FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
335 
sides finely streaked, flanks more broadly ; sides of head buffy white, with 
a touch of yellow above the eye ; two narrow black stripes from bill, and 
one back of eye; shoulders tinged with greenish yellow and bend of wing 
yellowish white. Length: (skins) 4.50-4.59, wing 2.12-2.13, tail 1.88-1.90, 
bill .45-48. 
Distribution. — South Dakota in summer, and probably other regions 
along the eastern border of the Plains. 
548. Ammodramus leconteii ( Aud .). Leconte Sparrow. 
Adults. — Crown with two blackish stripes in sharp contrast to buffy 
and grayish median stripe ; sides of head and superciliary buffy or yellow¬ 
ish brown ; hind neck chestnut, feathers edged with grayish; rest of upper 
parts brownish, marked strikingly with blackish and buffy, the feathers 
black, notched with grayish, with rufous and buffy cream U-shaped 
edgings ; throat, breast, and sides buffy ; belly white; sides and flanks 
streaked ; bill small and slender; tail graduated. Young: much more 
buffy, deeper above, paler beneath, body streaked with blackish, more 
narrowly on under parts. Male : length (skins) 4.15-4.74, wing 1.94-2.12, 
tail 1.81-2.05, bill .33—40. Female : length (skins) 4.35-5.00, wing 1.93- 
2.10, tail 1.83-2.20, bill .33-39. 
Distribution. — Breeds in prairie marshes of Transition and Upper 
Sonoran zones, from Assiniboia and Manitoba southeast to Indiana ; win¬ 
ters in the southern states; accidental in Idaho. 
Nest. — Near the ground in dense fallen grass, made of grass, cup- 
sliaped. Eggs: 4 or 5, pale greenish white, heavily spotted with reddish 
brown and lavender. 
Subgenus Ammodramus. 
Tail rounded, feathers sharp pointed; wing short and 
rounded, secondaries nearly even. 
Fig. 424. 
549.1- Ammodramus nelsoni {Allen). Nelson Sparrow. 
Adults. — Superciliary bright buff, sharply contrasting with dark brown 
or blackish sides of croXvn ; middle of crown, back of head, and hind neck 
gray, more or less mixed with rusty; middle of back dark brown , strikingly 
marked with chalky white streaks; edge of wing yellow ; tail rounded ; 
under parts white, sides of throat, chest, and sides washed with buffy or 
yellowish brown, and indistinctly streaked with darker. Young : upper 
parts dull yellowish brown ; sides of crown chiefly black; back broadly 
streaked with black ; under parts buff, streaked on chest with dusky. 
Male: length (skins) 4.50-4.90, wing 2.10-2.48, tail 1.80-2.07, bill .40-42. 
Female: length (skins) 4.40-4.80, wing 2.05-2.20, tail 1.70-1.90, bill .40- 
.42. 
Distribution. — Breeds in prairie marshes of the interior from Manitoba 
to northern Illinois ; migrates to the Atlantic coast, and winters south to 
Gulf coast of Texas; accidental in California. 
Eggs. — Similar to those of leconteii. 
Food. — Insects, especially leaf-hoppers, midges, and horseflies, together 
with weed seed. 
550b. Ammodramus maritimus sennetti Allen. Texas 
Seaside Sparrow. 
Adults. — Upper parts olive gray, streaked with black and whitish; lores 
and edge of wing bright yellow ; throat white; rest of under parts grayish 
