118 Contributions from the Charleston Museum. 



202. Passerculus sandwichensis savanna (Wils.). Savannah 

 Sparrow. 



The Savannah Sparrow is one of the most abundant of all the 

 sparrows that winter on the coast. It is found in old fields, as 

 well as in low, wet places where there are fields of broom grass. 

 On the coast islands it is not unusual to see thousands in a day 

 among the sand dunes where there are wild oats. My earliest 

 autumn record is September 22, and many of the birds remain 

 until the middle of May. 



This species is very destructive to rice by pulling the seed which 

 is about to sprout or has sprouted. In this respect it is as de- 

 structive as the Bobolink. While the birds sojourn here in the 

 autumn, winter, and spring months, they feed almost entirely upon 

 seed. 



The moult begins in March and is not completed until late in 

 April. I have taken and also seen several albinos of this species. 

 An albinistic specimen taken February 14, 1901, closely resem- 

 bles a very pale Ipswich Sparrow. 



The Savannah Sparrow breeds from Pennsylvania to Hudson 

 Bay,andisone of the commonest sparrows which breed in Labrador. 



203. Ammodramus savannarum australis Maynard. Grass- 

 hopper Sparrow. 



This elusive species is an autumn, winter, and late spring vis- 

 itant. My earliest autumn record is September 20, 1895. On 

 April 28, 1884, I observed several specimens near Charleston 

 which I then supposed were about to breed, but later observa- 

 tion revealed the fact that the birds remain until May 8, and do 

 not breed. Mr. Leverett M. Loomis has stated in the Auk, 1 

 that it is resident in Chester county, and hence breeds. 



The Grasshopper or Yellow-winged Sparrow frequents sandy 

 fields where there is a growth of grass and weeds, and is never 

 met with in wooded land. Although many individuals regu- 

 larly winter, it is most abundant in October, November, and De- 

 cember. 



204. Passerherbulus henslowii (Aud.). Henslow's Sparrow. 

 Henslow's Sparrow is locally abundant from October 31 until 



March 28, and is, therefore, a winter visitant^. It may arrive 



» VIII, 1891, 167. 



