SAVANNA SPARROW. 325 



eggs are greenish -gray, almost concealed by a mottling of chocolate-brown. 

 They measure about .80 by .62. 



Genus PASSEKCULUS. Bonaparte. 



Outlines of bill nearly straight, lower mandible smaller than upper. Wings nnusually 

 long, reaching to middle of the short, nearly even, tail. Inner secondaries as long as 

 the primaries, first primary longest. Tail feathers pointed, narrow. Tarsus about equal 

 to middle toe. Hind toe much longer than the equal lateral toes, its claw reaching to 

 middle of middle claw. Claws moderately curved. 



Passebculus savanna (Wils.) Bp. 



Savanna Sparrow- 



Passerculus savanna, Whbaton, Ohio Agric. Eep. for 1860, 366; Reprint, 1861, 8; Food 

 of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Eep. for 1874, 566; Reprint, 1875, 6.— Langdon, Cat. Birds 

 of Ciu., 1877, 8; Revised List, Journ. Gin. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 176; Reprint, 9. 



? Sand Sparrow, Ballou, Field and Forest, iii, 1878, 136. 



Fringilla savanna, Wilson, Am. Orn., iii, 1811, 55. 

 Pasaerculus savanna, Bonapartk, List, 1838, 33. 



Above brownish-gray, streaked with blackish, whitish gray, and pale bay, the streaks 

 largest on the interscapulars, smallest oq the cervix, the crown divided by an obscure 

 "whitish line; superciliary line and edge of wing yellowish; sometimes' an obscure yel- 

 lowish suffusion about the head. Below, white, pure or with faint buffy shade, thickly 

 streaked with dusky, the individual spots edged with brown, mostly arrow-shaped, run- 

 ning in chains along the sides, and often aggregated in an obscure blotch on the breast. 

 Wings and tail dusky, the wing-coverts and inner secondaries black-edged and. tipped 

 with bay. Length, 5i-5f ; wmg, 2i-2f ; tail, S-2i. 



Habitat, North America at large. 



Very common, spring and fall migrant in Southern and Middle, prob- 

 ably summer resident in Northern Ohio. 



The Savanna Sparrow usually appears in Middle Ohio during the first 

 week in April and remains until the latter part of May. In one instance 

 only have I seen it in June. Mr. H. C. Benson informs me that he has 

 found it breeding at Gambler. It appeafs to have been overlooked by 

 br. Kirtland and Mr. Read. In the fall it returns late in September, and 

 remains until late in October. It is a terrestrial species, usually found 

 in fields and in weeds along the banks of streams, and sometimes in wet 

 places. It is never found in woodland, though I have sometimes seen 

 them perching on trees in orchards. In spring it has a curious squeaky 

 song, which evidently has not the full power of its breeding notes; its 

 ordinary note is a feeble chirp. 



This Sparrow breeds from Massachusetts northward. The nest is 

 placed on the ground, composed of grass, with a lining of hair and 



