E. 
154 Mr. Peabody on the 
fields and dry pastures; they run on the ground, in 
the manner of larks, in search. of the seeds and in- 
sects which compose their food. To the grass-bird, 
as it is called, we are indebted for some of the - 
est music of our spring ; their song begins very ealy 
in the morning, and continues after sunset, but they - 
are generally silent in the heat of the day. They 
come early in April, and the best of their song is 
heard till the summer opens, when their note be- 
comes more monotonous for the season. Some of 
them spend the winter in Pennsylvania, but most 
of them go farther to the south to escape the cold. 
The nest is built in the grass, partly sunk in the 
ground. It is formed of leaves and dry grass, well 
lined with horse-hair. The eggs, four or five in num- 
ber, are flesh-colored white, with spots of reddish 
brown. When the female is disturbed, she pretends 
lameness, and practises various arts to withdraw at- 
He 
_ tention from her young. 
- "The Ameicvous Sparrow, Fringilla ambigua, of 
which a single specimen was obtained by Nuttall, 
was, he says, a young bird, and may undergo some 
changes in its markings. Audubon suggests that it 
may turn out to be the white-crowned sparrow in 
ts winter plumage. The size is different ; but the 
Lodi must be left for future observations to decide. 
The Sone Srannow, Fringilla melodia, is a well 
known bird, very common in all parts of New Eng- 
land, and richly deserves its name. It comes in 
company with the blue-bird, and though it has n9 
. cond to the beauty of its friend, exceeds it in 
