160 PASSERELLA ILIACA, FOX SPARROW. 



prairie regions of the West. In the spring of 1864, in company with 

 my respected friend, Dr. George Engelmann, the eminent botanist, I 

 observed it in great numbers in the suburbs of Saint Louis, and various 

 accounts exhibit its occurrence in the flat, open country of several States 

 still further eastward. A solitary instance of its occurrence, entirely 

 accidental, in Massachusetts, is recorded. In the West it appears upi- 

 versally dispersed, and it is conspicuous, among its congeners, by its 

 striking colors, agreeable song, and pleasing manners, as well as by its 

 abundance in all suitable localities. Although essentially a prairie bird, 

 it is not confined to the plains, nor is it exclusively terrestrial ; it is 

 observed also in wooded, broken, even mountainous regions, alighting 

 on trees and bushes as often as its allies, the birds of the genera Zono- 

 trichia, Pooecetes, &c. I found it frequently in the openings about pine- 

 woods, in the higher portions of Arizona, where it is very numerous in 

 spring and fall during the migi'ations, though less so at other seasons. 

 Although I did not find its nest, I am convinced it breeds there, having 

 taken very young birds late in the summer. (It breeds in Colorado, 

 according to Mr. Trippe.) In the fall it collects in small troops, 

 rambling in the grass near bushes or small trees, to which it betakes 

 itself on alarm, like the Fox Sparrow and other species. 



In the spring of 1873 I observed its arrival at Fort Randall in large 

 numbers, late in April, along with Spizella pallida. It appeared in 

 straggling troops about the fort, entering the parade-ground, where, 

 perching upon the young and struggling shade-trees of that very uncon- 

 liued establishment, it would make its first essays in the way of nuptial 

 song — music that, later in the season, becomes stronger, more attractive, 

 and almost incessant. Further nortli than this, along the forty-ninth 

 parallel, I never observed the bird. 



The Lark Finch nests on the ground, like the other ipraiiie FrlngilUdw, 

 building a rather rude structure of grasses and weeds, lined with very 

 fine tortuous rootlets. It is constructed about the first of June. The 

 eggs are laid during the same month. A nest before me, taken by Mr. 

 Allen on the Big Muddy, contains seven eggs. The eggs of this species 

 are very peculiar in coloration, being white, curiously streaked in zig- 

 zag, much like the Blackbird's (Agelwus). The markings are sharp and 

 distinct, and heavy in color — a rich, dark reddish-brown or chocolate ; 

 sometimes, where the pigment is thickest, being almost blackish. The 

 markings straggle all over the surface, and are usually accompanied 

 with a few spots of the same color. The egg is noticeably globose, very 

 much rounded at the smaller end, measuring about 0.75 by 0.65. Other 

 specimens, however, are more elongate, measuring as much as 0.85. 

 According to Mr. Kidgway, the nest is sometimes placed on bushes or 

 trees. 



^ PASSERELLA ILIACA, (Merr.) Sw. T ' '"- " 

 Fox Sparrow. 



Fringilla iliaca, Mekr., Beit. Gesch. Vog. ii, 1786-7, 49, pi. 10.— Gm., Syst. Nat. i, 1788, 

 923.— Bp., Syn. 1828, 112.— Nutt., Man. i, 1832, 514.— Add., Orn. Biog. ii, 1834, 

 58 ; V, 1839, 512 ; pi. 108.— AuD., Syn. 1839, 119.— Add., B. Am. iii, 1841, 1.39, pi. 

 185.— Pdtn., Pr. Ess. Inst, i, 1856, 211.— Trippe, Pr. Ess. Inst, vi, 1871, 116 

 (Minnesota, migratory, uncommon). 



Fringilla {ZonotricMa) iliaca, Sw. & EicH., F. B. A. ii, 1831, 257. 



Pusaerella iliaca, Sw., Class. B. ii, 1837, 228.— Bp.. List, 1838, 31 ; Consp. Av. i, 1850, 477.— 

 WooDH., Sitgr. Kep. 1853, 82 (Indian Territory, abundant, migratory). — Bd., 

 B. N. A. 1858, 488.— Wheat., Ohio Agric. Rep. I860.— Codes & Pjient., Smiths. 

 Eep. for 1861 (1862), 413 (Washington, D. C, October to April, but chiefly 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



