way as Mr. Chapman has described it, being well protected from sun and rain 



and many enemies by the dense palmetto leaves. The eggs, usually four, but sometimes 



only three in number, are pure white. The nest is securely hidden, and it is only found 



when we accidentally flush the female from it. 



NAMES: Pine-woods Sparrow, Palmetto Bird, Palmetto Sparrow, Summer Finch. 



SCIENTIFIC NAMES: Fringilla xstivalis Licht. (1823). Fritigilla lestiva Nutt. (1840). PEUC^A 

 ySSTIVALIS Cabanis (1850). 



DESCRIPTION: Sexes, alike. Feathers of upper parts, dark brownish or chestnut, margined with or 

 streaked with black; lower parts of breast and belly, dull w^hite; sides, flanks, and chest, pale gray- 

 ish-buff; top of head streaked with grayish or brown ; no white bands on the wing and tail-feathers 

 without distinct bars; edge of wing, yellow. The variety is similar, but paler. 

 Length, 6.00 inches; wing, 2.35; tail, 2.57 inches. 



BACHMAN'S SPARROW. 



Peacasa aestivalis bacbmani Brewster. 



This is only a variety of the former, but a very valuable one, for w^hich reason I 

 enter more fully into its life-history than I usually do in treating of sub-species. This 

 bird was discovered by Dr. J. Bachman, a friend and co-worker of the great Audubon, 

 in April, 1832, at Parker's Ferry near the Edisto River, S. C. It has since been found 

 from North Carolina through all the South Atlantic and Gulf States to eastern Texas, 

 where it invariably inhabits the pine-woods. It is found north to Tennessee and 

 southern Illinois. 



Prof. Wm. Brewster observed these birds very closely at St. Mary's, Ga., a tow^n 

 situated on the very border line of southern Georgia, where he spent almost four weeks, 

 from April 5 to early in May. In describing the pine-woods of that region, he especially 

 mentions the bright green beds of palmettos that cover most of the ground. "Were it 

 not for the half-wild cattle," Mr. Brewster continues, "that range at will through the 

 country, the palmetto would probably usurp every inch of ground ; but these creatures 

 keep it within reasonable limits, and many spaces of closely cropped grass and stunted 

 blueberries intervene. About such places I used to find the Bachman's Pinch, a retiring 

 little bird which might easily be overlooked by one unacquainted with its habit of 

 skulking among the herbage and lying concealed until nearly trodden on. But no one 

 with the slightest ear for bird music can long remain in ignorance of its presence after 

 the breeding season has set in, for the male possesses vocal powers of a very rare order. 

 His song is a prolonged, leisurely chant composed of several distinct bars or sets of 

 notes, with brief pauses between, as if the bird stopped to take breath. The final notes 

 of each bar have sometimes a rising, sometimes a falling, inflection, and the tone is 

 varied in the most subtle manner. Now it has a full bell-like ring that seems to fill the 

 air around; next it is soft and low and inexpressibly tender; now it is clear again, but 

 so modulated that the sound seems to come from a great distance. The whole perform- 

 ance is very simple and I hardly know the secret of its charm. To be ftdly appreciated 

 it should be heard in the soft twilight of an April evening, when the still woods are 

 filled with dusky shadows. At such tinjes it ha? moved me more deeply than I care to 

 confess. 



