546 



NORTH AMKRICAN BIRDS. 



Ml?-N-5j'.\l;C/;f\ '. iV* A, 1 ' 



.^W 



fined ; the jj;oneml appoarniiet', liowevov, is not different from the adnlt. Some- 

 times there is a doeidetl cinnamon wash beneatli. Western specimens (var. 

 (wijiiiia) ai)iiear to be paler, witli longer wings, and longer and more slender 

 hills, in this respect vesemliling other Finches {Mc/onpi::!, '*''.'«c?r«/«.s, etc.). 



All specimens from west of the llocky Mountains are to be referred to 

 var. tviijinis. 



Hauits. The Lay-winged or Grass Finch is a very abundant species 



wherever found, and has a very ex- 

 tended distribution. Accepting as 

 one species the slightly variant 

 Tcices above indicated, thi.s bird 

 extends from Floritla and ^lexico, 

 on the south, to the STth parallel 

 of latitude, and from tlie eastern to 

 tlie western shonfs. It was found by 

 liichardson frequenting the plains 

 of the Saskatchewan, v;here it ar- 

 rives early in May and leaves in 

 September, and where it nests 

 abundantly in the short withered grass of that sterile region. Richardson 

 did not trace it farther nortli than the 57th parallel, and it was not obtained 

 on the Yukon or i\nderson liivers by Mr. IMacFarliuie or Mr. Lockhart. It 

 breeds from Northern Virginia north. 



In the Middle States it is partially resident, a portion remaining all the 

 winter. South ol' Washington it is chiefly migratory, only found, in any 

 nund)ers, from Xovendier to Miircli, and probably but few remaining to breed. 

 Audubon states tliat he never saw any of this species in any portion of Lou- 

 isiana, Missouri, Kentucky, or Ohio. Air. Dresser, on the other hand, found 

 them connnon about San Antonio in August and Sci)tember, and also in May 

 and June, and had no doubt that some remain to breed. 



It is very abundant tlu'oughout New England, arriving in some seasons as 

 early as March 11, and remaining until (piite late in the fall, often through 

 Novendicr. It is found chiefly in dry open fields and ptistures, where it 

 nests, with no pains at concealment, on the ground, in dei)ressions made by 

 its own work. It is an unsuspicious and fearless species, neither seeking 

 nor avoiding the companionship of man. It does not usually build near 

 houses, yet is not unfreiiuently known to do so. It may be often found 

 perched on fences along the roadside, chanting its simple and pleasing lay, 

 and quite as fre(iuently in the road feeding and dusting itself The latter 

 operation it is very fond of ])i'actising, and almost any day in tlie summer 

 these birds may be found in such situations. 



West of the Great Plains is found a marked variety of this species, differ- 

 ing in many respects from the eastern. The western species or race of this 

 Finch, Mr. Kidgwuy states, is an abundant summer bird in all the elevated 



