Nesting of the Tree Sparrow. 
1 / 
Notes from Dartmouth, N.S. 
On May 23, 1889, it was my good fortune 
while collecting on the Beaver meadow to 
discover a pair of Tree Sparrows ( Spizella 
monticola) in a small clump of bushes, one of 
which I thought by the actions of the bird 
was at the time setting somewhere on 
the meadow, so I prepared to await and see 
her go back on the nest. I had not long to 
wait, for in about ten minutes she flew to 
another clump of bushes and disappeared in 
them. I waited a short time, and as she 
did not come out again I went forward, and 
upon shaking the bush where I last saw her, 
she flew out in a hurry so badly hurt that she 
fell in the grass when about twelve feet from 
the bush. I knew, however, I had found her 
nest, so I parted the bushes and there about 
a foot below the top of them and two feet 
from the water which covers most of the 
meadow, saddled in a crotch, and partly con- 
cealed by the over-hanging swale grass which 
grows up through and breaks down on to the 
bushes every year, was the nest with five 
eggs in it. Turning around I shot the fe- 
male bird from a bush where she had taken 
her stand, and was then making her demon- 
strations. Therefore the indentification is 
positive. 
The nest, which is before me, is made en- 
tirely of dry grass, the outside of which I 
should think was made of timothy and the 
lining or inside made of June grass. All of 
the nest is made of the round stems of the 
grass and there are but two flat blades in 
the nest. 
The eggs, five in number, are of a light 
green color, and are flecked and blotched with 
reddish-brown, varying in size from dots to one 
blotch of .15 x .25 of an inch, also several short 
scratches of seal brown similar to the scratchy 
lines on a Baltimore Oriole’s egg appear on 
each egg. The set measures as follows: .75 x 
.60, .72x.58, .73 x .57, .73x.56, .74x.54. 
The above set I believe to be the only one 
ever found in this part of the state. 
E. G. Tabor. 
Meridian, N. Y. 
Yesterday I found nest and eggs of Chipping 
Sparrow built on spruce tree, about four feet 
from ground. 
Nest of Trg e Snai;r .ow with two eggs, built 
on low spruce tree, about two feet from 
ground. 
Nest of Black- throated Green Warbler; three 
eggs, on little spruce tree, about four feet 
from ground. 
Nest of Juuco, with four eggs, on the ground 
underneath bank. 
On June 16tli, I was out this afternoon 
with friend Eagan and took the following 
nests: Tree Sparrow, three eggs, built on low 
spruce tree, $ secured; Purple Linnet, throe 
eggs, built on little spruce tree, near the top, 
about ten feet from ground, 9 secured ; Black- 
tliroated Green Warbler, three eggs, built on 
low spruce trees about three feet from ground, 
9 secured; Redstart, four eggs, nest in fork 
of beech tree, about ten feet from the ground, 
9 on nest and secured; Sandpiper, took nest 
of four young ones. 
All the above with other nests mentioned in 
my last were taken within a quarter of a mile 
of my house. H. Austen. 
OiStO, 15. July,l890, p, 3 . 
o &0. XIV. Aug. 1889 P- 121 
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