390 
FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC 
In the North you will generally find it in old, dry daisy or sorrel 
fields; in the South it inhabits the broom sedge. It will not take wing 
until almost stepped upon; then, if bushes are near, it takes refuge in 
or under them, but out in the open field it flies rapidly some distance 
and drops to the ground. 
Its usual perch, when singing, is a fence-rail; and it does not often 
seek a more elevated position. Its fine, insectlike notes give it the name 
of Grasshopper Sparrow. They may be written pit-tuck , zee-e-e-e-e- 
e-e-e-e. Under favorable circumstances they can be heard by an atten- 
tive listener at a distance of two hundred and fifty feet, but the casual 
observer would pass within ten feet of a singing bird and be none the 
wiser. 
546b. A. s. floridanus (M earns). Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. 
Similar to A. s. australis “but smaller, with larger bill, longer tarsus, and 
much darker coloration above, paler below; chestnut of upper surfaces much 
reduced in amount and replaced by black; lateral dark areas of crown almost 
black, interscapular region much blacker.” (Mearns, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. t 
XXIV, 1902, 915.) 
Range. — Central Florida. (Kissimmee Prairie region.) 
547. Passerherbulus henslowi benslowi (Aud.). Henslow’s Spar- 
row. Ads. — Top and sides of head and nape dull, pale olive- green, more 
buffy in the fall; sides of crown black; nape finely streaked with black; back 
rufous-brown, the feathers with narrow, central, wedge-shaped black streaks, 
and narrow ashy margins; bend of wing pale yellow; wing-coverts much 
like back; tail-feathers very narrow and sharply pointed; middle feathers 
rufous-brown; the outer ones much the shortest; underparts white, more 
or less washed with buffy and streaked with black on the breast and sides. 
Nestlings have no spots on the breast. L., 5*00; W., 2’20; T., 2*00; B., *42. 
Remarks. — The peculiar olivaceous color of the head and nape, and the 
bright rufous-brown color of the back, wing-coverts, and middle tail-feathers 
are the best distinguishing marks of this species. 
Range . — E. U. S. Breeds in Transition and Upper Austral zones from cen. 
Minn., Ont., N. Y., and s. N. H. s. to s. Mo., and n. Va.; winters in s. U. S. 
to Tex. and s. Fla. 
Washington, common S. R., Apl. 10-Oct. 21. Ossining, rare T. V., Oct. 
5-0 ct. 10. Cambridge, very rare S. R. N. Ohio, S. R. Glen Ellyn, not 
common S. R., May 8-Sept. 26. SE. Minn., common S. R. 
Nest, of grasses, sometimes lined with hairs, on the ground. Eggs, 4-5, 
grayish white, thickly and evenly speckled with pale rufous-brown, *75 x ‘57. 
Date, Cape May Co., N. J., May 25; Richland Co., Ills., May 23. 
During the summer this species seems to prefer wet meadows, but 
in the winter it inhabits the dry ‘old fields’ grown with broom sedge, 
which are so common in the south. It has the secretive habits of the 
Grasshopper and Leconte’s Sparrows, and takes wing only when 
forced to. 
P. L. Jouy writes of its song: “Besides the characteristic notes of 
tee-wick, they have quite a song which may be fairly represented by the 
syllables sis-r-r-rit-srit-srit, with the accent on the first and last parts. 
This song is often uttered while the bird takes a short flight upward; 
it then drops down again into the tangled weeds and grasses, where it is 
almost impossible to follow it” (Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club , VI, 1881, p. 57). 
