PASSERCULUS PRWCEPS. 101 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



.Y'-.</.. placed i m the ground, composed of grass loosely arranged and lined with finer. .Dimensions; external diameter, 

 3-51), internal, 'J'iV External depth, 2'00, internal, 1'25. 



//.<. fuir nr li\e in iniuilicr, mal in f>rm, bluish-white in color, thickly blotched, and some portions nearly covered, 

 with rcddish-liriiwii. Some c^s, however, arc' markeil with very distinct f-'pots of umber and I have occasionally seen them 

 with t'ic same color. Dimensions from 77' x 'CO to '87 x '65. 



HABITS. 



The savannahs of Florida arc wide spread plains, cither fresh or salt. The former are cov- 

 ered with a luxuriant growth of grass often six feet high, while on the latter the herbage is 

 shorter, and consists of several species of plants among which is the peculiar sea purslane, 

 (Scsuvium portal acastr urn.) This creeping herb quite covers the ground in many localities 

 and the red, succulent leaves yield a peculiar spicy scent when crushed beneath the feet. 

 This aromatic odor always reminds me of the marshes of Indian River, for it was there that 

 I first saw the plant growing to perfection. These salt plains arc the resorts of many birds, 

 but none are more abundant there than the little Sparrows which I have under consider- 

 ation, and which derive their common and specific names from their habit of frequenting 

 .savannahs. Many other species of the family are arboreal, but none among them are so 

 fond of open, grassy sections as the Savannah Sparrows. In Florida they arc abundant 

 in the marshy country along the sea board or rivers of the interior, and are common on 

 the plantations of Georgia and the Carolinas. In Pennsylvania they are found in the rich 

 interval lands, in Massachusetts and Maine they swarm along the sand hills and marshes 

 of the coast, and I have even found them on the grassy hill sides of the Magdalen Islands, 

 (iult'ofSt. Lawrence. They arc retiring inhabit, often running a long distance before 

 Hying. The males, however, are fond of perching on a low limb of a tree or fence top to 

 give their peculiar lay, which consists of a few lisping notes terminating in a faint warble; 

 the whole performance being rather an unsatisfactory apology for a song. 



The nests are built on the ground in open fields, along the edges of the sand hills, or 

 on the marshes. There is very little attempt at concealment, but as the females sit closely 

 it is exceedingly difficult to flush them, and when forced to leave they will frequently run 

 some distance before rising, often feigning lameness in order to attract attention from the 

 nests. The eggs are deposited about the first of June and a second litter in July. They 

 breed a little later on the Magdalen Islands where I should judge that they only rear one 

 brood. They leave Florida early in May, arriving'in New England about the middle of 

 April, and remain until the first of November. 



PASSERCULUS PRINCEPS. 



Pallid Sparrow. 

 Passerculus princepi MAVNARD, American Naturalists, Vol., VI, 1872, 637. 



DESCRIPTION. 

 Plate III. Adult in spring. 



SP. CH. Form, rather robust. Size, large. Tongue, somewhat fleshy, horny at tip which i< pmvided with a terminal 

 fringe of cilia. Sternum, with the keel a little higher and the coracoids a trifle longer, than those vf savanna. 



