372 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



Perhaps better known as the Yellow-winged Sparrow. Anyone will he able to 

 identify this little bird in hand. The edge of the wing is conspicuously yellow; the 

 lesser wing coverts and line over eye are yellowish. A common bird in the meadows 

 and clover fields of Eastern United States, nesting in May and June. It is a bird of 

 retiring habits, generally keeping In the tall grass, on the ground, and not usually 

 seen only when flushed. Its flight is zig-zag. Sometimes it will mount a stump or 

 weed-stalk, and sing at short intervals for hours at a time a peculiar, monotonous 

 song, which has been aptly compared to that of a grasshopper — hence its common 

 na;ne. The nest is placed on or rather sunken in the ground, and concealed by a 

 thick tussock of grass. The eggs are four or five in number, generally four. They 

 iiave no resemblance to the eggs of the Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Savannah 

 Sparrow, or Grass Pinch, having a clear, white ground-color, with a moderate polish, 

 spotted more or less thickly with pale reddish-brown, chiefly and sometimes wholly 

 at the larger end. Mr. Poling says he has found fresh eggs in Illinois as early as 

 April 20, and as late as August 12. Two broods are often reared. A set of four eggs 

 in my cabinet, taken by Mr. J. E. Gould, on June 14, in Franklin county, Ohio, ex- 

 hibits the following respective measurements: .77x.55, .77x.56, .79x.56, .81x.55; the 

 sizes of a set of five taken May 16 by the same collector are .80x.59, .79x.59, .79x.59, 

 .78X.57, .77X.57. A set of four from Marshall county, Kansas, taken May 30, gives, the 

 following dimensions: .70x.54, .70x.56, .71x.54, .72x.55. Average size .73x.56 Inches. 



546a. WESTERN GRASSHOPPBB SPARROW. Ammodramus savannarum 

 perpallidus Ridgw. Geog. Dist. — Western United States from the Great Plains to the 

 Pacific, south over table-lands of Mexico. 



The nesting and eggs of this paler and grayer form of the Yellow-winged Spar- 

 row, which is found in the dry, western regions, are the same as those of the Eastern 

 bird. Average size of the eggs, .75x.57 inches. 



547. HENSLOW'S SPARROW. Ammodramus henslowii (Aud.) Geog. Dist. — 

 Eastern United States, north to Ontario and Southern New England, west to the edge 

 of the Plains, winters in the Gulf States. 



Henslow's Grasshopper Sparrow or Bunting is not, on the whole, an abundant 

 species in Eastern United States, being found common only in restricted localities. 

 It is given as a rare siimfiier resident in portions of Southern New England. Breeds 

 abundantly in the meadows about Washington, D. C. Mr. Shick found Henslow's 

 Yellow-winged Sparrow breeding in the vicinity of Sea Isle City, New Jersey. 

 Farther west it seems to be common in various sections. It may be found breeding 

 in Southern and Western Ohio, as'it is stated by Dr. Brayton to be a common summer 

 resident on the prairies of Indiana. Breeds also on the weedy prairies of Illinois 

 and Missouri. Messrs. Keyes and Williams record it as a common summer resident 

 in Iowa, and Colonel Goss mentions it as a summer resident of Kansas. Mr. L. Jones 

 informs me that in Iowa the favorite resorts of this Sparrow during the breeding 

 season are neglected fields and pasture lands. Its nest is placed on the ground, 

 sometimes in a slight depression, beneath a tussock of grass; the composition is of 

 fine and coarse grasses, with a few cow hairs. The eggs, Mr. Jones says, are de- 

 posited about May 25. The bird's habits, nest, and eggs are described as being sim- 

 ilar to those of the Yellow-winged Sparrow (A. savannarmn passerinus), but the eggs 

 are not pure white in ground-color, having a greenish or grayish-white tint, profusely- 

 dotted and blotched with several shades of brown and lilac shell markings. They 

 are four or five in number, and average .75x.57 inches. 



