278 



FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



rcddiwh ; haunts orchards and wooded growths; song a liquid warble; 

 call-note a metallic ckink^ frequently uttered while on tlie wing. 



517. rruHi.E Finch. 



D. Length about C"00; plumage dull blood-red; mandibles crossed at 

 the tips; generally found in small flocks in coniferous woods ; utters 

 a clicking or whistled note when on the wing (rarely found south of 

 New England after May 1) S'21. Red Crossbill. 



E. Breast white, tinged with brown; region about the bill red, a yellow 

 baud in the wings (rare except in the vicinity of New York city). 



ElUOI'EAN GOLUFINCH. 



IV. Breast without either yellow, red* or blue. 



1. Under parts distinctly streaked or spotted. 



A. Outer tail-feathers white, showing conspicuously when the bird 

 flies ; haunts dry fields and roadsides ; song loud and musical. 



540. Vesper Sparrow. 

 £. Outer tail-feathers not white. 



a. Song loud and musical; an abun laiit and familiar bird of gen- 

 eral distribution ; spots on the i)reast tending to form one larger 

 spot in the center; crown umber, a whitish line over the eye. 



581. Song Sparrow. 



b. Song not loud and musical ; short and generally unattractive ; 

 haunts wet meadows or marshes; passes most of the time on the 

 ground, rarely perching far from it, and when flushed generally 

 returning to it. 



i». A butfy line over the eye and at the side of the throat, breast 

 generally washed with butly ; haunts only salt marshes (rarely 

 found far from the vicinity of the seashore.) 



54a. SiiAKi'-TAiLEn Sparrow. 

 h*. No buff on tiio sides of the head or breast; upper parts black- 

 ish; song t>iijj-t-iiji-tsij>\-ii'-f'-(>-s''r-r-r ; rarely l)rceds south of 

 New York city ; haunts both salt- and fresh-water marshes. 



542(1. Savanna Sparrow. 

 6>. Back reddish, head and neck buffy olive; haunts generally 

 wet pastures ; song an inconspicuous see-wick (rather rare, liv- 

 ing in small colonies of local distribution). 



547. IIenslow's Sparrow. 

 2. Under parts not distinctly streaked or spotted, 



A. Throat pure white, sharply defined from the grayish breast, a 

 yellow spot over the eye ; crown black, with a central stripe of 

 white; haunts thickets or bushy woodlands; song a high, clear, 

 ' musical whistle; cull-note a sharp chink. 



658. Wiiite-tiiroated Sparrow. 

 £, Throat and breast black. 



a. Sides of the throat and belly white, crown ash, sides of the 

 head chestimt 1*. 282. House Sparrow. 



b. Length 800 ; sides of the body light rufous, outer tail-feathers 

 tipped with white ; haunts thickets and bushy woodlands ; call- 

 note a vigorous towhee or chee-wink 587. Towhee. 



