 

 of several hundred yards. It resembles that of the Song Sparrow, but 

 is sweeter and more plaintive. When heard in the evening it is a truly 

 inspired and inspiring melody. 



541. Passerculus princeps Mayn. IPSWICH SPARROW. Ads. Gen- 

 erally with a spot of sulphur-yellow before the eye and on the bend of the 

 wing; upperparts pale brownish ashy, streaked on the head, back, and 

 upper tail-coverts with black and cinnamon-brown ; the nape and rump with 

 few or no streaks; a white line over the eye; wings grayish brown, outer 

 webs of greater coverts and tertials margined with pale ochraceous-buff; tail 

 grayish brown, the outer webs of the feathers margined with brownish ashy; 

 underparts white; breast and sides lightly streaked with blackish and 

 ochraceous-buff. L., 6'25; W., 3'00; T., 2'25; B., '40. 



Range. Breeds on Sable Is., N. S.; winters from Sable Is. s. along the 

 Atlantic coast to Ga. 



Cambridge, casual, two instances, Oct. 



Nest, on the ground, in a cup-shaped hollow scratched by the birds, of 

 weed-stalks, and coarse grasses, lined with finor grasses. Eggs, 4-5, indistin- 

 guishable from those of the Savannah Sparrow but averaging a little larger 

 (Dwight). Date, Sable Is., N. S., June 4. 



Those who care to visit in winter the bleak, wind-swept sand hillocks 

 of our Atlantic coast will find this bird much less rare than it was once 

 supposed to be. It never strays far from the wavkig tufts of coarse 

 beach-grass that scantily cover the sand-drifts, and single individuals 

 may be found skulking among such surroundings. They seldom allow 

 a near approach, but fly wildly away to considerable distances, and 

 on alighting run off so rapidly that they are difficult to find a second 

 time. The flight is rapid and irregular, and the birds may easily be 

 mistaken for Savannah Sparrows, with which, during the migrations, 

 they are sometimes associated. On rare occasions a sharp chirp is 

 heard, but as a rule they are silent. 



It is an interesting species, discovered in 1868, and at first mistaken 

 for Baird's Sparrow of the far west, a species, by the way, that it resem- 

 bles very little. For many years nothing was known of its breeding 

 range. In 1884 some large eggs from Sable Island, Nova Scotia, sup- 

 27 



