DESCRIPTIVE LIST 245 



238. Spizella pusilla pusilla (Wils.). FIELD SPARROW. 



Description. Paler and duller than the Chipping Sparrow, with longer tail and more buffy 

 underparts. No dark streak through eye. Bill pale. Extreme measurements of 40 Raleigh 

 specimens: L., 5.25-5.75; W., 2.25-2.70; T., 2.40-2.70. Of these 40 specimens, 10 have the wing 

 longer than tail, 14 the tail longer than wing, and in one the two measurements are the same. 



Range. Eastern United States. 



Range in North Carolina. Resident the whole year throughout the State. 



FIG. 194. FIELD SPARROW. 



The Field Sparrow is another of our most common birds. It is found princi- 

 pally in grass fields and general open country. Like the preceding bird, it also 

 frequents the neighborhood of houses, where it feeds on the insects in our gardens, 

 and like practically all our native sparrows is a bird eminently deserving of our 

 protection. In winter its food seems to consist mainly of grass seeds. 



The Field Sparrow builds its nest in a low bush or a bunch of grass or weeds, 

 sometimes directly on the ground, but more usually from a few inches to a foot or 

 two above. It is made of grass and weed stems, lined with fine grass, rootlets, or 

 horsehair. The eggs are four, laid in May, June, or early July, and are white in 

 color, thickly spotted with rusty brown. Locally this bird is often called " Ground 

 Sparrow" or "Bush Sparrow" from the location of its nest. The song-period is 

 about the same as that of the Chipping Sparrow. 



Genus Junco (Wagler) 



KEY TO SPECIES 



1. Head darker than back. Slate-colored Junco. 



1. Head uniform in color with back. Carolina Junco. 



239. Junco hyemalis hyemalis (Linn.}. SLATE-COLORED JUNCO. 



Description. Plumage slate-gray, the head perceptibly darker; the female is strongly tinged 

 with brownish; the underparts from the breast downward are white centrally. Outer tail- 

 feathers white and very noticeable in flight. Extreme measurements of 22 Raleigh specimens: 

 L., 5.75-6.50; W., 290-3.25; T., 2.50-2.90. 



Range. North America, breeding mainly north of the United States; in winter, whole United 

 States. 



Range in North Carolina. Whole State in winter. 



