334 NOTES ON THE 
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
Crown chestnut, with a median and two lateral, or supercil- 
liary ash colored stripes; each feather above streaked centrally 
with black; back with narrow streakes of black; beneath 
white, with a maxillary stripe curving round behind the ear 
coverts; a well defined band across the breast extending down 
the sides; under tail coverts brownish yellow; maxillary stripe 
margined above and below with lines of black spots; throat, 
upper part of breast, and sides of body, with streaks of black, 
smallest in the middle of the former; a chestnut stripe back of 
the ear streaked with black; the pectoral bands are sometimes 
paler. 
Length, 5.60; wing, 2.60. 
Habitat, North America at large. 
MELOSPIZA GEORGIANA (LatHaAmM). (584. ) 
SWAMP SPARROW. 
The local habits of the Swamp Sparrow are such that none 
but a close observer could form any correct idea of its relative 
numbers. It will have become installed in its summer haunts, 
and engaged in the building of its nests, or even in somewhat 
advanced incubation, before we are aware of itS presence, 
unless considerable vigilance has been maintained through the 
early spring. For many successive years I failed to detect its 
earliest arrival, and have settled into the opinion that it was 
rather a late sparrow in its migrations, notwithstanding my 
knowledge of its late departure in autumn. Buta friend who 
had no special interest in ornithology was fond of duck shoot- 
ing that brought him much in the way of the incoming birds 
of the spring, and I suggested to him that he keep one end of 
kis bag for ‘‘small fry” and he kindly collected specimens of 
many species of exceeding interest to me, and to local orni- 
thological science in general, amongst which was this bird, 
obtained on the 13th of March. He was an exceedingly modest 
man, and peremptorily forbid my putting his name in print, 
which injunction for about one-fifth of a century I have faith- 
fully observed, but now that his name has already leaked out, 
I feel relieved of my obligation, and I am impelled to state here 
that hisname was John Smith. I will have the burden no longer. 
The world shall know who he is. From that day forward I 
have been able to date the average time of the arrival of the 
Swamp Sparrow the 1st of April—1864, March 29; 1867, April ~ 
Sth; 1870, April 2d; 1875, March 30th; 1878, March 13th. These 
dates are abundantly corroborated by corresponding observa- 
