90 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA 



could see the eggs through the straw as I stood behind 

 it. The parent ran from the nest. I have yet to see one 

 fly as other birds do when disturbed at incubation. They 

 run; some showing great alarm for the safety of their 

 little thatched domicile and its contents and expressing 

 it by a sound resembling more the hissing of a snake 

 than the scolding of a bird. If the intruder follows they 

 continue to run till they have led him some distance 

 from the nest and then they fly upon a tree and begin 

 their 'seep, seep,' all the while accompanying these sounds 

 with movements up and down, or jerking of the body like 

 a wren. 



"These birds are terrestrial in their habits, though 

 when flushed they often light in trees. Frequently they 

 rise when disturbed suddenly, with an audible whir which 

 distinguishes them from the field sparrow. 



"They sing at all hours of the day; but especially is 

 their song striking and attractive after sunset, and when 

 darkness begins to descend^ — a prelude of some sweet 

 soul-stirring sounds and then a trill louder and more 

 melodious than that of the field sparrow. This prelude 

 is varied, and relieves the song of monotony; the little 

 musician seems to endeavor to make himself as enter- 

 taining as possible, by frequent change in the introduc- 

 tory notes of his strain." 



There follow a few more nesting records condensed 

 from the Doctor's note books : 



May 12, 1888. Greensboro. Nest on ground between 

 two tufts of broom sedge; contained three young and 

 one egg. 



June 29, 1888. Greensboro. Nest in an old field near 

 a loblolly pine, on the edge of a portion of the primitive 

 forest. Four eggs, incubation just begun. "Fayette 

 Sheppard was ploughing when the parent bird flew from 

 under the feet of his oxen. He thought the bird was a 

 snake and struck several times at the place where he had 

 seen it, 'till he discovered the nest." 



May 16, 1889, the Doctor found a young Bachman's 

 sparrow that could just fly and a nest with four fresh 

 eggs of the same species. 



