YELLOW-WINGED SPARROW— LARK FINCH-SWAMP SPARROW. 



67 



and quietness at this season is remarkable, and causes them to be 

 in a great measure overlooked. On several occasions, when the 

 thermometer was far below zero, the river frozen solid for two feet 

 deep, and snow on the ground, I have unexpectedly come upon 

 little groups of these birds, hiding away close to the ground among 

 and under a net-work of vines and rank herbage, close enough to 

 collect and retain a mantle of snow. When startled at such times 

 they have a low, pleasant chirp as they flutter into sight among 

 the bushes, scattering a little, but only to collect again and seek 

 their snug retreat as soon as left to themselves. Whether rendered 

 careless by the cold, or through a natural heedlessness, they are 

 very tame at such times; they sit unconcernedly on the t ■ igs, it 

 may be but a few feet distant, chirping cheerfully, with the plu- 

 mage all loosened and puffy, making very pretty "roly-poly" 

 looking objects. There is a particular kind of plant here, the 

 seeds of which endure all winter, furnishing a favorite repast. In 

 a clump of these tall weeds dozens of the birds may be seen to- 

 gether, busily feeding. Some, more energetic, spring up and 

 cling to the swaying panicles, picking away, while others gather 

 about the stem, getting a good dinner, without trouble, off the 

 seeds that their neighbors above rattle down. At such times the 

 whole company keep up an animated conversation, expressing 

 their satisfaction, no doubt, in their own language ; it is more than 

 chirping, and not quite singing — a low, soft, continuous chanting, 

 as pleasing as it is indescribable. The Tree Sparrow is, indeed, 

 one of the sweet-voiced of our Sparrows, and one very fond of 

 singing, not only in the spring, but at other seasons ; times are 

 hard with it indeed when it can not, on occasion, tune its gentle 

 pipe." 



The Yellow-winged Sparrow. (Cotumiculus, paperinus.) 



Fig. 3- 



A small species of Sparrow-bird that may be met with in almost 

 all sections of the United States in summer, and on the sheltered 

 plains of the sea-coast of New York and New Jersey until the 

 very commencement of winter. In the Middle States it is very 

 abundant. 



In colors this species changes somewhat in the different sections 

 of its habitation, of which Mr. Allen relates as follows: "On 

 comparing Florida specimens with northern ones, the former are 

 found to be far more brightly colored than the latter. Between 

 northern and southern specimens of the same species greater dif- 

 ferences in color are rarely observable than in this, the differences 

 being far greater than occur between many conspecific geograph- 

 ical races to which have been awarded specific rank. The differ- 

 ence consists in the much brighter and blacker tints of the south- 

 ern form. Massachusetts specimens, although lighter than Florida 

 ones, are still much darker than those from the Plains. According 

 to Coues : 



"The song of the Yellow-winged Sparrow is a humble effort, 

 rather weak and wheezy, but quite curious, more resembling the 

 noise made by some grasshoppers than the voice of a bird. It is 

 only heard in the breeding-season, when the little performer mounts 

 a tall mullein in his chosen pasture, or the fence-rail around it, 

 settles himself firmly on his legs, and throwing up his head, utters 

 the chirring notes ad libitum. At other seasons he has only a 

 weak chirp. The bird is very timid, keeping almost always on 

 the ground, amid the weeds and grass, where he runs like a 

 mouse. On being forced up, he starts quickly, with a wayward, 

 jerky flight, but seldom goes far before pitching into the grass 

 again. The nest is placed on the ground, in a field, and resem- 

 bles that of other Sparrows that build on the ground. As many 

 as nine eggs are said to have been found in one nest, but the num- 

 ber is usually four or five. They are pure white, speckled with 

 rich, clear, reddish-brown, chiefly at the larger end, but sparingly 

 also all over the surface The egg is usually rather globose — 0.75 

 by 0.60 for an average instance." 



The Lark Finch. ( Choudestes grammaca^) 

 Fig. 4. 



One of the most abundant and typical western prairie-birds. 

 They sing sweetly, and, like the Larks, have the habit of continu- 

 ing their notes while on the wing. This beautiful species is not 

 confined to the Plains, nor is it exclusively terrestrial ; it is also 

 observed in wooded, broken, even mountainous regions. In the 

 Middle States it is frequently met with in summer, arriving from 

 the south in May, and leaving among the earliest of Sparrows in 

 autumn, at which time they are often seen gathered together in 

 small troops, rambling in the grass near bushes or small trees. 

 In case of an alarm they resort to the bushes like other Sparrows. 

 In the latter part of May or first of June they construct their nest, 

 which is usually located on the ground, and is constructed of 

 grasses and weeds. " The eggs of this species," says Coues, 

 " are very peculiar in coloration, being white, curiously streaked 

 in zigzag, much like the blackbird's. The markings are sharp 

 and distinct, and heavy in color — a rich, dark, reddish-brown or 

 chocolate ; sometimes, where the pigment is thickest, being almost 

 blackish. The markings straggle all over the surface, and are usu- 

 ally accompanied with a few spots of the same color. The egg is 

 noticeably globose, very much rounded at the smaller end, meas- 

 uring about 0.75 by 0.65. Other specimens, however, are more 

 elongated, measuring as much as 0.85." 



When the pairing season commences, the males are very pug- 

 nacious, fighting often on the wing, and the conquering rival re- 

 pairing to the nearest bush, tunes his lively pipe in token of suc- 

 cess. This species is six and a half inches long, and eight and a 

 half broad. 



The Swamp Sparrow. (Melospiza palustrts.) 

 Fig- 5- 



This is another abundant species of Sparrow-bird. It is rather 

 more seclusive in its habits than the preceding species, which ac- 

 counts for its being less generally observed. Coues says : "It is 

 not so decidedly gregarious as some of its allies, and is oftener 

 found skulking alone through rank herbage and tangled under- 

 growth than in flocks; still, in the fall, I have found considerable 

 numbers together, about the edges of reedy swamps, sharing the 

 shrubbery with the Song-Sparrows, and the reeds with the species 

 Ammodromus, between which it forms, in one sense, a connecting 

 link. I have often seen it, though more rarely, in open, wet, grassy 

 places. During the vernal migrations, at Washington, D. C, I 

 used to look for it in the undergrowth fringing tiny streams flow- 

 ing through open woods, and rarely failed to find it, if I looked 

 close enough in the very heart of such recesses, the skirts of which 

 were full of white-throated Sparrows and other more conspicuous 

 species. I never saw it take a long flight in the open woods ; 

 generally it was seen flitting from bush to bush, just over the 

 ground and water, flirting the tail, and uttering its peculiar note. 

 Its chirp is remarkably different from that of any other species, 

 and, with its general reddishness, seems to distinguish it from its 

 associates." Nuttall says that, occasionally, mounted on the top 

 of a low bush or willow-tree, it chants a few trilling, rather mo- 

 notonous, minor notes, resembling, in some measure, the song of 

 the Field Sparrow, and appearing like twi, tw' tw' tw tu tu twe, 

 and twe' twe' tu? tu* twe' ; uttered in a pleasing and somewhat va- 

 ried warble. In New England, they arrive from the Southern 

 States, where they winter, about the middle of April, and take up 

 their summer residence in the swamps and marshy meadows, 

 through which often, without flying, they thread their devious way 

 with the same alacrity as the Rail, with whom they are indeed often 

 associated in neighborhood. They express extreme solicitude for 

 their young, even after they are full-fledged and able to provide 



