BIRDS OF PORTO RICO. 



127 



concentrate in pastures and hedges, ready to scatter again over the fields when 

 the new crop is large enough to shelter them. Gundlach (1878, p. 204) says 

 that in his time they came about the crude sugar mills then in operation to 

 eat the sugar as it was manufactured. 



The males sing all day long from some elevated perch an insectlike trill 

 which can not be heard at any distance, and the ordinary call note is a faint 

 tseep. 



The breeding season apparently extends through the entire year. The greater 

 number of the birds nest low down, usually in the grass on the edge of a ditch 

 or depression or in grassy fields. The nest is a ball made of fine grasses, with 

 an entrance in one side. One found near the Hacienda Catalina March 4 con- 

 tained three eggs, white with a greenish tinge, spotted with cinnamon brown, 

 the spots forming a slight wreath about the large end of the egg. Young birds 

 were noted through the entire year. 



Food. — Of 65 birds examined only 1 had eaten insect matter, and this had 

 picked up 8 spiders and a leaf hopper (Tettigonia sp.). The great bulk of the 

 food consists of grass seeds, some of species regarded as weeds, as the crab 

 grass {Syntherisma sanguinalis) , seeds of which were found in 23 stomachs. All 

 the common species of grasses are represented, and besides these a few seeds of 

 a sedge {Fimbristylis sp.) and star grass (Hypoxis sp.) were found. This 

 grassquit is entirely harmless, and though practically no insects are taken it de- 

 stroys many seeds of injurious weeds, so that it should be protected. 



A list of seeds identified in these stomachs follows : 



Paspalum (Paspalum millegrama) 27 



Paspalum (Paspalum sp.) 9 



Crab grass (Syntherisma sanguinalis)- 23 



Malojillo (Panicum fasciculatum) 8 



Panic grass (Panicum sp.) 8 



Smut grass (Sporooolus indicus) 3 



Ichnanthus (Ichnanthus pollens) 1G 



Chloris (Chloris radiata) 4 



Fimbristylis (Fimbristylis sp.) 9 



Star grass (Hypoxis sp.) 14 



SANTO DOMINGA3J GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. C'otumiculus savannarum intri- 

 catus Hartert. 



GORRION, CHAMOEKO. 



The grasshopper sparrow is resident in Porto Rico, but now found apparently 

 in only a few localities. A colony of 35 or more was located near Yabucoa May 

 10. It was common north of Cabo Rojo August 24 to 31, and was frequently 

 seen along the Bayamon River near Bayamon July 20 to 25. This species would 

 seem, then, to occur only in the lowlands, though there is in the United States 

 National Museum one specimen from Caguas. Bowdish (1902-3, p. 13) records 

 it as fairly common near San Juan, Aguadilla, and Mayagiiez in the period from 

 1S99 to 1901. A series of birds collected belong to this subspecies (described by 

 Hartert from El Valle, Santo Domingo). They are found only in open pastures 

 where the grass grows high enough to afford shelter, or on waste land, as the 

 gravel bars along the Bayamon River. As more and more of these areas are 

 broken up and cultivated the birds will become rarer. 



This is a very inconspicuous species and one easily overlooked. In passing 

 through their haunts they are seen merely to skulk to one side in the grass or 

 fly up just behind one, and after a short, rather weak flight di*op back again 

 into cover. On the ground they creep along through the grass, or hop when it is 

 more open, stretching up their heads and flirting their tails nervously. The 

 song of the males is a weak effort that may be represented by the syllables 

 tsick tsee — ee — ee — ee, the first syllable sharp and quick and the last insectlike. 

 The song is very ventriloquial, the first part seeming to come from one side and 

 last from another. The birds sing from a weed top a foot or more above the 

 ground, and by inspecting these closely the sparrows may be located after a few 



