406 
PASSERIFORMES 
white throat or yellow loral spot, or a Tree Sparrow without wing-bars or breast-spot. 
In summer when the Tree Sparrow is not present, the red cap is distinctive. 
Nesting. Nest similar to that of the Song Sparrow, on the ground, sometimes in the grass. 
Distribution. North America, mostly north and east of the Great Plains. Rare 
or absent in migration in the prairie regions. One record for central British Columbia. 
As its name implies, this is a bird of the swamps and marshes. The 
long grass and shrubby edges of marshes are its typical haunts. Late in 
the autumn it joins the large, mixed flocks of sparrows in the brush heaps 
and tangled fence-rows and then comes into closer contact with man. 
Economic Status. The food habits of the Swamp Sparrow are not very 
different from those of other comparable sparrows. Owing to its living 
in waste places the species is not important. 
5S1. Song Sparrow, lb pinson chanteur (Improprement Rossignol). Melospiza 
melodia. L, 6-30 (on northwest coast to 7-50). Plate LXXXV B. A medium-sized 
brown and white streaked sparrow. Underparts white; breast and flanks heavily and 
sharply striped with brown; the stripes aggregated to form a dark spot in the centre of 
the breast. 
Distinctions. Rather like the Vesper Sparrow in size and general coloration, but 
darker and more decided in tone; lacks the white outer tail feathers. The breast-streaks 
are also sharper and darker brown and aggregated in the middle into a well-defined spot. 
The lack of the yellow stripe over the eye separates the Song from the Savannah Sparrow 
and the sharply streaked breast from any of the other sparrows of comparable size and habit. 
The Song Sparrows of British Columbia are so much darker in general coloration than those 
of farther east that it is unlikely that they will be often confused with these species. 
Field Marks. Sharply striped breast and central spot. The absence of the white 
outertail feathers will guard against confusion with the Vesper Sparrow, and longer tail, 
lack of yellow lores, voice, and general attitude distinguish the Song Sparrow from the 
Savannah. The song is very distinctive, especially in its opening, which always consists 
of a single distinct note repeated at least once, and has been humorously interpreted as 
‘ ‘ Pres-pres~presbyteri-eri-e7'ian. } ’ The first part of this rendition is very good. The latter 
part of the song is too variable to be rendered by any single set of syllables. 
Nesting. On the ground, more rarely in bushes, in nest of coarse grasses, rootlets, 
dead leaves, strips of bark, etc., lined with finer grasses and sometimes long hairs. 
Distribution. The Song Sparrow inhabits all America to near the tree limits. 
SUBSPECIES. The Song Sparrow shows a wonderful adaptability to various con- 
ditions. Scarcely any large area in North America but has Song Sparrows that have 
become specially modified to agree with regional conditions. Some of these specialized 
forms are well marked and easily recognizable, but others differ so slightly as to tax dis- 
crimination to the utmost. The arid deserts of the southwest have their small, pale forms 
and the humid coast has produced a number of very large, dark ones, culminating in the 
comparatively gigantic race of the damp Aleutian Islands. Especially have a great number 
of geographical races been produced in the broken country adjoining the west coast of 
America. In the east, physical and climatic conditions are more uniform and there has 
been less tendency to subspecific division in the species. West of the Great Lakes to the 
coast, the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list, ascribes four breeding subspecies 
and a number of more migrant ones. The Eastern Song Sparrow (le Pinson chanteur de 
l’Est) Melospiza melodia melodia extends west to eastern Manitoba and probably north- 
ward through the wooded regions to northern Alberta and Great Slave Lake. The Dakota 
Song Sparrow (le Pinson chanteur du Dakota) Melospiza melodia juddi is the form of 
southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. It is barely distinguishable from the 
Eastern Song Sparrow, though averaging slightly lighter, with clearer and sharper mark- 
ings. According to the latest study of the species most of British Columbia is occupied 
by the Rusty Song Sparrow (le Pinson chanteur rouille) Melospiza melodia morphna. 
This is the first of a series of Song Sparrows strikingly different from the two light eastern 
races. They are very dark and saturated in colour, enough so that if they did not inter- 
grade through various southern races they might well be regarded as a well-defined species. 
Of these dark races, morphna averages ruddy in the brown tones, especially on the back. 
The Sooty Song Sparrow (le Pinson chanteur fuligineux) Melospiza melodia rufina occupies 
the islands of the Alaska Panhandle, including the Queen Charlotte Islands within Canadian 
territory. It is a large-appearing bird, with the browns sooty instead of ruddy. 
