390 FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



In the North you will generally find it in old, dry daisy or sorrel 

 fields; in the South it inhabits the broom sedge. It will not take wing 

 until almost stepped upon; then, if bushes are near, it takes refuge in 

 or under them, but out in the open field it flies rapidly some distance 

 and drops to the ground. 



Its usual perch, when singing, is a fence-rail; and it does not often 

 seek a more elevated position. Its fine, insectlike notes give it the name 

 of Grasshopper Sparrow. They may be written pit-tuck, zee-e-e-e-e- 

 e-e-e-e. Under favorable circumstances they can be heard by an atten- 

 tive listener at a distance of two hundred and fifty feet, but the casual 

 observer would pass within ten feet of a singing bird and be none the 

 wiser. 



54 6b. A. s. floridanus (M earns). FLORIDA GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. 

 Similar to A. s. australis "but smaller, with larger bill, longer tarsus, and 

 much darker coloration above, paler below; chestnut of upper surfaces much 

 reduced in amount and replaced by black; lateral dark areas of crown almost 

 black, interscapular region much blacker." (Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. t 

 XXIV, 1902, 915.) 



Range. Central Florida. (Kissimmee Prairie region.) 



547. Passerherbulus henslowi henslowi (And.). HENSLOW'S SPAR- 

 ROW. Ads. Top and sides of head and nape dull, pale olive- green, more 

 buffy in the fall; sides of crown black; nape finely streaked with black; back 

 rufous-brown, the feathers with narrow, central, wedge-shaped black streaks, 

 and narrow ashy margins; bend of wing pale yellow; wing-coverts much 

 like back; tail-feathers very narrow and sharply pointed; middle feathers 

 rufous-brown; the outer ones much the shortest; underparts white, more 

 or less washed with buffy and streaked with black on the breast and sides. 

 Nestlings have no spots on the breast. L., 5'00; W., 2'20; T., 2'00; B., '42. 



Remarks. The peculiar olivaceous color of the head and nape, and the 

 bright rufous-brown color of the back, wing-coverts, and middle tail-feathers 

 are the best distinguishing marks of this species. 



Range. E. U. S. Breeds in Transition and Upper Austral zones from cen. 

 Minn., Ont., N. Y., and s. N. H. s. to s. Mo., and n. Va.; winters in s. U. S. 

 to Tex. and s. Fla. 



Washington, common S. R., Apl. 10-Oct. 21. Ossining, rare T. V., Oct. 

 5-Oct. 10. Cambridge, very rare S. R. N. Ohio, S. R. Glen Ellyn, not 

 common S. R., May 8-Sept. 26. SE. Minn., common S. R. 



Nest, of grasses, sometimes lined with hairs, on the ground. Eggs, 4-5, 

 grayish white, tm'ckly and evenly speckled with pale rufous-brown, '75 x *57. 

 Date, Cape May Co., N. J., May 25; Richland Co., Ills., May 23. 



During the summer this species seems to prefer wet meadows, but 

 in the winter it inhabits the dry 'old fields' grown with broom sedge, 

 which are so common in the south. It has the secretive habits of the 

 Grasshopper and Leconte's Sparrows, and takes wing only when 

 forced to. 



P. L. Jouy writes of its song: "Besides the characteristic notes of 

 tee-wick, they have quite a song which may be fairly represented by the 

 syllables sis^r-r-rit-srit-srit, with the accent on the first and last parts. 

 This song is often uttered while the bird takes a short flight upward; 

 it then drops down again into the tangled weeds and grasses, where it is 

 almost impossible to follow it" (Bull Null. Orn. Club, VI, 1881, p. 57). 



