278 PINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



reddish ; haunts orchards and wooded growths; song a liquid warble; 

 call-note a inetallic chink^ frequently uttered wliile on the wing. 



517. PuEPLE Finch. 



D. Length about O'OO ; plumage dull blood-red ; mandibles cros.sed at 

 the tips ; generally found in small flocks in coniferous woods ; utters 

 a clicking or whistled note when on the wing (rarely found south of 

 New England after May 1) 521. Eed Crossbill. 



E. Breast white, tinged with brown ; region about the bill red, a yellow 

 baud in the wings (rare except in the vicinity of New York city). 



European Goldfinch. 

 IV. Breast ^thout either yelloTir, red, or blue. 



1. Under parts distinctly streaked or .spotted. 



A. Outer tail-feathers white, showing conspicuously when the bird 

 flies ; haunts dry fields and roadsides ; song loud and musical. 



540. Vesper Sparrow. 

 £. Outer tail-feathers not white. 



o. Song loud and musical ; an abundant and familiar bird of gen- 

 eral distribution ; spots on the breast tending to form one larger 

 spot in the center ; crown umber, a whitish line over the eye. 



581. Song Sparrow. 



h. Song not loud and musical; short and generally unattractive; 



haunts wet meadows or marshes; passes most of the time on tlie 



ground, rarely perching far from it, and when flushed generally 



returning to it. 



i>. A buffy line over the eye and at the side of the throat, breast 

 generally washed with buffy ; haunts only salt marshes (rarely 

 found far from the vicinity of the seashore.) 



549. Sharp-tailed Sparrow. 

 J». No buff on the sides of the head or breast ; upper parts black- 

 ish; song tsvp-tsip-tsip'se-e-e-s'r-r-r ; rarely breeds south of 

 New York city ; haunts both salt- and fresh-water marshes. 



642a. Savanna Sparrow. 

 If. Back reddish, head and neck buffy olive ; haunts generally 

 wet pastures ; song an inconspicuous see-wich (rather rare, liv- 

 ing in small colonies of local distribution). 



547. Henslow's Sparrow. 



2. Dnder parts not distinctly streaked or spotted. 



A. Throat pure white, sharply defined from the grayish breast, a 

 yellow spot over the eye; crown black, with a central stripe of 

 white; haunts thickets or bushy woodlands; song a high, clear, 

 musical whistle ; call-note a sharp chink. 



558. White-throated Sparrow. 

 £. Throat and breast black. 



a. Sides of the throat and belly white, crown ash, sides of the 



head chestnut P. 282. House Sparrow. 



A. Length 8-00 ; sides of the body light rufous, outer tail-feathers 

 tipped with white ; haunts thickets and bushy woodlands ; call- 

 note a vigorous towTiee or chee-wink 687. Towhee. 



