SONG-BIRDS. Sparrows 



Savanna Sparrow: Ammodramua sandwichensis 

 savanna. 



Length: 5.50-6 inches. 



Male and Female : Above, back, wings, throat, and sides striped in 



various shades of brown and bronze. Yellowish stripe on 



crown and over eye, and yellowish wash around neck. Cheeks 



golden bronze. Below whitish. Bill dark above, light below ; 



feet light flesh-coloured. 

 Song: Described by Samuels as sweet and soft. " Chewee-chewitt- 



chewitt-chewitt-chewfi-et-chewee ! " 

 Season : A common resident, on the salt-marshes all the year, whose 



migrating flocks arrive in April and leave in October. 

 Breeds: From New England to Labrador and the Hudson's Bay 



Territory. 

 Nest : A slight affair, sunken in the ground like the last species. 

 Eggs : Also motley, like the last. 

 Bange : Eastern North America. 



The Savanna Sparrow is a common resident, being found 

 in the thickets bordering the salt-marshes as well as in 

 the marshes themselves, where numbers remain even in 

 severe weather, and, while it is abundant along the coast, 

 it is proportionately rare in the interior. It is essentially 

 a ground Sparrow (which is one of its local names) ; for, in 

 addition to building on the ground, it limits its flight to 

 low bushes. Its plumage is so streaked and mixed that 

 it blends with the earth, — a great protection to the bird, 

 but a condition which makes identification difficult. Keep 

 in mind that its under parts are whiter than in other Sparrows. 



I associate this Sparrow with early June walks through 

 the marshes and upland meadows, when the wild flowers 

 are calling " Come pick us " ; when the beach plum's white 

 plumes are fading with the iris, and the star-grass and yel- 

 low thistles are in bloom, and the tall blackberry bushes 

 trace the tumble-down fences with their wands. Then you 

 may see the Savanna Sparrow hurrying through the sand- 

 grass, seeking the cover of bayberries, only to slip through 

 and disappear. He will not indicate by the slightest hint 

 which little circle of grass margins his home, barely sepa- 

 rating the young from the earth itself. He will lead you 



147 



