BIRDS OF NEW YORK 319 



and a few tamaracks scattered about, the Lincoln sparrow is almost surely 

 found, its nest on the ground near the foot of some spruce sapling, but it 

 is rare indeed that we catch a fair glimpse of him as he lurks about the low 

 cover of the swampland. According to Doctor Dwight, he has a very inter- 

 esting song "which suggests the bubbling, guttural notes of the House wren 

 combined with the sweet, rippling music of the Purple finch, and when 

 you think the song is done there is an unexpected aftermath." The nest 

 of this sparrow resembles closely that of the Song sparrow. The eggs are 

 greenish white or bufify in ground color, rather thickly spotted with reddish 

 brown and purplish shell markings. They average .78 by .60 inches. 

 Fresh eggs are usually found from the loth to the 25th of June. 



During the migration season I have often found this sparrow among 

 the sparse shrubbery on dry hillsides and along the courses of small streams 

 as well as about the edges of gardens and lawns, but he is. shy even during 

 the migration season and as soon as approached retreats to the shelter 

 of the shrubbery, but is much more easily observed than during the siommer 

 in his chosen haunts of the North Woods. 



Melospiza georgiana (Latham) 

 Swamp Sparrow 



Plate 84 



Fringilla georgiana Latham. Index Om. 1 790. i : 460 

 Ammodramus palustris DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 165, fig. 161 



(pl. 71) 

 Melospiza georgiana A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 276. No. 584 



georgiana, of Georgia 



Description. Slightly smaller than the Song sparrow and bill more 

 slender. Adult in spring: Crown chestnut darkening to block on the fore- 

 head; superciliary line, sides of the neck and the chest ashy; dusky postocular 

 streak and short rictal streak of the same color; back streaked with black, 

 buffy and chestnut ; wings mostly chestnut; inner secondaries heavily marked 

 with black; tail rufous brown or dull chestnut, at least the outer webs of 

 the feathers; central feather line dusky; the tail when closed appearing 

 mostly rufous brown; throat and abdomen white; flanks ocherous; under 

 parts not streaked; rump and under tail coverts hair brown to ocherous 



