FINCHES, SPARROWS 



(604) Spiza americana icmel.) 



DICKCISSEL; BLACK- 

 THROATED BUNTING. Bill stout 

 and conical. Ad. cP — Plumage as 

 shown by the upper bird; upper parts 

 chiefly gray or brown; posterior part 

 of supercihary strip, short maxillary 

 stripe and breast j'ellow; throat with 

 a black patch, variable in size and 

 shape and usually extending in a nar- 

 row line on either side of the chin to 

 the bill; wing coverts largely chestnut. 

 Ad. 9 — With no black and yellow, 

 very pale or lacking; no conspicuous 

 chestnut on the wing. L., 6.00; W., 

 3.2s; T., 2.35; B., .55. 



Range — Breeds from Ont., Mich, 

 and Minn, south to Tex. and Miss.; 

 of local occurrence east of the Alle- 

 ghenies. 



valleys is the DICKCISSEL or BLACK-THROATED 

 BUNTING. These are rather handsome birds but the 

 colors although attractively blended have the general faded, 

 washed-out appearance that is quite usual with birds inhab- 

 iting such places exclusively. The male shown in our illus- 

 tration is from an unusually bright specimen; the average 

 one shows less black and less yellow. The female, which is 

 of about the size and color of the female English Sparrow, 

 is very inconspicuous, the more so because she usually keeps 

 well concealed among the weeds. The male, howe\-er, can 

 readily be seen for he perches in conspicuous places on tops 

 of weeds, stalks, fence posts, or telegraph wires and chants 

 his simple ditty for hours at a time. The song is not musical, 

 neither is it displeasing to the ear especially when heard in 

 extremely hot, dry weather when all other birds in the vicin- 

 ity are silent. Transcribed to paper, it appears as "chip, 

 chip, che-che-che" or "Dick, Dick, cissel." 

 Their nests are nearly always built on the ground, but at 



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