ny 
Nig A 
VESPER SPARROW, 
GRASS FINCH. BAY-WINGED BUNTING. 
POOCETES GRAMINEUS. 
CuHar. Above, yellowish brown, streaked with darker ; line over and 
around eyes, white; shoulder chestnut or bay; two white bars on wing; 
two outer tail-feathers partly white ; below, white with buffy tinge; breast 
and sides streaked with brown. Length about 6% inches. 
Nest. Ina field, old meadow, open pasture, or roadside, on the ground, 
— usually hidden by tuft of grass or under alow bush; composed of grass 
and roots, and lined with fine grass, sometimes with hair. 
£ges. 4-6; grayish white, sometimes with green or pink tint, thickly 
marked with several shades of brown; 0.80 X 0.60. 
This plain-looking Finch chiefly frequents dry pastures and 
meadows, and is often seen perched on the fences and in : 
orchard trees; it also often approaches the public roads and 
gathers its subsistence tamely from various sources. It is 
abundant in all the States east of the Alleghanies, where many 
pass the whole year ; yet great numbers also winter in the south- 
ern parts of the Union, proceeding as far as the maritime 
districts of Georgia and Florida. From the beginning of 
April to the beginning of June, the males sing with a clear and 
agreeable note, scarcely inferior to that of the Canary, though 
less loud and varied. On their first arrival, as with the Song 
Sparrow, their notes are often given in an under-tone of con- 
siderable sweetness. Their song begins at early dawn, and is . 
again peculiarly frequent after sunset until dark, when, from 
