64. AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY 



SONG SPARROW, 



A. O. U. No, 581, (Melospiza melocUa,) 



RANGE. 



Eastern North America. West to the plains and breeding from Vir- 

 ginia and the southern portion of the lake states, northward to the fur 

 countries. The Song Sparrow is represented in nearly every section of 

 the country by a very similar sub-specie, the chief difference from the 

 eastern variety being that the plumage is darker or lighter according to 

 the nature of the country that they frequent. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, about 6 in.; extent, 9 in.; tail, nearly 3 in. Bill and eye, 

 dark brown. Feet, paler. 



General color above, brownish. The crowm is brown streaked with black 

 and containing a stripe of dull ash color through the middle. The cheek 

 and a line above the eye are also of this same ashy color. The feathers 

 comprising the coverts and those on the back, have a black stripe in the 

 center and are edged with dull reddish brown and light ash. The prim- 

 aries and tail feathers are plain brown, the former with a dull reddish 

 edging. A brown stripe extends from the eye to the ear and another 

 from the base of the lower mandible down the side of the throat. The 

 under parts are white, changing to a dull brownish color on the flanks. 

 There are numerous brown streaks along the breast and sides, those on 

 the breast generally uniting so as to form one large brown patch in the 

 middle. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



The Song Sparrow, by nature, is a ground bird and nests on the 

 ground. Owing to numerous nr.ishaps that they have been subjected to 

 from small mammals and snakes, many of them now place their nests 

 in small bushes. They may be found either in marshy localities or on 

 high dry land. When located on the ground, the nest is generally fair- 

 ly well concealed by the clump of grass in which it is placed. The nest 

 is formed of dried grasses and lined with finer ones. Their completed 

 set numbers from three to five eggs. The ground color of these varies 



