SPARROWS 239 



ber and March), Autaugaville (April), Tuscaloosa (April), 

 and Leighton (November ). At Orange Beach, January 30; 

 Whistler, February 5, 1912; and Bayou Labatre, December 3, 

 1916, small flocks were seen in the open pine flats. The bird 

 occurs in the breeding season over most of the State, south 

 at least to Castleberry. Fresh eggs have been found at Leigh- 

 ton April 2 and May 11, and at Autaugaville, May 17 ; a second 

 brood is usually reared in July. 



General habits. — The chipping sparrow is a sociable bird, 

 often living in dooryards and village gardens and placing its 

 nest in trees or vines close to a dwelling. It frequents also 

 orchards and dry, open woodland, and feeds mainly on the 

 ground in plowed fields, pastures, and farm land generally. 

 The song is a monotonous and rather unmusical trill — a series 

 of chips rapidly repeated. The nest is placed in a tree, bush, 

 or vine, usually on a horizontal limb ; it is generally of rather- 

 slight construction, made of grass stems or rootlets, and 

 always well lined with hair; the eggs, 3 to 5 in number, are 

 greenish blue with brownish or blackish markings. Late in 

 summer and throughout the fall and winter these birds gather 

 into loose flocks and visit pastures and cultivated lands, where 

 they associate with other ground-dwelling sparrows. 



Food habits. — Caterpillars are the favorite animal food of 

 this sparrow and these include such pests as canker worms, 

 currant worms, tent caterpillars, and the larvae of the gipsy 

 moth, browntail moth, and tussock moth. In June, 93 per 

 cent of the food consists of insects, of which 36 per cent is of 

 grasshoppers, 25 per cent caterpillars, and 6 per cent leaf 

 beetles. Of the vegetable food the greater part is grass seed, 

 principally crabgrass — ^that pest of the lawn and garden — 

 with the seeds of other weeds, and a small portion of grain. 



FIELD SPARROW: Spizella pusUla pusilla (Wilson). 



State records. — The field sparrow (fig. 16) is a common 

 summer resident over the greater part of the State, with the 

 exception of the coast region. In winter it is generally dis- 

 tributed and moderately numerous. It is known to breed at 

 Elkmont, Huntsville, Fort Payne, Ardell, Dean, Auburn, 



