298 SINGING BIRDS. 



DICKCISSEL. 



BLACK-THROATED BUNTING. 

 SpIZA AMERICANA. 



Char. Male : above, gray brown, middle of back streaked with 

 black ; nape and side of head ash , crown olive streaked with dusky ; line 

 over the eyes yellow ; chin white ; large patch of black on throat ; two 

 wing-bars chestnut ; edge of wing yellow; below, white tinged with yel- 

 low ; sides shaded with brown. Female: similar, somewhat smaller; 

 throat without patch, but with black spots ; less tinge of yellow on lower 

 parts. Length 6 to 7 inches. 



Aest. On the prairie or in a field or pasture or open scrubby woods ; 

 placed upon the ground or in a bush or low tree, sometimes 10 to zo 

 feet from ground ; made of grass, weed-stalks, leaves, and roots, lined 

 with fine grass or hair. 



Eggs. 4-5 ; pale greenish blue, unspotted ; 0.80 X 0.60. 



These birds arrive in Pennsylvania and New England from 

 the South about the middle of May, and abound in the vicinity 

 of Philadelphia, where they seem to prefer level fields, building 

 their nests on the ground, chiefly of fine withered grass. They 

 also inhabit the prairies of Missouri, the State of New York, 

 the remote northern regions of Hudson's Bay, and are not un- 

 common in this part of New England, dwelling here, however, 

 almost exclusively in the high, fresh meadows near the salt- 

 marshes. Their song, simple and monotonous, according to 

 Wilson consists only of five notes, or rather two, the first 

 being repeated twice and slowly, the second thrice and rapidly, 

 resembling tshsp tship, tshe tshe tshe. With us their call is 'tic 

 'tic — tshe tshe tshe tship, and tship tship, tshe tshe tshe tship. 

 From their arrival nearly to their departure, or for two or three 

 months, this note is perpetually heard from every level field of 

 grain or grass ; both sexes also often mount to the top of some 

 low tree of the orchard or meadow, and there continue to 

 chirp forth in unison their simple ditty for an hour at a time. 

 While thus engaged they may be nearly approached without 

 exhibiting any appearance of alarm or suspicion ; and though 

 the species appears to be numerous, they live in harmony, and 



