come from a dense clump of palmettos, and in the next moment they sounded as coming 

 from a great distance. One morning, while roaming about among the flowering mag- 

 nolias and andromedas, and then again in the flat pine-woods, I had the good fortune 

 to notice the birds while engaged in their song right over my head in the branches 

 of pines. They were at least from forty to fifty and more feet from the ground, 

 where they could scarcely be seen. Since that time it was always easy for me to find 

 the bird. When I threw a stick in the air the birds immediately darted down and dis- 

 appeared among the low shrubbery and palmettos. The song resembles closely that of 

 Bachman's Sparrow, but it is not as varied and musical. It is very liquid and fasci- 

 nating, somewhat metallic and very varied. The bird is so numerous that the song is 

 heard from all sides. The pine-woods would be lonely without this plainly-colored 

 songster. Most diligently it sings early in the morning and late in the afternoon, but 

 immediately before the breeding time it is heard during the entire day. 



Among the North American Sparrows {Spizellinas) we find quite a number of ex- 

 quisite songsters. There are no showy birds among them, their prevailing color being 

 gray and brownish, but their attire is exceedingly rich and tasteful. In the high 

 North we find the beautiful Fox-colored Sparrow, and in the northern and mountainous 

 regions of our country the White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows occur, all being 

 excellent songsters. The gardens of the East and North are the haunts of one of our 

 most familiar songsters, the Song Sparrow. In the bushy outskirts of the woodlands 

 of the central part of the country we find the sweet-voiced Field Sparrow, while the 

 sage tracts of Utah and Nevada resound with the melodies of the Sage Sparrow. The 

 sprightly and mellow strains of the Lark Sparrow add greatly to the charm and beauty 

 of the woodland borders and gardens of Texas, and the pine-barrens of the lower South 

 are enlivened by the strains of the Pine-woods Sparrow and Bachman's Sparrow. Each 

 one of these birds has peculiarities entirely its own, and each one has its special 

 attractions. When recalling to my mind the pine-barrens with their charming, though 

 often hidden, floral beauties, the patches of saw-palmettos, the exquisite flowering andro- 

 medas, the lovely sand rose-mary, and other plants, the orange groves and the 

 gorgeous masses of orange amaryllis, it seems to me as though the song of this bird 

 were still in my ear. 



The nest is exceedingly difficult to find, and it is only accidentally discovered while 

 roaming around in the pine-woods. Mr. Frank M. Chapman, of the American Museum 

 of Natural History, New York, found a nest near Gainesville, Fla., on May 21, 1887. 

 "This nest was placed beneath a scrub-palmetto, a growth which everywhere here 

 covers the ground, and was constructed almost entirely of fine dry grasses. It was 

 well made and quite compact, and held well together when lifted from the ground. It 

 was not arched over in any way, was perfectly round, with the sides or rims every- 

 where of equal height, in fact it was a symmetrical nest and well proportioned." The 

 eggs were pure white in color, slightly glossy, and rounded ovate in shape. 



In south Florida this Sparrow doubtless rears from one to three broods each year, 

 the first full sets being found late in March and early in April, while nests with fresh 

 eggs are found as late as June 25. The nest is almost always built under the over- 

 hanging fronds of a saw-palmetto or dwarf-palmetto, and is built exactly in the same 



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