SPARROWS 



(563) Spizella pusilla pusilla 



(WilsoH\ (Lat., small). 



FIELD SPARROW. Size small, 

 but tail comparatively long; bill pale 

 reddish-brown. Plumage as shown; 

 crown, ear coverts, flanks and middle 

 of back reddish-brown, the latter 

 streaked with black. L., 5.60; W., 

 2.50; T., 2.5s; B., .35. Nesl — Oi 

 weeds, grasses and rootlets, lined with 

 hair; on the ground or low down in 

 bushes or weeds; four or five bluish- 

 white eggs spotted with reddish- 

 brown, most abundantly about the 

 large end, .65 x .50. 



Range — Breeds from Me., south- 

 ern Quebec, Mich., and Minn, south 

 to the Gulf. Winters in the southern 

 half of the U. S. (s63a) WESTERN 

 FIELD SPARROW (S. p. arenacea), 

 found on the Great Plains, is less 

 rufous. 



CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS and BREWER'S SPAR- 

 ROWS are species about the size of the Chippy, found 

 chiefly on plains and desert regions of the west. They are 

 quite similar in appearance but the former has a distinct 

 median line while the crown of the latter is uniformly 

 streaked. Both species are ground-inhabiting birds with 

 habits similar to those of our common Field Sparrow. 

 Brewer's Sparrow, or the "Sagebrush Chippy," is rarely 

 found in any but arid sagebrush regions. 



FIELD SPARROWS are of the same size as Chippies and 

 have redcUsh-brown crowns, but there the likeness stops. 

 They have longer tails, in fact unusually long tails for their 

 size; their bills are pale orange-red, instead of black; the 

 crown has no black margin as does that of the Chippy; the 

 back is a bright rufous and there is a blotch of the same color 

 on either side of the breast. Taken all in all, there is little 

 excuse for not recognizing this bird at sight. 



They frequent dry lields and pastures, preferably those 



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