S38 BIRDS 



in hedges, and one or two among the crevices of decayed 

 wood in an old stump. They seldom nest in trees unless 

 they contain a cluster of low branches enabhng the bird to 

 construct her nest within four or five feet of the ground. 

 Grass stems, hay, and horse hair are the principal materials 

 used. The nests are bulky, but well cupped. Both birds 

 assist in nest building. They utter a saucy little chirp when 

 disturbed. The four or five eggs vary greatly in markings. 

 The background may be white, bluish-white, or light green; 

 the spots are red, dark brown, or hlac, often clustered and 

 sometimes wreathed about the larger end. 



Three broods are often raised in a season. The first 

 nests are ready for occupancy by the last week in April, 

 another set of eggs are laid about June 1st, and again in 

 August we may expect to find the mother incubating. 



This bird may be distinguished from many of our other 

 resident sparrows by the heavily spotted breast and the dark 

 brown feathers above. 



THE SWAMP SPARROW* 



Though the range of the Swamp Sparrow covers the 

 whole of the northern portion of North America, it nests 

 only in the northern United States and British America. 

 There this timid sparrow seeks a site for his home in the 

 " deep recesses of marshy thickets, environed with a canopy 

 of tangled foliage, whose treacherous quagmire abounds in 

 a luxurious growth of wild grasses." The nest is placed on 

 the ground, and usually in low places, where it is sheltered 

 by a tussock of grass. In its construction grasses, weed 



