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BiriiN of America

Editor IV'	IMt F
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VOLUME W J^OVeVS W TH

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N'ew York 1923

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Birds of America

Editor-in-Chief T. Gilbert Pearson

President of the National Association of Audubon Societies

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Consulting Editor Joiin Burrouglis

Contributing Editors Edward H. Forbush Herbert K. Job

State Ornithologist, Massachusetts Economic Ornithologist

William L. Finley

Naturalist, Author, and Lecturer

Managing Editor George Gladden

L. Nelson Nichols

Member Linn£can Society

Associate Editor J. Ellis Burdick

Associate Member of Amcricar Ornithologists' Union

Artists R. I. Brasher R. Bruce Horsfall Henry Thurston

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VOLUME

THREE

The University Society Inc.

New York 1923

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Copyright. 1917. by The University Society Inc.

Manufactured in the U. S A.

CONTENTS

Bird Migration .... Order of Perching Birds, Continued

Finches

Tanagers

Swallows

Waxwings and Silky Flycatchers

Shrikes

Vireos ....

Warblers

Wagtails and Pipits

Dippers

Mimic Thrushes

Wrens ....

Nuthatches and Creepers

Titmice

Wren-Tits

Kinglets and Gnatcatchers

Thrushes Color Keys

Glossary .... Bibliography Index .....

77 82

93

98

102

1 1 1

174 186 199 206 218 219 224 247 2S7 263 267

liii]

BIRD MIGRATION

By Wells W. Cdoke

HE mystery of bird migration has proved a fascinating subject for speculation and study from earliest times. Long ago it was noticed that birds disappeared in fall and reappeared in spring, but, not knowing where they spent the intervening period, many fanciful theories were advanced to account for their disappearance, as hibernation in hollow trees or in the mud of streams or ponds. With later years, however, has come a fuller knowledge of migra- tion, especially of the particular region in which each species passes the cold season, and more definite information in regard to the routes followed in the spring and fall journeys. But fuller knowledge has served to increase rather than to lessen interest in the subject. More persons to-day are watching birds and noting their times of arrival and departure than ever before.

A knowledge of the times of migration of birds is essential as a basis for intelligent study of their economic relations and is equally necessary in formulating jjroper legislation for bird protection — two subjects which form important parts of the work of the United States Biological Survey.

For more than 2,000 years the phenomena of bird migration have been noted; but while the extent and course of the routes traversed have of late become better known, no conclusive answer has been found to the question. Why do North American birds migrate? Two different and indeed diametrically opposite theories have been advanced to account for the beginnings of these migrations.

According to the more commonly accepted theory, ages ago the United States and Canada swarmed with non-migratory bird life, long before the Arctic ice fields advancing south during the glacial era rendered uninhabitable the northern half of the continent. The birds' love of home influenced them to remain near the nesting site until the approaching ice began for the first time to produce a winter — that is, a period of inclement weather which so reduced the food supply as to compel the birds to move or to starve. As the ice approached very gradually, now and then receding, these enforced retreats and absences — at first only a short distance and for a brief time — increased both in distance and in dura- tion until migration became an integral part of the very being of the bird. In other words, the formation of the habit of migration took place at the same time that changing seasons in the year replaced the continuous semi-tropical conditions of the preglacial eras.

As the ice advanced southward the swing to the north in the spring migration was con- tinually shortened and the fall retreat to a suitable winter home correspondingly lengthened, until during the height of the glacial period birds were for the most part confined to Middle and South America. But the habit of migration had been formed, and when the ice receded toward its present position the birds followed it northward and in time established their present long and diversified migration routes.

Those who thus argue that love of birthplace is the actuating impulse to spring migra- tion call attention to the seeming impatience of the earliest migrants. Ducks and Geese push northward with the beginnings of open water so early, so far, and so fast that many are caught by late storms and wander disconsolately over frozen ponds and rivers, prefer-

vi BIRDS OF AMERICA

ring to risk starvation rather than to retreat. The Purple Martins often arrive at their nesting boxes so prematurely that the cozy home becomes a tomb if a sleet storm sweeps their winged food from the air. The Bluebird's cheery warble we welcome as a harbinger of spring, often only to find later a lifeless body in some shed or outbuilding where the bird sought shelter rather than return to the sunny land so recently left.

As a matter of fact, however, only a small percentage of birds exhibit these pre-seasonal migration propensities. The great majority remain in the security of their winter homes until spring is so far advanced that the journey can be made easily and with comparatively slight danger; and they reach the nesting spot when a food supply is assured and all the conditions of weather and vegetation are favorable for beginning immediately the rearing of a family of young.

If, however, a longing for home is considered the main incentive to their northward flight, there arises the question as to why birds desert that home so promptly after the nesting season is over. Indeed, most birds start south as soon as the fledglings are able to shift for themselves. The Orchard Oriole, the Redstart, and the Yellow Warbler of central United States and the Nonpareil of the south all begin their southward journey early in July, long before the fall storms sound a warning of approaching winter and when their insect menu is particularly varied and abundant.

According to the opposite migration theory, the birds' real home is the Southland; all bird life tends by over-production to over-crowding; and, at the end of the glacial era, the birds, seeking in all directions for suitable breeding grounds with less keen competition than in their tropical winter home, gradually worked northward as the retreat of the ice made habitable vast reaches of virgin country. But the winter abiding place was still the home, and to this they returned as soon as the breeding season was over. Thus, in the case of the Orchard Oriole mentioned above, many individuals that arrive in southern Pennsylvania the first week in May leave by the middle of July, spending only 25 months out of the 12 at the nesting site.

Whichever theory is accepted, the beginnings of migration ages ago undoubtedly were intimately connected with periodic changes in the food supply. While North America possesses enormous summer supplies of bird food, the birds must return south for the winter or perish. The over-crowding which would necessarily ensue should they remain in the equatorial regions is prevented by the spring exodus northward. No such movement occurs toward the corresponding southern latitudes. .South America has almost no migratory land birds, for bleak Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego offer no inducements to these dwellers of the limitless forests of the Amazon.

The conclusion is inevitable that the advantages of the United States and Canada as a summer home and the superb conditions of climate and food for the successful rearing of a nestful of voracious young far over-balance the hazards and disasters of the journey thither. For these periodical trips did not just happen in their present form; each migration route, however long and complex, is but the present stage in development of a flight that at first was short, easily accomplished, and comparatively free from danger. Each lengthening of the course was adopted permanently only after experience through many generations had proved its advantages.

It may safely be stated that the weather in the winter home has nothing to do with starting birds on the spring migration, except in the case of a few, like some of the Ducks and Geese, which press northward as fast as open water appears. There is no appreciable change in temperature to warn the hundred or more species of our birds which visit South America in winter that it is time to migrate. It must be a force from within, a physiological change warning them of the approach of the breeding season, that impels them to spread their wings for the long flight.

The habit of migration has been evolved through countless generations, and during this time the physical structure and habits of birds have been undergoing a process of evolution

Eggs of American Birds

PLATE No. 4

1. Cedar Waxwing

2. Red-eyed Vireo

3. White-eyed Vireo

4. Warbling Vireo

5. Phainopepla

6. Blue-headed Vireo

7. Bell's Vireo

8. Black and White Warbler

9. Prothonotary Warbler

10. Worm-eating Warbler

11. Blue-winged Warbler

12. Oranged-crov/ned Warbler

13. Parula Warbler

14. Magnolia Warbler

15. Yellow Warbler

16. Water-Thrush

17. Yellow-throated Warbler

18. Prairie Warbler

19. Maryland Yellow-throat

20. Oven-bird

21. Yellow-breasted Chat

22. Chestnut-sided Warbler

23. Hooded Warbler

24. Redstart

25. Pipit

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in adaptation to the climate of the summer home. In spring and early summer climatic con- ditions are decidedly variable, and yet there must be some period that has on the average the best weather for the birds' arrival. In the course of ages there have been developed habits of migration, under the influence of which the bird so performs its migratory move- ments that on the average it arrives at the nesting site at the proper time.

The word " average " needs to be emphasized. It is the average weather at a given locality that determines the average time of the bird's arrival. In obedience to physiologic promptings the bird migrates at the usual average time and proceeds northward at the usual average speed unless prevented by adverse weather. Weather conditions are not the cause of the migration of birds; but the weather, by affecting the food supply, is the chief factor which determines the average date of arrival at the breeding grounds. After the bird, in response to physiological changes, has started to migrate, the weather it encounters en route influences that migration in a subordinate way, retarding or accelerating the advance by only a few days, and having usually only slight effect upon the date of arrival at the nesting site.

Local weather conditions on the day of arrival at any stated locality are minor factors in determining the appearance of a given species at that place and time. The major factors in the problem are the weather conditions far to the southward, where the night's flight began, and the relation which that place and time bear to the average position of the bird under normal weather conditions. Many, if not most, instances of arrivals of birds under adverse weather conditions are probably explainable by the supposition that the flight was begun under favorable auspices and that later the weather changed. Migration in spring usually occurs with a rising temperature and in autumn with a falling temperature. In each case the changing temperature seems to be a more potent factor than the absolute degree of cold.

The direction and force of the winds, except as they are occasionally intimately con- nected with sudden and extreme variations in temperature, seem to have only a slight influence on migration.

Some birds migrate by day, but most of them seek the cover of darkness. Day migrants include Ducks and Geese (which also migrate by night). Hawks, Swallows, the Nighthawk, and the Chimney Swift. The last two, combining business and pleasure, catch their morning or evening meal during a zigzag flight that tends in the desired direction. The daily advance of such migrants covers only a few miles, and when a large body of water is encountered they pass around rather than across it. The night migrants include all the great family of Warblers, the Thrushes, Flycatchers, Vireos, Orioles, Tanagers, shore birds, and most of the Sparrows. They usually begin their flight soon after dark and end it before dawn, and go farther before than after midnight.

Night migration probably results in more casualties from natural causes than would occur if the birds made the same journey by day; but, on the other hand, there is a decided gain in the matter of food supply. For instance, a bird feeds all day on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico; if, then, it waited until the next morning to make its flight across the Gulf in the daytime it would arrive on the Mexican coast at nightfall and would have to wait until the following morning to appease its hunger. Thus there would be 36 consecutive hours without food, whereas by night migration the same journey can be performed with only a 12 hours' fast.

Migrating birds do not fly at their fastest. Their migration speed is usually from 30 to 40 miles an hour and rarely exceeds 50. Flights of a few hours at night, alternating with rests of one or more days, make the spring advance very slow, averaging for all species not more than 23 miles a day, but with great variations of daily rate among the different species. The exact number of miles which a particular bird makes during one day's journey has not yet been determined, and cannot be ascertained until the tagging or banding of birds by means of metal rings is carried out on a far more extensive scale than has yet been possible.

viii BIRDS OF AMERICA

If migration were a steady movement northward with the same individuals always in the van, numerous careful observations might make it possible to approximate the truth; but instead of this, most migrations are performed somewhat after the manner of a game of leap-frog. The van in spring migration is composed chiefly of old birds, and as they reach their nesting places of the previous year they remain to breed. Thus the vanguard is con- stantly dropping out and the forward movement must depend upon the arrival of the next corps, which may be near at hand or far in the rear. Moreover, in our present state of knowl- edge we can not say whether a given group of birds after a night's migration keeps in the van on succeeding nights or rests and feeds for several days and allows other groups pre- viously in the rear to assume the lead. It is known that birds do not as a rule move rapidly when migrating in the daytime, but from the meagre data available it may be inferred that the speed at night is considerably greater. During day migration the smaller land birds rarely fly faster than 20 miles an hour, though the larger birds, as Cranes, Geese, and Ducks move somewhat more rapidly. The result of timing Nighthawks on several occasions gave a rate of 10 to 14 miles an hour, the former being the more usual speed. This slow rate results from the irregularity of the flight, caused by the birds' capturing their evening and morning meals en route. In the evening the flight lasted about an hour and a half and in the morning about an hour. Thus a distance of approximately j,o miles would be traveled by each indi- vidual during the morning and evening flights.

Night migrants probably average longer distances in most of their flights, and this is known to be the case with some species. The Purple Martin, during the spring of 1884, performed almost its entire migration from New Orleans to Lake Winnipeg during only 12 nights — an average of 120 miles for each night of movement — and some late migrants, like the Gray-cheeked Thrush, must make still greater distances at a single flight. That most of them can fly several hundred miles without stopping is proved by the fact that they make flights of 500 to 700 miles across the Gulf of Mexico.

The length of the migration journey varies enormously. A few birds, like the Grouse, Quail, Cardinal, and Carolina Wren, are non-migrator>'. Many a Bobwhite rounds out its full period of existence without ever going 10 miles from the nest where it was hatched. Some other species migrate so short a distance that the movement is scarcely noticeable. Thus, Meadowlarks are found near New York City all the year, but probably the individuals nesting in that region pass a little farther south for the winter and their places are taken by migrants from farther north. Or part of a species may migrate and the rest remain sta- tionary, as in the case of the Pine Warbler and the Black-headed Grosbeak, which do not venture in winter south of the breeding range. With them fall migration is only a with- drawal from the northern and a concentration in the southern part of the summer home — the Warbler in about a fourth and the Grosbeak in less than an eighth of the summer area. In the case of the Maryland Yellow-throat, the breeding birds of Florida are strictly non- migratory, while in spring and fall other Yellow-throats pass through Florida in their journeys between their winter home in Cuba and their summer home in New England.

Another variation is illustrated by the Robin, which occurs in the middle districts of the United States throughout the year, in Canada only in summer, and along the Gulf of Mexico only in winter. Probably no individual Robin is a continuous resident in any sec- tion; but the Robin that nests, let us say, in southern Missouri, spends the winter near the Gulf, while his hardy Canada-bred cousin is the winter tenant of the abandoned summer home of the southern bird.

Most migratory birds desert the entire region occupied in summer for some other dis- trict adopted as a winter home. These two homes are separated by very variable distances. Many species from Canada winter in the United States, as the Tree Sparrow, Junco, and Snow Bunting; others nesting in northern United States winter in the Gulf States, as the Chipping, Field, Savannah, and Vesper Sparrows, while more than a hundred species leave the United States for the winter and spend that season in Central or even in South America.

BIRD MIGRATION ix

Nor are they content with journeying to northern South America, but many cross the Equator and pass on to the pampas of Argentina and a few even to Patagonia. Among these long-distance migrants are some of our commonest birds; the Scarlet Tanager migrates from Canada to Peru; the Bobolinks that nest in New England probably winter in Brazil, as do Purple Martins, Cliff Sparrows, Barn Sparrows, Nighthawks, and some Thrushes, which are their companions both summer and winter. The Black-poll Warblers that nest in Alaska winter in northern South America, at least 5,000 miles from the summer home. The land bird with the longest migration route is probably the Nighthawk, which occurs north to Yukon and south 7,000 miles away, to Argentina.

But even these distances are surpassed by some of the water birds, and notably by some of the shorebirds, which as a group have the longest migration routes of any birds. Nine- teen species of shorebirds breed north of the Arctic Circle, every one of which visits South America in winter, six of them penetrating to Patagonia, a migration route more than 8,000 miles in length. The world's migration champion, however, is the Arctic Tern.

The shape of the land areas in the northern half of the Western Hemisphere and the nature of the surface has tended to great variations in migratory movements. If the whole area from Brazil to Canada were a plain with the general characteristics of the middle section of the Mississippi Valley, the study of bird migration would lose much of its fascination. There would be a simple rhythmical swinging of the migration pendulum back and forth, spring and fall. But much of the earth's surface between Brazil and Canada is occupied by the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and parts of the Atlantic Ocean, all devoid of

Most migrants use n traverse the mo along route No.

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PRINCIPAL MIGRATION ROUTES OF NORTH AMERICA

ute No. 4. though this necessitates a flight of 500 to 700 miles across the Gulf of Mexico. A few re direct route No. ,i, and still fewer, route No. 2. Only water birds make the 2,400-nule flight I, from Nova Scotia to South America.

X BIRDS OF AMERICA

sustenance for land birds. The two areas of abundant food supply are North America and northern South America, separated by the comparatively small areas of Mexico and Central America, the islands of the West Indies, and the great waste stretches of water.

The different courses taken by the birds to get around or over this intervening inhos- pitable region are almost as numerous as the bird families that traverse them, and only some of the more important routes will be mentioned here.

Birds often seem eccentric in choice of route, and many do not take the shortest line. The so species from New England that winter in South America, instead of making the direct trip over the Atlantic involving a flight of 2,000 miles, take a somewhat longer route that follows the coast to Florida and passes thence by island or mainland to South America. What would at first sight seem to be a natural and convenient migratory highway extends from Florida through the Bahamas or Cuba to Haiti, Porto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles and thence to South America. Birds that travel by this route need never be out of sight of land; resting places are afforded at convenient intervals and the distance is but little longer than the water route. Yet beyond Cuba this highway is little used. About 25 species continue as far as Porto Rico and remain there through the winter. Only adventurers of some six species gain the South American mainland by completing the island chain. The reason is not far to seek — scarcity of food. The total area of all the West Indies east of Porto Rico is a little less than that of Rhode Island. Should a small proportion only of the feathered inhabitants of the eastern States select this route, not even the luxuriant fauna and flora of the tropics could supply their needs.

A still more direct route, but one requiring longer single flights, stretches from Florida to South America, via Cuba and Jamaica. The 150 miles between Florida and Cuba are crossed by tens of thousands of birds of some 60 different species. About half the species take the next flight of go miles to the Jamaican mountains. Here a 500-mile stretch of islandless ocean confronts them, and scarcely a third of their number leave the forest-clad hills for the unseen beyond. Chief among these is the Bobolink. With the Bobolink is an incongruous company of traveling companions — a Vireo, a Kingbird, and a Nighthawk that summer in Florida; the Chuck-will's-widow of the Gulf States; the two New England Cuckoos; the Gray-cheeked Thrush from Quebec; the Bank Swallow from Labrador; and the Black-poll Warbler from far-ofl Alaska.

The main-traveled highway is that which stretches from northwestern Florida across the Gulf, continuing the southwesterly direction which most of the birds of the Atlantic coast follow in journeying to Florida. A larger or smaller percentage of nearly all the species bound for South America take this roundabout course, quite regardless of the several-hun- dred-mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.

The birds east of the Allegheny Mountains move southwest in the fall, approximately parallel with the seacoast, and apparently keep this same direction across the Gulf to eastern Mexico. The birds of the central Mississippi Valley go southward to and over the Gulf. The birds between the Missouri and the edge of the plains and those of Canada east of the Rocky Mountains move southeastward and south until they join the others in their passage of the Gulf. In other words, the great majority of North American birds bound for a winter's sojourn in Central or South America elect a short cut across the Gulf of Mexico in preference to a longer land journey by way of Florida or Texas. In fact, millions of birds cross the Gulf at its widest part, which necessitates a single flight of 500 to 700 miles. It might seem more natural for the birds to make a leisurely trip along the Florida coast, take a short flight to Cuba, and thence a still shorter one of less than 100 miles to Yucatan — a route only a little longer and involving much less exposure. Indeed, the earlier naturalists, finding the same species both in Florida and in Yucatan, took this probable route for granted, and for years it has been noted in ornithological literature as one of the principal migration highways of North American birds. As a fact, it is almost deserted except for a few Swallows, some shore birds, and an occasional land bird storm driven from its accustomed course, while over the

Eggs of American Birds

PLATE No. 5

1. Long-billed Marsh Wren

2. Chickadee

3. Bush-Tit

4. Brown-headed Nuthatch

5. House Wren

6. Sharp-tailed Sparrow

7. Bank Swallow

8. Golden-crowned Kinglet Q. Barn Swallow

10. Song Sparrow

11. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

12. Bluebird

13. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

14. White-breasted Nuthatch

15. Wood Thrush i5. Abert's Towhee

17. Bendire's Thrasher

18. Olive-backed Thrush

19. Blue Grosbeak

20. Cardinal

21. Mockingbird

22. Catbird

23. Brov/n Thrasher

24. Robin

25. California Thrasher

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BIRD MIGRATION xi

Gulf route night after night for nearly eight months in the year myriads of hardy migrants wing their way through the darkness toward an unseen destination.

To the w^estward a short route stretches a few hundred miles from the coast of Texas to northern Vera Cruz. It is adopted by some Warblers, as the Kentucky, the Worm-eating, and the Golden-winged, and a few other species, which seek in this way to avoid a region scantily supplied with moist woodlands.

Still farther west are two routes which represent the land journeys of those birds from western United States that winter in Mexico and Central America. Their trips are com- paratively short ; most of the birds are content to stop when they reach the middle districts of Mexico and only a few pass east of the southern part of that country.

Still another route is one which extends in an approximately north and south line from Nova Scotia to the Lesser Antilles and the northern coast of South America. Though more than a thousand miles shorter than the main migration route, it is not employed by any land bird. But it is a favorite fall route for thousands of water birds, notable among which is the Golden Plover.

All Black-poll Warblers winter in South America. Those that are to nest in Alaska strike straight across the Caribbean Sea to Florida and northwestward to the Mississippi River. Then the direction changes and a course is laid almost due north to northern Minne- sota in order to avoid the treeless plains of North Dakota. But when the forests of the vSas- katchewan are reached the northwestward course is resumed and, with a slight verging toward the west, is held until the nesting region in the Alaskan spruces is attained.

Cliff Swallows in South America are winter neighbors of the Black-poll Warblers. But when in early spring nature prompts the Swallows which are to nest in Nova Scotia to seek that far-off land, situated exactly north of their winter abode, they begin their journey by a westward flight of several hundred miles to Panama. Thence they move leisurely along the western shore of the Caribbean Sea to Mexico, and, still avoiding any long trip over water, go completely around the western end of the Gulf. Hence as they cross Louisiana their course is directly opposite to that in which they started. A northeasterly flight from Louisiana to Maine and an easterly one to Nova Scotia completes their spring migration. This circuitous route has increased their flight more than 2,000 miles.

Why should the Swallow select a route so much more roundabout than that taken by the Warbler? The explanation is simple. The Warbler is a night migrant. Launching into the air soon after nightfall, it wings its way through the darkness toward some favorite lunch station, usually one to several hundred miles distant, and here it rests and feeds for several days before undertaking the next stage of its journey. Its migration consists of a series of long flights from one feeding place to the next, and naturally it takes the most direct course between stations, not avoiding any body of water that can be compassed in a single flight.

The Swallow, on the other hand, is a day migrant. It begins its spring migration several weeks earlier than the Warbler and catches each day's rations of flying insects during a few hours of slow evolutions, which at the same time accomplish the work of migration. Keeping along the insect-teeming shores, the 2,000 extra miles thereby added to the migra- tion route are but a tithe of the distance the bird covers in pursuit of its daily food.

The normal migration route for the birds of eastern North America is a northeast and southwest course approximately parallel with the trend of the Atlantic coast; the birds breeding in the interior take a line of flight parallel in general with the course of the three great river valleys — those of the Mississippi, the Red, and the Mackenzie — that form a highway rich in food supplies between their winter and summer homes. Many birds, how- ever, follow migration routes widely differing from the normal. One of the most extreme exceptions is that of the Marbled Godwit. Formerly a common breeder in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, some individuals on starting for their winter home in Central America took a course almost due east to the Maritime Provinces of Canada and thence followed

xii BIRDS OF AMERICA

the Atlantic coast to Florida and continued southward; others went in the opposite direc- tion, traveling westward to southern Alaska and southward along the Pacific coast to Guatemala. Thus birds which were neighbors in summer became separated nearly 3,000 miles during migration, to settle finally in close prox'mity for the winter.

The Connecticut Warbler, choosing another eccentric course, adopts different routes for its southward and northward journeys. All the individuals of this species winter in South America, and so far as known all go and come by the same direct route between Florida and vSouth America across the West Indies; but north of Florida the spring and fall routes diverge. The spring route leads the birds up the Mississippi Valley to their summer home in southern Canada; but fall migration begins with a 1,000-mile trip almost due east to New England, whence the coast is followed southwest to Florida. The Connecticut Warbler is considered rare, but the multitudes that have struck Long Island lighthouses during October storms show that the species is at least more common than would be judged from spring observations, and also show how closely it follows the coast line during fall migration. The breeding of the Connecticut Warbler offers a fruitful field of investigation for some bird lover during a summer vacation, for there undoubtedly is a large and as yet undiscovered breeding area in Ontario north of Lakes Huron and Superior. Incidentally this route of the Connecticut Warbler is a conclusive argument against the theory that migration routes always indicate the original pioneer path by which the birds invaded the region of their present summer homes.

Another species having an elliptical migration route is the White-winged Scoter. This Duck breeds near fresh water in the interior of Canada and winters entirely on the ocean along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States. From its summer home west of Hudson Bay individuals that are to winter on the Atlantic travel 1,500 miles almost due east to the coast of the most eastern part of Labrador; thence they cross the Gulf of St. Lawrence and follow the New England coast to their winter home, which extends from southwestern Maine to Chesapeake Bay, with the center of abundance off Long Island and Massachusetts. In spring the birds return to their breeding grounds by an inland route traversing the valleys of the Connecticut, Hudson, and Ottawa rivers. Individuals that winter along the Pacific coast from Washington to southern California are known to pass by thousands up and down the coast as far north as that coast has a generally north and south trend; but as soon as the coast line turns westward near the northwestern part of British Columbia the birds disappear and are not known anywhere in the 500-mile strip between the Pacific coast and the Mackenzie Valley. Apparently this region is crossed at a single flight from the salt water of the coast to the fresh-water summer home on the great lakes of the Mackenzie Valley.

A migration route entirely different from any thus far mentioned is that of the Western Tanager, or Louisiana Tanager, as it was formerly called. From its winter home in Guate- mala it enters the United States about April 20; another 10 days and the van is in central New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California, marking an approximately east and west line. The next 10 days the easternmost birds advance only to southern Colorado, while the western have reached northern Washington. May 10 finds the line of the van extending in a great curve from Vancouver Island northeast to central Alberta and thence southeast to northern Colorado. It is evident that the Alberta birds have not reached their breeding grounds by way of the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, a route which would naturally be taken for granted by anyone examining a map of the winter and summer homes. On the contrary, these Alberta breeders must have come by way of the Pacific coast to southern British Columbia and then crossed over the main range of the Rocky Mountains, which at this season (May 20) are still cold and parth^ covered with snow.

The shape of North America tends to a converging of the lines of migration toward the Gulf of Mexico, and consequently the east and west breadth of the migration route just south of the United States is usually less than the corresponding breadth of the breeding

William L. Fmley and H. T. Bohlman photographing nest of Western Tanagers in top of fir tree, eighty feet

from the ground [xiiil

xiv BIRDS OF AMERICA

territory. The extent to which migration routes contract varies greatly with different species. The Redstart represents one extreme where the Hnes of migration are carried far eastward to include the Bahamas and the Antilles, while they also extend southward into Mexico. Thus the migrating hosts present a broad front with an east and west extension of 2,500 miles from Mexico to the Lesser Antilles.

The opposite extreme, a narrow migration route, appears in the case of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The breeding range extends from Nova Scotia to central Alberta, 2,500 miles, and the migration lines converge until the Grosbeaks leave the United States along 800 miles of the Gulf coast from western Florida to central Texas.

The case of the Bobolink is typical of many species nesting in North America and win- tering entirely in South America. The summer home extends from Cape Breton Island to Saskatchewan, 2,300 miles, and the migration lines converge toward southeastern United States and then strike directly across the West Indies for South America. In this part of their journey the migration path contracts to an east and west breadth of about 800 miles, and a very large percentage of the birds restrict themselves to the eastern half of it. In South America the region occupied during the winter has about one-fifth the breadth and one-third the area of the breeding range.

The route of the Scarlet Tanager is an extreme example of narrowness of the path traveled twice a year between winter and summer homes. The breeding range extends i,goo miles from New Brunswick to Saskatchewan. The migration range is contracted to 800 miles from Florida to Texas as the birds leave the United States. The migration lines continue to converge until in southern Central America the limits are not more than 100 miles apart.

The Black and White Warbler presents some interesting phases of migration. It winters in Central America, Mexico, the West Indies, and the peninsula of Florida. Ordinarily it would not be possible to distinguish the spring migrants in Florida from the wintering birds, and the advance of migration could not be noted until the migrants had passed north of the winter range, but records of Black and White Warblers striking lighthouses of southern Florida indicate the beginning of the birds' northward migration flight from Cuba. This occurs on the average on March 4, and the birds do not appear in southern Georgia beyond their winter range on the average until March 24. Thus a period of 20 days is taken for the van of migration to move 400 miles across Florida, an average rate of 20 miles per day. This rate is about the slowest of all North American birds and is only slightly increased throughout the whole spring migration up the Atlantic coast to Nova Scotia, where the birds arrive about May 20, having averaged less than 25 miles a day for the whole 77 days after leaving Cuba.

Migration along the western border of the range is fully as slow as along. the Atlantic coast; on the average, the first arrive at Kerrville, Tex., March 9 and in northern North Dakota May 10, having traveled 1,300 miles in 60 days, or 22 miles a day. Thence the speed is more than doubled to the northwestern limit of the range in the Mackenzie Valley.

Incidentally it may be remarked that the Black and White Warbler is one of the very few migrants which arrive in Texas and Florida before they appear at the mouth of the Mississippi. The van of most species reaches southern Louisiana earlier than southern Texas.

The Cliff Swallow is another species with a slow migration schedule. It must start northward very early, since by March 10 it is already 2,500 miles from the winter home and yet averages only 25 miles a day for the next 20 days while rounding the western end of the Gulf of Mexico. It more than doubles this rate while passing up the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. The crossing of the Allegheny Mountains comes next, and there are only 200 miles of progress to show for the 10 days' flight. By this time spring has really come east of the AUeghenies, and the Swallow travels 60 miles a day to its summer home in Nova Scotia. It is to be noted that the Swallow works up to high rates of speed only when it is traveling on the diagonal, and that except during the ten days spent in crossing the mountains each ID days' travel covers approximately 5 degrees of latitude.

BIRD MIGRATION xv

One of the best examples of rapid migration is that of the Gray-cheeked Thrush. This bird remains in its South American winter home so long that it does not appear in southern United States until late April — April 25 near the mouth of the Mississippi and April 30 in northern Florida. The last week in May finds the bird in extreme northwestern Alaska, the 4,000 mile trip from Louisiana to Alaska having been performed in about 30 days, or about 130 miles a day.

Generally the later in the season a bird migrates the greater is its average speed, but not necessarily the distance covered in a single night. The early migrants encounter much bad weather, and after one night's migration usually delay several days before making the next flight. The later migrant finds few nights too unfavorable for advancing, so that short flights taken on successive nights greatly raise the average migration speed.

How do migrating birds find their wa}-? They do not journey haphazard, for the familiar inhabitants of our door>-ard Marten boxes will return next year to these same boxes, though meanwhile thay have visited Brazil. If the entire distance were made overland, it might be supposed that sight and memon,- were the only faculties exercised. But for those birds that cross the Gulf of Mexico, something more than sight is necessary. Among day migrants sight probably is the principal guide, but it is noticeable that these seldom make the long single flights so common with night migrants.

Sight undoubtedly does play a part in guiding the night journeys also. On clear nights, especially when the moon shines brightly, migrating birds fly high and the ear can scarcely distinguish their faint twitterings; if clouds overspread the heavens, the flocks pass nearer the earth and their notes are much more audible, and on very dark nights the flutter of vibrant wings may be heard but a few feet overhead. Nevertheless, something besides sight guides these travelers in the upper air. In Alaska a few years ago members of the Biological Survey on the Harriman expedition went b}' steamer from the island of Unalaska to Bogoslof Island, a distance of about 60 miles. A dense fog shut out every object beyond a hundred yards. When the steamer was halfway across, flocks of Murres, returning to Bogoslof after long quests for food, began to break through the fog-wall astern, fly parallel with the vessel, and disappear in the mists ahead. By chart and compass the ship was heading straight for the island, but its course was no more exact than that taken by the birds. The power which carried them unerringly home over the ocean wastes, whatever its nature, may be called a sense of direction. We recognize in ourselves the possession of some such sense, though imperfect and frequently at fault. Doubtless a similar but vastly more acute sense enables the Murres, flying from home and circling wide over the water, to keep in mind the direction of their nests and return to them without the aid of sight.

But even the birds' sense of direction is not infallible. Reports from lighthouses in southern Florida show that birds leave Cuba on cloudy nights, when they can not possibly see the Florida shores, and safely reach their destination, provided no change occurs in the weather. But at fickle equinoctial time many flocks starting out under auspicious skies find themselves suddenly caught by a tempest. Buffeted by the wind and their sense of direction lost, these birds fall easy victims to the lure of the lighthouse. Many are killed by the impact, but many more settle on the framework or foundation until the storm ceases or the coming of daylight allows them to recover their bearings.

A favorite theor>' of many American ornithologists is that coast lines, mountain chains, and especially the courses of the larger rivers and their tributaries form well-marked highways along which birds return to previous nesting sites. According to this theory, a bird breeding in northern Indiana would in its fall migration pass down the nearest little rivulet or creek to the Wabash River, thence to the Ohio, and reaching the IVlississippi would follow its course to the Gulf of Mexico, and would use the same route reversed for the return trip in the spring. The fact is that each county in the Central States contains nesting birds which at the beginning of the fall migration scatter toward half the points of the compass; indeed, it would be safe to say all the points of the compass, as some young

xvi BIRDS OF AMERICA

Herons preface their regular journey south with a little pleasure trip to the unexplored north. In fall most of the migrant land birds breeding in New England move south- west in a line approximately parallel with the Allegheny Mountains, but we can not argue from this fact that the route is selected so that mountains will serve as a guide, because at this very time thousands of birds reared in Indiana, Illinois, and to the north- westward are crossing these mountains at right angles to visit South Carolina and Georgia. This is shown specifically in the case of the Palm Warblers. They winter in the Gulf States from Louisiana eastward and throughout the greater Antilles to Porto Rico; they nest in Canada from the Mackenzie Valley to Newfoundland. To migrate according to the " lay of the land," the Louisiana Palm Warblers should follow up the broad open highway of the Mississippi River to its source and go thence to their breeding grounds, while the Warblers of the Antilles should use the Allegheny Mountains as a guide. As a matter of fact, the Louisiana birds nest in Labrador and those from the Antilles cut diagonally across the United States to summer in central Canada. These two routes of Palm Warblers cross each other in Georgia at approximately right angles. It is possible to trace the routes of the Palm Warblers because those nesting to the east of Hudson Bay differ enough in color from those nesting farther west to be readily distinguished even in their winter dress. It must always be remembered, however, that from a common ancestry these two groups of Palm Warblers came to differ in appearance because they gradually evolved differences in breeding grounds and in migration routes and not that they chose different routes because they were sub- specifically different.

The truth seems to be that birds pay little attention to natural physical highways except when large bodies of water force them to deviate from the desired course. Food is the principal factor in determining migration routes, and in general the course between summer and winter homes is as straight as the birds can find and still have an abundance of food at each stopping place.

It is interesting to note the relation between migration and molting. Most birds care for their young until old enough to look out for themselves, then molt, and when the new feathers are grown start on their southward journey in their new suits of clothes. But the birds that nest beyond the Arctic Circle have too short a summer to permit such leisurely movements. They begin their migration as soon as possible after the young are out of the nest and molt en route. Indeed, these Arctic breeders are so pressed for time that many of them do their courting during the period of spring migration and arrive at the breeding grounds already paired and ready for nest building, while many a Robin and Bluebird in the middle Mississippi Valley has been in the neighborhood of the nesting site a full month before it carries the first straw of construction.

Migration is a season full of peril for myriads of winged travelers, especially for those that cross large bodies of water. Some of the water birds making long voyages can rest on the waves if overtaken by storms, but for the luckless Warbler or Sparrow whose feathers become water-soaked an ocean grave is inevitable. Nor are such accidents infrequent. A few years ago on Lake Michigan a storm during spring migration forced to the waves numerous victims, as evidenced by many subsequently drifting ashore. If such mortality could occur on a lake less than loo miles wide, how much more likely even a greater disaster attending a flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Such a catastrophe was once witnessed from the deck of a vessel 30 miles off the mouth of the Mississippi River. Large numbers of migrating birds, mostly Warblers, had accomplished nine-tenths of their long flight and were nearing land, when caught by a " norther," with which most of them were unable to contend, and falling into the Gulf they were drowned by hundreds.

During migration birds are peculiarly liable to destruction by striking high objects. The Washington Monument, at the National Capital, has witnessed the death of many little migrants; on a single morning in the spring of 1902 nearly 150 lifeless bodies were strewn around its base.

BIRD MIGR^ATION xvii

"^ Even,- spring the lights of the Hghthouses along the coast lure to destruction myriads

of birds en route from their winter homes in the south to their summer nesting places in the north. Every fall a still greater death toll is exacted when the return journey is made. Lighthouses are scattered every few miles along the more than 3,000 miles of coast Hne, but two lighthouses, Fowey Rocks and Sombrero Key, cause far more bird tragedies than any others. The reason is twofold — their geographic position and the character of their lights. Both lights are situated at the southern end of Florida, where countless thousands of birds pass each year to and from Cuba; and both are lights of the first magnitude on towers 100-140 feet high. Fowey Rocks has a fixed white light, the deadliest of all. A flashing light frightens birds away and a red light is avoided by them as would be a danger signal, but a steady white light looming out of the mist or darkness seems like a magnet drawing the wanderers to destruction. Coming from any direction they veer around to the leeward side and then flying against the wind strike the glass, or more often exhaust themselves like moths fluttering in and out of the bewildering rays.

During the spring migration of 1903 two experienced ornithologists spent the entire season on the coast of northwestern Florida, visiting every sort of bird haunt. They were eminently successful in the long list of species identified, but their enumeration is still more remarkable for what it does not contain. About 25 species of the smaller land birds of the Eastern States were not seen, including a dozen common species. ■ Among these latter were the Chat, the Redstart, and the Indigo Bunting, three species abundant throughout the whole region to the northward. The explanation of their absence from the list seems to be that these birds, on crossing the Gulf of Mexico, flew far inland before alighting and thus passed over the observers. This would seem to disprove the popular belief that birds under ordinary circumstances find the ocean flight excessively wearisome, and that after laboring with tired pinions across the seemingly endless wastes they sink exhausted on reaching terra firma. The truth seems to be that, endowed by nature with wonderful powers of aerial locomotion, many birds under normal conditions not only cross the Gulf of Mexico at its widest point but even pass without pause over the low swampy coastal plain to the higher territon>^ beyond.

So Httle averse are birds to an ocean flight that many fly from eastern Texas to the Gulf coast of southern Mexico, though this 400 miles of water journey hardly shortens the distance of travel by an hour's flight. Thus birds avoid the hot, treeless plains and scant provender of southern Texas by a direct flight from the moist insect-teeming forests of northern Texas to a similar country in southern Mexico.

It may be well to consider the actual amount of energy expended by birds in their migratory flights. Both the soaring and the sailing of birds show that they are proficient in the use of several factors in the art of flying that have not yet been mastered either in principle or practice by the most skillful of modern aviators. A Vulture or a Crane, after a few preliminary wing beats, sets its wings and mounts in wide sweeping circles to a great height, overcoming gravity with no exertion apparent to human vision even when assisted by the most powerful telescopes. The Carolina Rail, or Sora, has small, short wings apparently ill adapted to protracted flight, and ordinarily when forced to fly does so reluctantly and alights as soon as possible. It flies with such awkwardness and apparently becomes so quickly exhausted that at least one writer has been led to infer that most of its migration must be made on foot; the facts are, however, that the Carolina Rail has one of the longest migration routes of the whole Rail family and easily crosses the wide reaches of the Caribbean Sea. The Hummingbird, smallest of all birds, crosses the Gulf of Mexico, flying over 500 miles in a single night. As already noted, the Golden Plover flies from Nova Scotia to South America, and in fair weather makes the whole distance of 2,400 miles without a stop, probably requiring nearly if not quite 48 hours for the trip.

Here is an aerial machine that is far more economical of fuel — i. e., of energ},- — than the best aeroplane yet invented. The to-and-fro motion of the bird's wing appears to be an

\'0I,. III. — .'

xviii BIRDS OF AMERICA

uneconomical way of applying power, since all the force required to bring the wing forward for the beginning of the stroke is not only wasted, but more than wasted, as it largely increases the air friction and retards the speed. On the other hand, the screw propeller of the aero- plane has no lost motion. Yet less than 2 ounces of fuel in the shape of body fat suffice to force the bird at a high rate of speed over that 2,400-mile course. A thousand-pound aeroplane, if as economical of fuel, would consume in a 20-mile flight not the gallon of gasoline required by the best machines but only a single pint.

The Canada Goose is typical of what may be called regular migration. This bird fulfills the popular notion of bird migration, /. c, it moves northward in spring as soon as

ISOTHERM or 35° F ISOCHRONAL MIGRATION LINES

Tnurtesy of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture MIGRATION OF THE CANADA GOOSE An example of migration keeping pace with the advance of spring

the loosening of winter's fetters offers open water and a possibility of food. It continues its progress at the same rate as spring, appearing at its most northern breeding grounds at the earliest possible moment. The isotherm of 35° F. seems to be the governing factor in the rate of spring migration of the Canada Goose and the isotherm and the vanguard of the Geese are close traveling companions throughout the entire route. Moreover, the isochronal lines representing the position of the van at various times are approximately east-and-west lines during the whole migration period. But this so-called regular migration is performed by a very small percentage of species, the great majority choosing exactly the opposite course — to remain in their winter homes until spring is far advanced and then reach their breeding grounds by a migration much more rapid than the northward advance of the season.

Much has been learned about bird migration in these latter days, but much yet remains to be learned.

ORDER OF PERCHING BIRDS Concluded

Order Pas

FINCHES

suborder Osci}ics ; family Frijigillidcr

^HE Finches are the largest family of birds; there are about twelve hundred species and subspecies scattered over the world except in Australia; about two hundred are represented in the United States. They belong to the larger division of singing birds. All have cone-shaped bills, nine feathers in the hand section of the wing, and a sharp angle at the back of each foot. The line of opening of the bill turns downward near the base, and in some of the Finches the cutting edge of the lower bill is distinctly elevated about the center, this raised portion forming a tooth. At the corners of the mouth are bristles, sometimes indistinct liut usually quite easily seen. There are always twelve feathers in the tail, l;)ut the shape varies. The nostrils are high up, bare in some species and in others covered with bristles. The plumage varies from almost plain to highly variegated. The coloring of the Sparrows is adapted to their grassy, dusty habitats and the males and females are similar;, while in the subdivision of Finches the males are chiefly bright-colored and the females either duller or with a distinct plumage. Nests are generally placed on the ground or in bushes or in low trees.

These birds are essentially seed-eaters, their strong bills being jjeculiarly adapted to this kind of food. They do, of course, eat insects also. Because of this indifiference to animal food the Finches are less migratory than most birds.

Year by year the usefulness of this family is more and more appreciated by humans. They lay the farmer under a heavy debt of gratitude by their food habits, since their chosen fare consists largely of the seeds of weeds. Some idea of the money value of this group of birds to the country may be gained from the statement that the total value of the farm products in the United States in iqio reached the sum of $8, g26, 000,000 If we estimate that the total consumption of weed seed by the combined members of this family resulted in a saving of only one per cent of the crops — not a violent assumption — the sum saved to farmers by these birds in igio was $89,260,000.

Their work begins before the seeds are ripe and continues throughout fall and winter and even far into spring. The Sparrows that breed on the farm have to content them- selves early in the spring with seeds left from the preceding year. During August the seed- eating of Sparrows is sufficiently noticeable to attract the attention of even a casual observer; for by this time great stores of weed seed have ripened and the young Sparrows, which have lieen exclusively insectivorous, are ready to take vegetable food. From autumn to spring evidence of the seed-eating habits of Sparrows is so plain that he who runs may read ; the lively flocks diving here and there among the brown weeds to feed are familiar adjuncts of every roadside, fence row, and field. A person visiting one of the weed patches in the agricultural region of the upper Mississipjji valley on a sunny morning in January, when the thermometer is 20 or more below zero, will be struck by the life and animation of the busy little inhabitants. Instead of sitting forlorn and half frozen, they may be seen flitting from branch to branch, twittering and fluttering, and showing every evidence of enjoyment and perfect comfort. If one of them is shot, it will be found in excellent condition — in fact, a veritable ball of fat. The most serious charge that can be brought against members of the Finch family is that they distribute noxious plants, the seeds of which pass through their stomachs and germinate when voided from the body. However, it seems likely that this agency of seed- ing down farms to weeds is infinitesimal when compared with the dispersion of weeds caused

[I]

2 BIRDS OF AMERICA

by the use of manure containing weed seed and the planting of impure seed, which often contains seeds of foreign weeds of the worst stamp. Birds take seeds for food and it seems probable that such use would preclude the evacuation of any but a most insignificant propor- tion of uninjured seeds.

Four vernacular names have been applied to this group : Buntings, Grosbeaks, Sparrows, and Finches. "Bunting " means plump, or dumpy, or rounded out, as a sail is filled with the wind, and its application to this family refers to the stocky little bodies of its members. "Gros- beak" has reference to their short, thick bills, but is not altogether appropriate as there are birds in other families with this characteristic. "Sparrow" literally means " fiutterer " and has come to us from the Anglo-Saxon spearwa, through the mediaeval English sparwe, sparewe, and sparowc. "Finch" is also of Anglo-Saxon origin, but its literal meaning has been lost. Robert Ridgway considers it the most appropriate of the popular names for this family in America; he says (manuscript) that in a strict sense the term "Sparrow" pertains to the species Passer only, represented in America only by the introduced House Sparrow, or so- called English Sparrow, and in this restricted sense we have no native American true Sparrows; on the other hand there are many true Finches in America.

EVENING GROSBEAK

Hesperiphona vespertina vespertina ( W . Cooper)

A. O. U. Ni

514 See Color Plate 79

Other Names.— Sugar Bird ; American Hawfinch.

General Description. — Length, S'i inches. Males, yellowisli and black: female, gray and black. Bill, heavy : legs, short ; tail, short and slightly emarginate ; wings, nearly twice the length of tail and pointed.

Color. — Adult Male: Forehead and stripe over the eye. yellow: erozs.<n, black: rest of head with neck and upper back, plain olive, lighter and more yellowish olive on throat, changing gradually to clear lemon-yellow on shoulders and rump and to lighter yellow on posterior under parts, the longer under tail-coverts sometimes partly white; upper tail-eoverts. tail, and icings black: inner zcing quills, white or pale grayish ; bill, light olive- yellowish or pale yellowish green ; iris, brown. Adult Female : Above, plain deep smoke-gray, the head darker, the rump paler ; the hindneck tinged with yellow- ish olive-green ; throat, abdomen, and under tail-coverts white: rest of under parts, light bufify-grayish usually tinged with yellow, especially on sides of chest ; wings.

dull black with iimermost greater coverts largely dull white, inner wing quills largely light gray ; the pri- maries edged with white and pale gray, all except the three outermost quills white at base, forming a distinct patch; unper tail-coverts black with large terminal spots of pale bufify-grayish and white; tail, black with inner webs of feathers broadly white at tips.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Usually placed in the top of a conifer from 15 to 50 feet up; sometimes in other trees; a saucer-shaped affair of small twigs, grass, root- lets, bark strips, lined with fine rootlets or horse- hair. Eggs : 3 or 4. clear green blotched with pale brown.

Distribution. — Interior districts of North America east of Rocky Mountains; north (in winter) to the -Saskatchewan ; south, in winter, irregularly, to Kansas, Iowa, Illinois. Kentucky, Ohio, etc. ; eastward, irregu- larly and in winter only, to Ontario, New York, and New England. Breeds in western Canada.

The Hawfinch of England has lived in a popu- lous land and among a people appreciative of the beauty of a beautiful bird. The American rela- tive of the Hawfinch, nesting far out in the less accessible foothills of Alberta and up in the Canadian Rockies, has failed to meet with the poetical disposition and the friendship that be- long to the admirers of the Hawfinch. The Evening Grosbeak is in reality a stranger to civilization except in the newer West, and this newer West is a stranger to him. In the winter there may be seen in the northwestern States scattered flocks of these Grosbeaks strikingly

marked in their yellow and black. When cer- tain seeds are scarce they will drift on into the eastern States in the middle of winter, reaching New England and the Maritime Provinces. But these years are not often.

During the early months of igi6 the presence of these birds in the East excited an unusual in- terest. The first record of the Evening Grosbeak in New York city was during the 191 1 migration. The ornithological magazines and daily papers had many letters on the observations made of the 1916 migration. Sara Chandler Eastman gave the following interesting and informing record

FINCHES

to Bird-Lore: " The first record of the Evening Grt)sheak at Portland. Maine, was made early in Februarv. when a large flock settled in a moun- tain-ash on private grounds in the western part of the city. Throughout the months of Febru- ary and April flocks in varying numbers were observed in different sections of the city. aii<l the birds remained until the eleventh of May. none being seen, so far as known, after that dale."' The birds were seen both in low jiine trees and on the ground. She added that " the males were in beautiful plumage, and it was a rare treat to see them, one's pleasure being greatly enhanced by their fearlessness, as they would permit a close approach without taking flight." Their c;dl is short and cheerv. and has been called by Mrs. Hailev. " wild and free."

Down from western Canada through the moun- tains all the way to Mexico is a variety called the \\'estern Evening Grosbeak [ Hcs/^cripliona z'cspcrtiiia iitoiitaiia). They breed in the ca- nons in Arizona and are found not uiicumnKinly near water throughout the southwestern moun- tain country. In many of the tnwns of the Pacific northwest they are fairly common winter birds in the street maples and in the parks and woodsides. Mrs. Bailey writes interestingly of their protective coloration. " While watching the birds on Mt. Shasta one day, I was struck by the conspicuousness of one that flew across an open space. As it lit on a dead stub whose silvery branches were touched with yellow lichen, to my amazement it simply vanished."

L. Nelson Nichols.

(Jn his winter visits, the Evening Grosbeak may be found feeding on the buds or seeds of trees. The maple, elder, box-elder, and ash, each give their quota to him. The fruit of the sumac also attracts him. But none of these is valued as highlv by him as are the various frozen or dried fruits on vines and trees ; of all food his

by R. I. BrasliLT EVENING GROSBEAK

preference is for apple seeds taken from frozen apjjles. A Michigan bird student reports that several of these birds whicli he kept in captivity for nearly two years refused to eat any kind of grain except a few oats and that only when hard pressed. Insects of any kind that could be se- cured thev absolutelv refused to touch.

PINE GROSBEAK Pinicola enucleator leucura {Miillcr)

:\. n. U. Number 515 See Color Plate 76

Other Names. — .American Pine Grosbeak; Canadian Pine Grnshe.'ik; Canadian Grosbeak; Pine Bullfinch.

General Description. — Length, 9 inches. Male, pale red and gray ; female, gray and yellowish. Bill, short, broad, and thick; wings, long and pointed: tail, long and eniarginated ; feet, small.

Color. — ."XriuLT M.m.e: General color of head, neck, and under parts (except abdomen, flanks, anal region, and under tail-coverts), rather light poppy-red (in sunnner) or dull pinkish red (in winter), the feathers grayish beneath the surface, this exposed in places, especially on chest; nasal tufts and part of lores and eye region, dusky; abdomen and upper portion of sides and flanks, rather light dull ash-gray or smoke-gray ;

under tail-coverts, similar but in part darker, broadly margined with white ; the space between the shoulders, dusky, broadly margined with red ; shoulders, dark grayish, margined with paler gray ; rump, superficially, red ; upper tail-coverts, broadly margined with red : wings, ciull slate-dusky, most of the feathers edged with light grayish and white (the edgings broader and decidedly white on the inner quills), the greater and middle coverts broadly tipped with white, forming two conspicuous bands, which are sometimes, especially the anterior one, tinged with red ; tail, slate-dusky edged with grayish (sometimes tinged with red), .^dult Female: General color, plain smoke-gray, the crown and rump and part of upper tail-coverts, bright yellow-

BIRDS OF AMERICA

ish olive, tawny-olive, or russet, the back and anterior under parts, especially chest, sometimes tinged with the same; otherwise like adult males.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Usually in conifers; con- structed with foundation and outside walls of twigs and rootlets enclosing a well woven "inner" nest of finer twigs, grasses, and bark strips. Eccs : 4, pale greenish-blue, spotted and blotched with dark umber- brown and lavender.

Distribution. — Northeastern North America, breed- ing from Cape P5reton Island, southern Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, Province of Quebec, etc., north to limit of coniferous forests; south in winter to southern New England, New York, north- ern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, northern parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Iowa. etc.. casually to District of Columbia. Kentucky, and Kansas ; west tn eastern Kansas. Minnesota. Manitoba, etc.

Some cold bright winter morning when first we step out into the frost, we hear a pleasing mellow whistle, and see several birds resembling Robins glide up into the apple tree or the clump of spruces in the front yard. Investigation re-

imply that the spruces in the northern forests are not bearing the normal crop of cones, and that this is one of the seasons, occurring only about once every half dozen years or so, when there will be a notable influx into the United

Drawing by R, I

A bird that lo

PINE GROSBEAK I ! nat. size) ; the great pine forests of Canada and the United States

veals that there are about a dozen of them, mov- ing about in rather a sedate and deliberate manner. Several are on the ground, the rest scattered about in the nearby trees, perhaps bit- ing into frozen apples, or at work on the ever- green cones ; in either case trying to get at the seeds encased within. Most of them are dark gray, but one or two look pinkish in the morn- ing sunshine. A rather rare treat is ours, a visit from those nomads of the cold North, the Pine Grosbeaks.

The sight is of some significance. It may

States of Canadian winter birds. Probably the Crossbills and Redpolls will also be seen, with the accompanying flight of the fierce Goshawks, which prey ujjon them, also the Northern Shrike, and other northern birds. There is an added in- centive now for winter otitings, which will pay dividends in health and vigor through getting away from poorly ventilated indoors. Somehow there is a peculiar charm about these birds from the northern wilds which make no account of the fierce cold.

During one such winter some friends of mine

FINCHES

discovered a Pine (irosbeak by a roadside unable to fly. owing to a slight injury to the wing, and took it home. The wing soon healed, and the bird, a young male, became very tame. Fre- quently it was released from the cage and would fly about the room, alighting on the persons of its benefactors to eat seeds, crumbs, or tender leaves such as lettuce. In spring it had a pretty warbled song. I saw it in late summer when it was molting and had lost most of its tail-feathers.

One year a flock of these interesting birds visited my garden daily from the middle of Janu- ary to early March. They devoted themselves mostly to the maple seeds on the ground under those trees. I swept off the snow for them, and thus secured their daily return. It was most entertaining to watch them twirl the winged seeds in their bills and bite out the kernels. They are also partial to sumac, mountain ash. or other trees which bear and hold berries, and are not above eating some buds, of which surely there are enough.

In common with the Crossbills this species is said to breed very early, even when there i snow, but like them also it is probably irregular in this respect, as nests have been found in sum- mer. Herbert K. Job.

In western North America are several varieties of the Pine Grosbeak. The Rocky Mountain Pine Grosbeak [Pinicola ciiiiclcalor inoiitana ) lives in the Rocky Mountains from west central Alberta, Idaho, and Montana to northern New Mexico. The California Pine Grosbeak {Pini- cola cnnclcator calif ornica) breeds in the central Sierra Nevadas. in California. The Alaska Pine Grosbeak (Pnticola oiitclditor ahiscriisis ) lirceds

from northwestern Alaska and northwestern Alackenzie to northern Washington and winters south to eastern British Columbia and Montana. The Kodiak Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola cnnclcator flauiinitla) is a bird of southern Alaska coming south in winter along the coast to British Co- lumbia. The differences between these western forms and between them and the comnmn Pine Grosbeak are trifling — a little larger or a little smaller in size, a shade darker or a shade lighter in coloration.

Phnto by H. K. Jub

I Uuting Pub. Co.

PINE GROSBEAK In Mr. Job's garden

The economic status of the Pine Grosbeaks is as nearly neutral as that of any bird could be They do no particular good beyond the possible distribution of seeds of valuable trees and, on the other hand, the few buds they eat from the ever- green and shade trees do not amount to much. Most of their food consists of buds from pine, spruce, and tamarack trees, the berries of the Mrginia juniper and the mountain ash, and the seeds of the maples.

PURPLE FINCH

Carpodacus purpureas purpureas (Ginclin)

A. O. U. Number =;i7 .See Color Plate 7f.

Other Names. — Purple Linnet ; I'lirple Grll^l>ea^; ; Red Linnet; Gray Linnet (immature and female).

General Description. — Length, 6;<j inches. Male, pinkisli-purple and brown ; female, olive-grayish above, and white below, conspicuously streaked above and below. Bill, shorter than head, conical, and thick ; tail, about ^i length of wing, deeply einarginate.

Color. — Adult Male: Crown, deep wine-purple (more crimson in summer) ; rump, jialer. more pinkish wine-purple: back and shoulders, reddish-brown or

wine-purplish, streaked with darker: wings and tail, dusky with light brownish-red or light brown edgings, the middle and greater coverts, broadly tipped with dull wine-purple or light brownish-red : eye and ear regions dusky brownish-red; rest of head, together with front and lateral under parts, pinkish wine-purple; abdomen, anal region, and under tail-coverts, white ; flanks usually streaked with brown, and longer under tail- coverts rarely marked with narrow streaks of dusky. Adult Fem.^le: Above, olive or olive-grayish (more

6

BIRDS OF AMERICA

olivaceous in winter), streaked with dusky and, to a less extent, with whitish; wings and tail, dusky with light olive or olive-grayish edgings; a hroad stripe of olive on side of head, and a more broken stripe or patch of the same on sides of throat; ear and cheek regions, mostly whitish, streaked with olive ; under parts, white (tinged with buff in winter) broadly streaked with olive, except on abdomen, anal region, and under tail-coverts, the streaks distinctly wedge- shaped or triangular.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Usually placed in conifers;

a frail open-work structure of grass, rootlets, bark strips, vegetable fibers, thickly lined with hair ; resembles a Chipping Sparrow's nest, but larger. Eggs : 4 to 6, dull greenish-blue spotted with shades of brown, black, and lilac.

Distribution. — Eastern North America; breeding from Pennsylvania (especially in mountains), northern New Jersey, Connecticut, southern Ontario, northern Illinois, Minnesota, and North Dakota, north to more eastern British provinces, Hudson Bay, Manitoba ; in winter south to Gulf coast.

The haunts of the Purple Finch are the low green forests, not the denser portions, but rather the open woods and swamps wliere firs and cedars are nunierous. He is one of the con-

C'lurtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. PORPLE FINCH C. nat. size) From the top of a balsam or a spruce he delivers his song

spicuous birds of such a neighborhood. From the top of a balsam or a spruce he delivers his song — a rapid, easily flowing, melodious warble, re- sembling in a measure that of the Warbling Virco but more variable in character. Sometimes when overcome with emotion he launches into the air with vibrating wings, rising upward and upward, melody pouring from his throat like a torrent down a mountain side, until he has reached an altitude of two or three hundred feet, when with outstretched wings he descends in wide circles

to the summit of the very tree from which he started. Occasionally this impassioned outbreak comes with such suddenness as to startle anyone who may be nearby.

Often he may be seen dancing about a female on the limbs of a tree or on the ground. His wings will be fully extended and quivering, his crest standing as high as possible, his tail spread, and the bright feathers of the rump raised in the air. During this performance he gives voice softly and sweetly to his melodious warble. Pres- ently, apparently overcome by his emotion, he closes his wings and flies to a neighboring tree — but in a short time he repeats his antics.

In addition to his song, he has a sharp call- note, pip, uttered while flying, and another, chip dice, used when feeding. The immature males, which look like the females, sing almost as well as the full-plumaged males. Several ob- servers have stated that the female sings, but not as sweetly as the male.

In western North America we find in the val- leys the California Purple Finch (Carpodacus piirpiirciis califoniiciis) and on the mountain slopes Cassin's Purple Finch ( Carpodacus cas- stni). The California Purple Finch is about the same size as the eastern bird, but the red is bright rosy instead of wine color. The Cassin's Finch is similar to the California but duller in colora- tion and he is larger by about an inch.

The scientific name given to this group of birds is very expressive of a bad habit indulged in by them. Carpodacus is from the Greek, and translated into English means " fruit-biting." When the trees are budding they do consider- able harm in the peach and cherry orchards by eating the buds. Later they have been found feeding on green- cherries. In the winter any seed-bearing tree will furnish them with a meal. Though they habitually feed in trees, they often destroy the seeds of noxious weeds. A bird of this species was watched with a glass while feeding in a thicket of giant ragwood. In three minutes he ate fifteen seeds.

FINCHES

HOUSE FINCH

Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis (.S"(7r)

Other Names. — Crimson-frontctl Finch ; Red-headed Linnet : Linnet : Burion ; Red-liead.

General Description. — Length. 5'.. inches. L^pper parts, brownish-gray : under parts, white streaked with brown. Bill, shorter than head, conical, and thick; tail, about -54 length of wing, nearly even.

Color. — Adult Male: Forehead (broadly), broad stripe above the ear (e.xtending from forehead to back of head), check region, throat (sometimes upper part of chest also), and rump, bright red; rest of upper parts, hair-brown tinged with red ; the wings and tail, dusky with pale grayish brown and brownish gray edgings ; under parts ( e.xcept throat, etc.) dull u'hitish. thickly streaked %cith hair-brown, the breast sometimes tinged with pale red ; bill, dark horn-brownish ; iris, brown. Adl'lt Fem.\le: Similar to the adult male, but without any red, that of the upper parts replaced by the general

hair-hrown, that of throat, etc., by streaks of white and .grayish brown, like rest of inider parts.

Nest and Eggs. — Xest : Usually about houses, but located anywhere in trees, bushes, sagebrush, hay stacks, old boxes, tin cans, but always near water; care- lessly or compactly constructed of any handy material, grass, string, paper, rags, straw, bark strips, or plant fibers. Eggs : 3 to 6, bluish white or pale greenish blue, sparingly marked with spots and lines of sepia or black; rarely unmarked.

Distribution. — Western Lhiited States and northern Mexico; north to southern Wyoming, southern Idaho, and Oregon ; south to Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, north- ern Chihuahua, northern Sonora, and northern Lower California; east to western border of the Great Plains ( middle Texas to western Kansas and southeastern Wyoming).

The House Finch or Red-headed T.innet through many parts of the West is the com- monest bird about the dooryard. It is even more abundant and more familiar than the Robin through the northern .States. It is especially fond of nesting in vines about the porch, a cypress hedge, or any favorable place not far from the house. The bird is so familiar and alnmdant through parts of California and it has such a strong taste for the fruits ])lantcd by man, that Red-head and his wife are often regarded as a nuisance. However, if a person is willing to trade his cherries, fio-s. and other fruit for bright bird

nuisic and companionslii]), the Linnet is willing to give full value for all the fruit he takes.

While studying birds at Tucson, .\rizona, in the spring of 1910, we fotmd the House Finch one of the commonest residents. W^e tised to watch a pair daily through the \'irginia creeper that shaded our porch and window. There were the remains of two old nests, one at the corner of the porch and one in front of the window.

One morning early, we saw the male and female looking at the nest bv the window. He of the Red-head turned ardund and around on the remains of the old nest ;is if saving, " Come

HOUSE FINCH raaoy places he is regarded i

BIRDS OF AMERICA

on ; we can fix this up. We can add a little to it and have a modern house." But this did not suit the lady, for she turned and flew away in disgust and he followed. Yet in a little while, they were back again discussing the same ques- tion. We saw the wife take hold of one of the old strings as if she thought it might be a good idea to use it in the new home. At least, it would save a little hunting. And, indeed, that is just what they did. They built a new nest about six feet away. Occasionally when they got tired of hunting straws and strings for the new house, they pulled a little out of the old nest until the last straw was used.

Out in San Clemente Island off the southern coast of California, we found House Finches were very numerous about the sheep camp. There were no trees in which they could nest, so their homes were found in every odd corner about the sheds. I counted about forty nests, some old, and many new ones containing eggs. The door of the blacksmith shop was tied open and in behind this I found a nest wedged and resting on an inch strij). A House Finch was sitting on five eggs. Had the door been untied, the nest would have fallen to the ground. I found another nest in an old can that was hung against the wall. On nearly every beam and bracket in the sheep sheds, was a Linnet's home. Some of these, I could see, had been used over and over again, the bird, of course, remodeling or building a little on the old home. The birds used the material closest at hand. Many of the nests were made of wool that had been thrown about on the floor. The only fruit about the island was that of the cactus and this seemed to satisfy the Linnets. Whenever a sheep was killed and the Mexicans hung the fresh meat out in the open, the Linnets took their share. I saw where all the meat had been picked from several bones that were hanging up.

WlLLIA.M L. FiNLE'i'.

There are several varieties of the House Finch south of the United States and Mexican border. North of the boundary is one local form, the San Clemente House Finch ( Carpodacus mexi- canits dementis) found in the Santa Barbara Islands, California, and darker in coloration than the House Finch.

Observations in orchards show that in the fruit season, the House Finch is not backward in tak- ing what it considers its share of the crop, and as it spends much of its time there, field obser- vations alone would lead to the conclusion that fruit was its principal article of diet.

Examination of stomach contents proves that such is not the case, and when we find how small is the relative percentage of fruit eaten, it seems strange that its fruit-eating proclivities should have attracted so much attention. But it must be borne in mind that the bird is wonderfully abundant, which is a primary condition under which any species may become injurious. More- over, it must be noted that not all of the fruit destroyed is eaten. Only one peck from the strong bill is necessary to break the skin of the pear, peach, or cherry, and the fruit is spoiled : the House Finch by no means invariably visits the same individual fruit a second time to finish it, but often attacks a fresh one at each meal. This is proved by the large number of half-eaten fruits, either on the tree or on the ground be- neath.

While the strong, conical beak of the House Finch is a very effective instrument in attacking fruit, this is evidently not the use for which nature primarily designed it. Hard-billed birds are supposed to feed on seeds and that this species is no exception has been proved by ex- aminations of contents of over 1200 stomachs. Seeds of plants, mostly those of noxious weeds, constitute about seven-eighths of its food for the vear and in some months amount to much more.

CROSSBILL

Loxia curvirostra minor {Brclun)

A, O. U. Number 5.;i

Other Names. — American Crossbill ; Red Crossbill ; Common Crossbill.

General Description. — Length, 6 inches. Male, dull red : female, grayish-olive. Bill, with the tips crossed in adults ; wings, long and pointed ; tail, short, narrow, and deeply forked.

See Color Plate 77

Color. — Adult Male: General color, dull red (vary- ing from dull brownish scarlet or almost orange- chrome in summer to a hue approaching dragon's blood red in winter), the red brightest on rump, dullest on back and shoulders, where the feathers have dusky brownish centers; middle of abdomen, light grayish;

Cou.t.-sy i.f ti... N.'

Plate 77

CROSSBILL /,"'/. f w, /;/,'-. ,'r,, nnn<'i WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL Ij'ru, l,uri,,,l,Tn Ul All j nat. size

FINCHES

bill, horn color, more dusky at tips ; iris, brown. Adult Female: The red of the adult male replaced by grayish-olive or olive-grayish overlaid with bright yel- lowish olive or dull saffron-yellow, this brighter color always evident on rump and sometimes prevalent over under parts (except abdomen and under tail-coverts); wings and tail, less dark, more grayish dusky. Young: Wings and tail as in adult female ; upper parts, pale grayish mi.xed or tinged with olive on back and shoulders (sometimes almost white on head, neck, and rump) everywhere broadly streaked witli dusky; beneath, whitish, usually tinged with olive, conspicu- ously streaked with dusky or dusky olive.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Placed, like the White- winged Crossbill's, in conifers, usually within jo feet of

the ground; outside "wall" constructed of evergreen twigs, shreds of bark, rootlets with a thick lining of moss, leaves, grass, cottony fibers well felted together, and generally some green bits of hemlock or cedar tips. Eggs : 3 or 4, pale greenish, specked and spotted with shades of brown and purplish gray.

Distribution. — Northern and eastern North America, breeding in coniferous forest districts from southern Alleghenies in northern Georgia (sporadically toward coast in Maryland, Virginia, etc.), Michigan, etc., to Nova Scotia, to Fort Anderson in the interior, and to western Alaska, and southward through Pacific coast district to western Oregon ; in winter irregularly south- ward to South Carolina (vicinity of Charleston), Lnuisiana, Nevada, etc. ; casuallv to the Bermudas.

The Crossbill is the only American bird with the curious crossing of the bills. No group of water birds or parrots or ducks or tropica! birds of any kind have crossed bills. Only this one genus of Lo.via in the Finch family is so pecul- iarly fashioned. Because of this singular char-

formed " bill. The process consists in inserting the closed bill into the side of the cone, and then opening the mandibles with a movement which tears out the scales and thus leaves exposed the seeds at their bases. These seeds are then seized by the peculiarly shaped, scoop-like tongue.

- "^^^

Drawing by R. I. Brasher

CROSSBILL (1 nat. size) Don't pity this bird because of his crossed bill; it 's exactly what he needs

acteristic, they are among the most interesting birds in the American avifauna.

All-wise man has been known to point to the Crossbill as one of the " blunders " of Nature, and to sympathize with the poor creature thus " deformed." If such an observer had taken the pains to do a little real observing, he would have discovered that the crossed hills are really a special and very clever adaptation to the bird's feeding habits. For an important part of the Crossbill's diet consists of pine-cone seeds, and these it rcadilv obtains bv means of its " de-

By this operation the bird will cut an apple to pieces in a few seconds to get at the seeds. The mandibles are operated by muscles so powerful that the bird will splinter solid wood with them ; and they can be closed tightly enough to hold the smallest seed.

Many of the careful bird observers of the northern States have never seen a Crossbill. This is largely a matter of accident, the bird student not happening to be at the same place as the bird, whose wandering habits are very un- certain. No one can expect to go into any piece

10

BIRDS OF AMERICA

of cone-bearing forest and find Crossbills ; there may not be a Crossbill within a hundred miles.

Some observations have been made south of Canada in the summer time in most unexpected localities, but it is from November to March that flocks of from a few dozen to a few hundred roam about from forest to forest, and occa- sionally fly about towns where coniferous trees are scattered or where small frozen apples and hard rose seeds tempt the birds to a side dish. Dr. Merrill reports them as common at Fort Sherman, Idaho, where they can be seen every month of the year and are as tame as English Sparrows. But in the east the eccentric wander- ings of the flocks have made their visitations events of importance to bird observers.

Their kimp-kimp or pip-pip, somewhat like a chicken peeping, is the conversational chatter that can be heard while a few dozen birds are break- ing up the cones far up in the trees. The song, given only during the breeding season, is said by Gerald Thayer to be " a series of somewhat goldfinch-like trills and whistles."

Alfred Newton in his Dictionary of Birds says of the process of feeding on cone seeds : " For- tunately the birds soon become tame in confine- ment, and a little patience will enable an atten- tive observer to satisfy himself as to the process, the result of which at first seems almost as un- accountable as that of a clever conjuring trick."

European Crossbills have been imported into America, but it is not known if the stock has continued. The largest of the Crossbills is the Mexican Crossbill ( Toxia curvirostra sfrick- landi) whose northern area extends up into the higher mountains of Arizona and New Mexico. These birds are about an inch longer than the eastern variety. After the breeding season the Mexican variety comes down out of the mountains. Dr. Mearns found them one year among the most commonly seen birds of Arizona, flying about at all times at the watering places and springs.

The White-winged Crossbill (Loxia Icucop- tcra) is similar in general appearance to the American Crossbill but somewhat larger, the red of the male rose-red or even crimson, and the wings in both sexes, old and young, with two conspicuous white bars. (See Color Plate JJ.) It is less known than the other Crossbills, and ranges a little farther north toward the arctic seas. It seems to be somewhat less com- mon than the Red Crossbill. The flocks seem a little more active and shy, are apt to remain in the tops of trees if food is plenty there, and fly about calling their cheep, cheep loudly and less sedately than the Red Crossbill. Many years will sometimes elapse before numerous flocks will be seen in the northern States in winter. Then the conspicuous white wing-bars and the rosy red males will make their appearance for a few winter weeks. Toward spring its song has sometimes been heard in the wandering flocks. Elon H. Eaton says that it is " a beauti- ful song, perhaps more melodious than that of the Red Crossbill, a low, soft warbling, suggest- ing somewhat the song of the Redpoll." Its nidification is similar to the Common Crossbill's. The eggs are light blue, spotted around the large end with sepia, black, and lilac ; they number three to five and are laid in the winter or early spring when the ground is covered with snow. L. Nelson Nichols.

The Crossbills are of little importance from an economic standpoint. Very little is known of their summer food ; they probably eat some in- sects. On their winter visits to the United States they show their fondness for the seeds of the arbor vitse, tamarack, various spruces, firs, and pines. The peculiar structure and strength of their bills enable them to tear open the strongest and toughest cones and extract the seeds. Occasionally they injure an evergreen by cutting the twigs or destroying the terminal buds, but as a rule this damage does not amount to much.

GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH

Leucosticte tephrocotis tephrocotis Swainson

A. O. U. Number 5^4

Other Name. — Gray-crowned Leucosticte.

General Description. — Length, 7'4 inches. Body, brown; crown, gray. Bill, shorter than head; wings, long and pointed ; tail, about Vi length of wing, and forked ; legs short. Generally found on the ground.

Color. — Adult Male in Summer: Forehead and part of crown, black; nasal tufts, grayish white; sides of crown (from above eyes backward) and whole of back of head, plain light ash-gray, very strongly con- trasted with the contiguous brown color of the ear

FINCHES

regions and hindneck ; whole side of head below eyes (whole of ear and cheek regions), neck, back, shoulders, and under parts, chestnut-brown, darker on throat, lighter on back where indistinctly streaked with dusky; feathers of ruinp and fianks. together with upper and under tail-coverts, broadly and abruptly tipped with pink ; the remaining portion of the feathers dusky, especially on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; wings and tail, dusky ; the lesser and middle coverts, broadly tipped with pink; the greater coverts, primary coverts, and part of wing quills edged with pink or light scarlet, tail-feathers also with lighter edgings but with less of pink; bill entirely l.ilack. Adult Male in Winter: Similar to suninier male but shoulders and space between with distinct edgings of lighter brown, feathers of breast, etc., with narrow, pale margins; the pink markings, especially on wings and flanks, of a

softer hue, and the bill yellowish with dusky tip. Adult Fem.\le: Similar to adult male, with the same seasonal dilTerences of color, but averaging paler and duller.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest: In a rocky crevice at high altitudes; constructed of grasses, weed stems, lined with fine grass and a few feathers. Eggs : 3 to 5, pure white, sharp pointed, with a peculiar fine shell tex- ture.

Distribution. — Interior districts of North America; breeding on higher parts (11,000-12,000 feet) of White Mountains and Sierra Nevada, southeastern California, and probably also northward ; during migration east to western Nebraska, eastern Colorado, Manitoba, etc.; south to Colorado, Utah, etc. ; west to Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges; north to plains of the Saskatch- ewan (May).

Amid the snowbank, and glaciers of western North America are found the Rosy I'^inches. They are optimistic little creatures liviiiL; the gospel of " come storm or sunshine all is well." When it is cold and stormy they will seek out some sheltered spot and quietly wait for better weather. With the coming of the sun. out they scatter again, ju.-t as happy as ever. Where the vegetation is mostly moss and lichens and low- stunted spruce and when the weather is like the typical month of ]\Iarch these birds start their house-keeping.

Hepburn's Rosy Finch (Lciicoslirtc tcpliro- cotis littoralis) is similar to the < Irav-crdwned but the gray of the crown extends down the sides of the head ; in typical examples the entire head except a black frontal patch and the throat are light ash-gray. It nests above the timber- line in Alaska and in winter comes south to Nevada. Utah, and Colorado, and along the Pacific coast to Kodiak, Sitka, and \'ancouver Island.

The Black Rosy Finch ( Lciicostictc atrata) breeds in the mountains of Idaho and winters in Colorado and Utah. It is a little smaller than the Grav-crowned with the same marking on the head, but the bodv is brownish black.

The Brown-c:ipped Rosy Finch ( Lcucostictc aitstralis) has no distinct or clear grayish mark- ings on the head. It breeds above the timber- line on the high mountains of Colorado, descend- ing to the valleys and plains and south to New Mexico in the winter.

The food of the Rosy Finches is mainly in- sects and seeds which have been blown to the mountain heights by the storms. They hunt for the chilled insects and the seeds along the edge of the melting snows and they may be seen with their feathers fluffed, their faces turned toward the wind, busily hopping about and picking up then- food, all the time cheerily chattering. Occa- sionally one will take shelter behind a stone or lump of snow and warm his toes against his warm little bodv.

REDPOLL

Acanthis linaria linaria ( Liniunis)

A II I', Xumht-r sj8 ."-le Color Plate 78

Other Names.— Redpoll Linnet; Common Redpoll; Linnet; Lintie; Lesser Redpoll: Little Redpoll; Little Meatlowlark.

General Description. — Length, 5'< inches. Upper parts, grayish-brown streaked with dusky ; under parts, white and pink or buff: red cap. Rill, small, conical, and acute ; wings, long and pointed ; tail, long and deeply forked.

Color. — Adult Male in Breeding Dress: Forehead (narrowly), dusky: rr.^oi, hrii/ht /'i'/'/>.v-''i'(' ; general

color of remaining upper parts, dark grayish-brown or sepia, indistinctly streaked with darker and with grayish-white ; rump, mixed pink and grayish-white, broadly streaked with dusky ; upper tail-coverts, grayish- brown edged with paler ; wings and tail, dusky grayish brown ; the middle and greater wing-coverts, narrowly tipped with .grayish-white ; chin and upper portion of throat, dusky; checks. Imvcr throat, chest, and sides of breast, deep peach-blossom pink: rest of under parts, white, the sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts broadly

12

BIRDS OF AMERICA

streaked with dusky. Adult Male in Winter Plum- age: Much Hghter colored than in summer, the pre- vaiHng color of back, shoulders, and hind neck, light buffy grayish-brown, distinctly streaked with dusky; the pink of chest, etc.. paler (rose pink). Adult Female: Similar to the male, but without any pink or red on the under parts, the portions so colored on the male being pale bufTy or whitish ; the seasonal differences exactly as in the adult male. Young : No red on crown, the whole crown being broadly streaked with dusky and pale grayish buffy; sides of throat, chest, and sides of breast, buffy or dull buffy whitish, streaked with dusky.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Placed in trees or bushes ; bulky, loosely made exteriorly of twigs and grasses, warmly lined with feathers. Eggs: 2 to 5, pale bluish green, speckled around large end with chestnut, burnt- umber, and a few spots of black.

Distribution. — More northern portions of northern hemisphere ; breeds southward to islands in Gulf of St. Lawrence ; in winter south to more northern United States generally, irregularly and more rarely to Vir- ginia, northern Alabama, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, Kansas, Colorado, southeastern Oregon, coast of Washington, etc.; casual in Bermudas.

The home of tlie Redpoll is in the northland. There he rears his family in a quiet business-like wav. This accomplished he puts on his rosy suit and sallies forth with the snow for a vaca- tion. He joins others of his own kind and is rarely found except in flocks of twenty to fifty,

and longer ; a conversational twitter, used when several birds are feeding together ; and a ker- ivect, very much like the long plaintive call of the Goldfinch but dififerent in tone.

The Redpoll is very unsuspicious and often allows a person to approach very closely without

Drawing by R. I. Brashe

REDPOLL Ci nat. size I

and sometimes there are 200 or 300. While on this winter tour the Redpolls visit and mingle with their cousins the Crossbills and the Gold- finches.

When he is at home the Redpoll has little time for singing — only indulging in a faint warbling or twittering — but with the throwing off of family responsibility he proves that he can sing delightfully. His song is more melodious than that of the Goldfinch ; it has the quality of the Hveet call of the Goldfinch and is delivered in the manner of the Goldfinch's warble. He also has at least four distinct call-notes: a loud twit- tering call, used when on the wing ; a long buzz, not unlike one note of the Pine Siskin but thinner

taking alarm. Should one stand still near where they are feeding they will come closer and closer as they feed without a sign of fear.

The Greater Redpoll (Acanthis linarla ros- trafa) is a resident of Greenland; in winter he comes south through Canada to northern Illinois, Alichigan, northern Indiana, southern New York and Massachusetts. He looks like the Common Redpoll but is of greater size and has a relatively thicker and more obtuse bill. ( See Color Plate -8.) J. Ellis Burdick.

Very often when the Crossbill visits us there will be found in his company the Redpoll. After the stronger bird has torn open the cones the

, New York State Mu

Plate 78

/fe/'r CU

Ctlli't IfH^rVr.

GOLDFINCH Axtraaalinu-*

FINCHES

13

otluT will pick out the seeds. He also attacks a large extent he feeds on the seeds of the cones himself, especially those of the tamarack birches and alders. He also eats grass seeds and and arbor vitje, but not always successfully. To weed seeds.

EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH Carduelis carduelis (Lininnis)

Other Names. — Thistle Finch; Thistle Bird.

General Description. — Length, 5' S inches. Body, brown; wings and tail, hlack ; red spot on head. Bill, elongate, conical, and acute ; wings, long and pointed ; tail, rather short and deeply notched.

Color. — Adults: Fore part of head, all round, crimson ; lores, back part of crown, back of head and neck, and bar from the latter halfway across side of neck, black; rest of head, white tinged with brownish buff; back, shoulders, and rump, plain brown; upper tail-coverts, white ; wings and tail, mostly black ; greater portion of greater coverts, basal portion of outermost secondaries, and basal half or more of exposed portion of outer webs of primaries, bright lemon-yellow ; secondaries, primaries, and middle tail-feathers tipped with white, the inner webs of side tail-feathers, also partly white; sides of breast, sides, and flanks, plain cinnamon-brown or wood-brown ; rest of under parts white ; bill, whitish tinged with flesh color or lilac ; iris, brown. Young: Wings and tail as in adults, but

the former with middle and greater coverts tipped with pale brownish, forming two bands ; no red on head nor black on head or neck; crown and back of neck light grayish brown, mottled or streaked with darker ; the back also streaked with dusky ; chin and throat, whitish, the latter flecked with sooty brown ; the foreneck, chest, and breast, mottled or spotted with the same.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : A handsome thick-walled structure of vegetable down, moss, and fine grasses; the few noted in this country indicate a preference for conifer trees as a site. Ecgs : 4 to 6, more cominonly 5, pale greenish or bluish white, spotted with chestnut around large end.

Distribution. — Europe in general, e.xcept extreme northern portions ; south, in winter, to Palestine and Egypt. Introduced into the northeastern United States and naturalized in Cuba, in New York city and vicinity, and Cincinnati, Ohio ; accidental (?) at New Haven, Connecticut, near Boston, Worcester, etc., Massachusetts, Toronto, Ontario, etc.

The European Goldfinch is well known all over Europe and has been introduced into America. How many times and at what places the attempt has been made to Americanize this favorite of Europeans is uncertain. About 1872 it was in- troduced at Cincinnati, in 1878 at Hoboken, about 1880 in eastern Massachusetts, and in 1886 in Cuba. There may have been more importa- tions. For a few years these beatitiful birds were seen in the vicinity of New York city. In 1900 they were seen at nest building in Central Park. Dr. Chapman saw two in Englewood. N. J., in 191 1, but records are very rare. There have been scattered observations in Massachu- setts and Connecticut. In 1888 foiu' birds were

seen in Toronto and in 1891) one bird in Ithaca, N. Y. A German who knew the bird as the Distclfink (Thistle Finch) is confident that he saw one in Chicago in iQii. .'\bout New York city they had formerly been seen in flocks of .American Goldfinches with which their manners and customs matched perfectly. It would seem that this cheery and attractive little bird is not to become as common as the English Sparrow, and " more's the pity." In Europe the Goldfinch has been a favorite cage bird for centuries. So many thousands were captured in Great Britain alone that Parliament had to take action for the protection of the bird. But it seems never to have been as common again.

; Wild Salad-

.\ (). U. Xi.

Other Names.— Yellow-bird ; Thistle Bird Canary ; (_'atnip Bird ; Lettuce-bird ; .Shiner ; bird ; Beet P>ird : .'\merican Goldfinch.

General Description. — Length. 5 inches. Male in summer has the body lemon-yellow and the wings and tail black ; male in winter and female at all seasons have the upper parts olive-brownish and the under

GOLDFINCH

Astragalinus tristis tristis (Linnirus)

;ee Color Plates ;8, ;ci

parts grayish-white with the wings and tail blackish. Rill, small, conical, and acute; wings, long and pointed; tail, rather short and forked ; legs, short.

Color. — .'Kdult M.m.e in Summer: General color pure lemon or canary-yellow ; the lores, forehead, and crown, together with wings (except small coverts) and tail, black; tail-coverts, middle (sometimes also lesser)

14

BIRDS OF AMERICA

wing-coverts, tips of greater coverts, and part of edges of wings, white; bill, orange or orange-yellow tipped with black; iris, brown. Adult Female in Summer: Above, olive-brownish or grayish, sometimes tinged with olive-greenish ; the wings and tail, blackish or dusky marked with white or whitish, much as in the male ; upper tail-coverts, pale grayish or grayish-white ; under parts, dull grayish-white tinged with yellow, especially in the front and on the sides, sometimes entirely soiled yellow, except under tail-coverts. Adult Male in Winter: Similar to the adult female but wings and tail deeper black, with whitish markings more conspicuous. Adult Female in Winter : Similar to the summer female, but more lirownish. Young: Somewhat like winter adults, but much browner, all the wing-markings, pale cinnamon, the plumage gen- erallv being suffused with this color.

Nest and Eggs.— Nest: Placed in forks of bush or sapling, sometimes on the swaying stalk of a wild black- berry, usually within 5 feet but sometimes 30 feet from the ground ; a compact, artistic structure of felted plant down, mosses, grass, leaves, bark strips, usually lined with thistledown ; build later than any other birds, from last week in June to second week' in September; sometimes reconstruct old Blackbird or other nests, the added material being principally a heavy lining of down. Egos: 3 to 6, sets of 5 and 6 being common, pale bluish white, unmarked.

Distribution. — United States and more southern British provinces east of Rocky Mountains, north to Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, southern Labrador, and Newfoundland; breeding southward to the middle dis- tricts of the United States ; wintering southward to Gulf coast.

The Goldfinch is one of the most inter- esting birds of American life. It is a bird the most casual observer can enthtise over, and one

yoimg has brought forth many interesting com- ments from the nature writers. Dr. Chapman in liis Handbook says that " their love song is

Drawing by R. I. Brasher

GOLDFINCH (j nat. size) A beautiful little fellow with jolly manners and a fine canary-like song

that the bird sttident will never tire raving about. The male is such a bright yellow bird with black wings and tail that he readily becomes known as the Wild Canary in any community where he is commonly seen. Then its habit of feeding about where people go to and fro, scarcelv heed- ing the inquisitive humans, has increased the knowledge of the bird. But when the sun begins to warm the earth and air, and summer is here, the Goldfinch is then in his ecstasy. Swinging through the air, its pcr-cliic-o-rcc, pcr-chic-o- ree is as sweet in note as any caged Canary's. The abandon and wild delight of the bird at this season while most other birds are feeding their

delivered with an ecstasy and abandon which carries them ofif their feet, and they circle over the field sowing the air with music." After most of the other birds are through with their nesting, and all of the others have already begun, the Goldfinch gathers his thistledown and fine grasses together for the nest in a berry bush or some other low shaded place jtist out of the sun's rays. The pcr-chic-o-ree changes gradually to notes more directly personal for the mate and young. Tic-o-rcc. o-rcc. o-rcc and many variations are heard. There are those who insist that the male calls ba-by, ba-bec to the young in the nest. Certainly the notes are as sweet and in-

Courtpsv of the New York State Museurt

Plat

e 79

jfouij ut&i^riiz Yuerfei

EVENING GROSBEAK Htspcriphonn t.sp.Tlinii vraprrlina (W. Coopoi All i nat. siz»

FINCHES

15

si -lent a-- an\- jiareiit witli such a tliroat could utlcr.

In the fall the males turn olive, something like the females and immature. They Ljather intn flocks, a few dozen or a few hundreds ,nid h.aunt the weedv fields and seedy marshland^ where the lilt of the Canary-like note is apt to he heard even into the middle of winter. Let the sun liul shine a little warmer in the early spriniL,' .-md maybe it will be a Goldfinch instead nf a lllue- bird that will <;reet the promise <if spriiiL;'. Its all hail will be src-scc-r many limes repeated.

From ocean to ocean this bird is common. In the Rockies it is lar.s^er and lii,diter with ])urer tints in winter plumage, and is there distinijuished by the varietal name of Pale Goldfinch i .Istra- galiniis tristis pallidiis). On the Pacitic c(iasi the ditTerences are not as great as in the moun- tains, but great enough to make a separate variety called the ^^'illow Goldfinch { .4stra(/aliiiiis tristis salicauiaiis). Down through the luxuriance of southern California they have been known as "gentle-spirited birds" that "seem .as light- hearted as butterflies." (Mrs. I-'lorence Merriam Bailey. »

In her Birds Throiif/Ii an Opera Class the same author says of the Goldfinch in the east: " Being a vegetarian, his store-house is al\v;i_\s well filled, for if the snow covers the seeds be would gather from the brown weed-tops, he goes to the alders in the swamp; and if the\' fail him he is sure to find plentv in the seeds of the hemlock, the spruce, and the larch."

P. Nf.lsox Nn iioi.s.

In winter this Goldfinch feeds largely on weed seeds, the seeds of birches, and those of the buttonbush. In summer it subsists to a large extent on weed seed, but destroys many noxious insects, such as cankerworms, plant lice, small grasshoppers, and beetles. The habit of feeding on thistles which has given the species the coiu- mon name (jf " Thistle Bird " is well exemplified by the following field note: A thistle on which a Goldfinch had been feeding was examined and on its leaves and the ground beneath sixtv-seven

seeds were counted. They appeared pertect, but close inspection showed a slit through which the meaty kernel had been deftlv removed. Dr. .'-i. D. Judd reports having been able to approach within ten feet of four Goldtmches who were feeding on ragwecfl. Often they would all alight on the same plant at once, then thev would

NEST AND EGGS OF GOLDFINCH

wrench oft' the seeds, extract the meat, and drop the shell, their actions resembling those of a Canary at its seed cup. In one instaitce three alighted on a very small plant, which under their weight bent to the ground. Nothing daunted, the\- clung to the spr.ays, heads down- ward, until they touched the earth, then shiftin.g their position so as to hold the stems under their feet, went on with their meal.

ARKANSAS GOLDFINCH

Astragalinus psaltria psaltria (Say)

Other Names. — Tarweed Canary; Arkansas Green- tail, black nr dusky. Hill, small, conical, and acute;

hack. wings, lon.c; and puinted ; tail, r:illu'r shcirl and forked;

General Description, — I^eiiK'tli, 4'j inches. Ui)i)er le.£?s, short. I)arts. olive-yreeni^h ; under jiarts, yellow: win.ys and Color. — .Xiui r M \i.i: : Croi^'u, (/lossy I'lack': ear

\oL. 11 1. -3

I6

BIRDS OF AMERICA

region, hindneck, back, slioulders, and rump, olive- green; zcijigs, black ik.ntli a large ivhitc patcli at base of primaries; greater wing-coverts, tipped with white or pale grayish ; primaries narrowly and inner wing quills broadly edged with the same ; upper tail-coverts, black, margined with olive-green ; tail, blackish ; under parts, light yellozc. Adult Female: Above including crown, olive-greenish, the crown sometimes indistinctly streaked with dusky ; wings, as in adult male, but gen- eral color grayish dusky instead of black; tail with the white on inner webs of exterior tail-feathers restricted to a squarish spot in middle portion ; under parts, light olive-yellow. Young: Similar to adult female, but

tinged with buffy-brownish above, the lighter wing- markings buffy, and tlie under parts a paler and duller, or more buffy, yellow.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : In small trees or bushes ; a counterpart of the American Goldfinch's, but, like the eggs, smaller. EG(iS : 4 or 5, pale bluish-green.

Distribution. — Western United States, from coast of California to eastern base of Rocky Mountains ; north to northern California, southern Idaho, Utah, and Colo- rado; south, in winter at least, to southern Lower California and southern New Mexico and Arizona; breeding south to San Pedro Martir Mountains, north- ern Lower California.

There is a very near relative of the Gold- finch, residing exclusively in the western states ; he is the Arkansas Goldfinch. He is a little smaller than the mernbers of the more widely distributed family. A friendly little fellow is he, constantly found in gardens and along the roadsides, sometimes busily feeding among the weeds on the ground and again tossing his song to the winds from the top of some tall eucalyptus tree.

This Goldfinch is a long time acquiring the full adult plumage and first breeds in the immature plumage. This fact led to a great deal of con-

fusion, and the three stages of development were each given a difTerent name until enough specimens had been collected to prove that the variations were due merely to age.

A slightly variant form of the Arkansas Gold- finch is known as the Green-backed Goldfinch ( Astragalinux psaltria hcspcrophUus) and is found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico from California and Lower California to Utah, Arizona, and extreme sottth- western New Mexico.

The Arkansas Goldfinch feeds almost entirely on weed seeds.

PINE SISKIN Spinus pinus (JVilson)

A. O, U. Number ;,)3 Sec Cnh.r TLltc -8

Other Names. — Pine Finch ; Pine Linnet ; American Siskin ; Northern Canary Bird.

General Description. — Length, 444 inches. Upper parts, grayish : under parts, white : streaked above and below with dusky. Bill, small, conical, and acute ; wings, long and pointed ; tail, rather short and forked ; legs, short.

Color. — .^bove, grayish or brownish, conspicuously streaked with dusky, the ground color of the rump paler (whitish or light grayish) ; wings and tail, dusky or dull blackish ; middle and greater wing-coverts, tipped with whitish, and inner wing quills edged with same: basal portion of wing feathers (especially secondaries) and tail feathers, pale yellow, mostly (often entirely) concealed ; under parts, dull white, everywhere (except on abdomen and anal region) streaked with dusky.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Usually located in a coni- fer, from 2u to 30 feet up, well concealed; walls roughly constructed of hemlock or other twigs and inoss ; a saucer-shaped structure one-half foot across; the interior, about two inches in diameter, is carefully and thickly lined with plant down, fur, and hair. Eggs: 4 to 6. pale bluish or greenish white lightly spotted with chestnut and some 'black.

Distribution. — Northern coniferous forest districts of North .'\merica, breeding south to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, parts of New England, lower Hudson val- ley, mountains of Pennsylvania, and southward to high mountains of North Carolina. Minnesota, etc., and on the high western ranges quite to the southern boundary of the United States; in winter, south to Gulf coast (in- cluding Florida and Texas), valleys of California, etc., and into Mexico ; casual or accidental in Cuba.

FINCHES

17

Someone has said that any bird is frequent enough to be common if you go where it breeds. The Pine Sisivin breeds from the Atlantic to the Pacific and yet very few people have ever seen the bird. The reason is that the bird not only confines itself pretty closely to the evergreen mountain forests, but even there it is uncertain in its abode. One year it may be seen in large numbers about one group of mountain peaks and valleys. The next year not a Siskin can be found in the whole district. This uncertainty in its breeding areas is as nothing to the eccen- tricity of the fall and winter ramblings. Many winters pass without a Siskin being seen about New York city, Boston, Washington, and Chicago. Then again there are winters when they are tolerably common. Its notes are some- what similar to the Goldfinch's. T. M. Trippe of Colorado wrote to Dr. Coues that " in spring it sings very agreeably, very much like the latter bird [the Goldfinch], but in a lower voice; and like it has the habit of singing in a lively, rambling sort of way for an hour or more at a time."

The birds congregate in large flocks after the breeding season. There is nothing particularly interesting to attract an observer to a flock feed- ing qtiietly in the weeds. They look like plain little striped brown Sparrows. Startle them and the flock as one bird will rise and wheel off to a more distant feeding ground. A quick ob- server will notice the yellow patches on the wings and tail. Then too they may utter weak tit-i- tit notes, or on occasions will break out in Goldfinch-like scc-a-z^'cc notes that betrav the

close relationship to the \Vild Canary. Herbert K. Job calls them Northern Canary Birds, and says that he found them in their nesting grounds in June in northern Nova Scotia ; and that they were singing prettily in the shade trees along the streets of Pictou. Wells W. Cooke said that in Colorado the .Si>kins range from the timber-line in the high mountains down to about 7000 feet above sea level. " Some stay near the timber-line through the winter, but the bulk scatter over the lower valleys and plains."

Herbert K. Job says that it was early in Octo- ber when he saw the Siskins for the first time. He was hunting Partridge and \\'oodcock and in an opening in the woods he saw a flock of them alight on a tree. Trembling with excite- ment he fired into the midst of them and ob- tained a number of specimens. Never since has he seen so large a flock. The ordinary bird observer may not be so excited as Mr. Job was, but he had better look lung and earnestly when he sees his first flock, for it may be manv a day before he sees the second.

T. Net, SON Nichols.

The Pine .Siskin is very similar in his habits to the Goldfinch and the Redpoll and associates very freely with them. Not infrequently he is seen with Crossbills. He feeds principally on the seeds of the white cedar, tamarack, and the various pines and spruces. When the ground is bare he eagerly eats the fallen seeds of maple, elm. and other trees, as well as grass and weed seeds. Frequently he is reported in the spring as feeding on dandelion seeds.

ENGLISH SPARROW Passer domesticus {Liniunis}

Other Names. — European House Sparrow ; Gamin ; Tramp ; Hoodlum : Domestic Sparrow.

General Description. — Length, 5'4 inches. Upper parts, reddish-brown, streaked with black; under parts, grayish-white. Bill, stout, shorter than head; wings, of medium lengtli ; tail, about .'4 length of wing; legs, short and rather stout.

Color. — Adult M,.\le: Crown, deep gray or olive- gray bordered laterally by a broad patch of chestnut extending from behind the eye to sides of neck ; chin, throat, and chest, black ; a small white spot above rear angle of the eye; back and shoulders, rusty brown streaked with black ; lesser wing-coverts, chestnut ; middle coverts, blackish tipped with white forming a conspicuous bar ; rest of wings, dusky with light brown and rusty brown edgings ; rump, olive or olive-grayish ; tail, dusky edged with light olive or olive-grayish : cheek region and sides of throat, white; under parts of body, dull grayish white, more grayish laterally ; bill, black. .AnuLT Fem.^le: Crown and hindneck, grayish

brown or olive; chin, throat, and chest, dull brownish white or pale brownish gray like rest of under parts; otherwise like the adult male, but back browner.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Occasionally built in trees, more often in bird-houses, electric-light hoods, cornices, water-spouts, and similar places ; tree-nests large and covered, others open ; made of grasses or any easily obtained material, loosely put together, and lined with featliers. Eggs : 4 to 7, generally white, finely and evenly marked with olive, but also varying from plain white to almost uniform olive brown; two broods at least in a season, usually three, and soinetimes four and even five.

Distribution, — luirope in general, except Italy ; introduced into the United States, where thoroughly and ineradicably naturalized in all settled districts, except southern Florida and a few other extreme out- posts; also introduced into Bahamas (island of New Providence), Cuba, Nova Scotia, Bermudas, and southern Greenland.

IS

BIRDS OF AMERICA

1 lie F,nglish Sparrow or luiro])i-an House Sparrow was introduced into America in 1850. In the fall of that year eight pairs were brought to Brooklyn, N. Y., and liberated in the follow- ing spring. Since that time many importations have been made, and small lots of sparrows have been carried from one locality to another until now the bird is naturalized nearly all o^■er the United States. This rapid dissemination is a

resident, he starts his nesting early and when the other birds arrive, all the available nesting sites are occupied and the new-comers must either fight for a place or go elsewhere. Not infrequently he directly attacks Robins, Song Sparrows, Chickadees, Flycatchers, Thrushes, Tanagers, and other birds, while they are feed- ing and annoys them by repeated calls at their liomes.

Drawing by L. A. Fui-rtes

ENGLISH SPARROWS Male Female

Taking possession of a nesting box provided for a native bird

result of the bird's hardiness, extraordinary fecundity, diversity of food, aggressive disposi- tion, and almost complete immunity from natural enemies.

Although English Sparrows are widely dis- tributed as a species, individuals and flocks have an extremely narrow range, each flock occupying one locality and confining its operations to that particular territory.

The House Sparrow is a persistent enemy of many native birds, especially those which fre- quent the neighborhood of houses, or which nest in boxes, holes, or other places prepared for them l)v their human friends. Being a winter

The lilthy habits of these birds are most annoy- ing. They gather in immense flocks to roost, and generally select cornices, ornamental work about the eaves and gables of houses, windovi'- cappings, and the vines which cover the walls of buildings. These they defile with their ex- crement. Great and serious damage , is often caused by their carrying nesting materials into rain-spouts, gutters, and similar places about houses, so that cisterns are defiled, or pipes over- flow, causing destruction of or injury to property.

The English S])arrow. when once established increases with wonderful rapidity. At least two broods are raised in a season, but the usual num-

FINCHES

19

ber is tliree and trustworthy observers have recorded four and five. Very seldom are there less than four birds in a brood and the old birds are generally successful in s^a-tting the youni; on the wing without any accidents. Therefore an immense number of these Sparrows can be raised in a limited area in one season. A dozen pairs in the course of three or four years will have increased, if let alone, to thousands.

The English Sparrow among birds, like the rat among mammals, is cunning, destructive, and filthy. Its nattiral diet consists of seeds, but il eats a great variety of other foods. \\'hile much of its fare consists of waste material from the streets, in autumn and winter it consumes (|uan- tities of weed seed and in summer numenius insects. The destruction of weed seed sliduld undeniably count in the Sparrow's favor. Its record as to insects in most localities is not sd clear.

In exceptional cases it has been found very useful as a destroyer of insect pests. For example, during an investigation by the United States Biological Bureau of birds that destroy the alfalfa weevil, English Sparrows were feeding their nestlings largely on weevil larvs and cut- worms, both of which are very injurious to alfalfa. In this case the Sparrows, attracted by grain in the fields and poultry rtins and by the excellent nest sites afforded by the thatched roofs of many farm buildings, had left the city and taken up their abode in the country where the weevil outbreak subsequently occurred. l'nf(ir- tunately, however, farmers can rarely expect such aid asfainst their insect foes, \\'liene\-er

this bird proves usefid it is entitled to protection and encouragement in proportion to its net value. Under normal conditions its choice of insects is often unfavorable.

The English .Sparrow destroys fruit, as cher- ries, grapes, pears, and peaches. It also destrovs liuds and flowers of cultivated trees, shrubs, and vines. In the garden it eats seeds as they ripen, and nips ulT ten(ki \(inni, \(L;(tihles, especialh'

Photo l.y 11. T. Mi.ldlil.jTi

FEMALE ENGLISH SPARROW

peas and lettuce, as lliey ai^iear abo\e ground. It damages wheat and other grains, whether newly sown, ripening, or in shocks. As a flock of fifty .Sparrows requires daily the equivalent of a quart of wheat, the annual loss caused by these birds throughout the country is very great. It reduces the numliers of some our most useful native birds, as Bluebirds, House Wrens, Purple .Martins, Tree Swallows, and Barn Swallows, by destroying their eggs and young and by usurping nesting places.

SNOW BUNTING Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis ( Liii/nnis)

.\ O I' XuTiilMr -u See Color I'l.Tte 80

Other Names. — Snowflake ; Snow Lark; Snuwliinl; Whitebird ; White Snowbird.

General Description. — Length, 8 incho>. L\ Su.\i- mkr: Male, wliite with black markings: female, white, streaked on upper parts with black. In Wintkr: Moth sexes have the upper parts stained with rusty. Rill, with lower section thicker than the upper section : wings, long and pointed; tail, about .'s length of wing, forked, and the middle pair of feathers pointed at the tip.

Color. — Adult Male in Summer: General color, pure white: back, shoulders, innermost secondaries, and greater wing-coverts, greater part of primaries, and four to si.x middle tail-feathers (sometimes rump also), black; bill, black; legs and feet, black, or the former sometimes dark brown. .AnULT Male in Winter:

.Similar to the Mininier idnmagc, but the white parts (except under parts (if body) staincrl with rusty brown, especially on crown ( where sometimes rich dark lirown) and hindneck. and the black of the back, shoulders, etc., broken (sometimes almost concealed) by broad margins of rusty and buffy wdiitish : bill, yellow. Adult Female in Summer: Crown, dusky, the feathers margined with dull wdiitish or pale grayish huffy; hindneck. dull whitish or pale dull bufTy. streaked with dusky: back and shoulders (sometimes rump also), dull black or dusky, the feathers margined with dull whitisli (their edgings quite \vorn off in mid- summer plumage) : lesser and .greater wing-covcrts. blackish margined and edged with whitish : greater part of secondaries, three outermost tail-feathers, and under parts (sometimes rump also), white: bill.

20

BIRDS OF AMERICA

dusky. Adult Female in Winter: Similar to sum- mer female, but upper parts stained with rusty brown, especially on crown, ear region, and sides of chest, and margins to feathers of back, etc., paler, broader, and more buffy or buffy grayish ; bill, yellowish. Young: Head, neck, back, shoulders, and rump, brownish gray tinged with olive, the back streaked with dusky ; front under parts paler gray than upper parts, the chest and sides of breast usually very faintly streaked with dusky ; under parts of body, mainly white, usually tinged with pale olive-yellowisli : wings and tail, much as in winter adults.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : On the ground in grassy tussocks ; a large, well built structure, exteriorly com- posed of dried grass, moss woven into thick walls, the

small, deep center thickly feathered. Eggs : 4 to 6, white or pale greenish white, spotted with raw umber and lavender.

Distribution. — Northern parts of Europe, .i^sia, and North America ; breeding in arctic and subarctic districts ; in North America breeding on the barren- ground or tundra region from northern Labrador to ."Maska, north and east of the coast ranges, and north to islands of Arctic Ocean (at least to latitude 82°) ; m winter south to more northern United States, irregu- larly to District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, Kansas, Colorado, northern California, and eastern Oregon; casually to the Ber- mudas : south in .'\sia to northern Japan and China.

When the polar explorers have pushed far beyond the Eskimo villages and out into the wastes where the musk-ox and blue fox live, there they find the Snow Bunting or Snowflake

the first sign of advancing spring will send

theni on their long flights far across Canada to

areas little known and to some not yet explored.

While flying, the members of the flock keep up

^^-

TimM. by R. L Brasher

SNOW BUNTING (J nat. size) A hardy and beautiful winter visitor from the aorthland

in his nesting home, .\cross the ])olar islands along the northern shore of Alaska and only as far south as the bleak and inhospitable shores of Hudson's Bay, these birds may be found in the breeding season. Only in the depth of winter do they drift on down into the northern United States to haunt the snow-swept hillsides of the farms, and the bleak and stormy shores of New England at their bleakest and stormiest season. They are so much whiter than other Sparrows that they seem indeed like animated gusts of arctic weather as they pass along over the ground, the rear birds drifting on over to the front of the advancing ranks. Many a person muffled to the eyes in a cold winter's sleigh ride has seen the Snowflakes feeding cheerily and by choice out in the bitter biting zero weather of wind-swept fields. Sometimes, indeed, they will straggle far south, even to the Gulf coast, but

a tinkling whistle, a note that has been likened to the syllable tec repeated at intervals by the various members of the flock ; when disturbed, they utter a harsh hccz-hccz. What sweet, weird song they sing to the sunrise of the morn- ing of the six-months arctic day, the explorers have yet to tell us. Dr. Elliott Coues gives an interesting account of these birds at Fort Ran- dall on the Missouri River, some distance above Yankton (Birds of the Nortlncest.) The Snow- flakes "reached Fort Randall November 15. after a severe cold snap with a light snow-fall, and as I write (January), great numbers are swirling over the ground around and in the fort. They keep pretty closely in flocks num- bering from a dozen or so to several hundred, and, though they spread over the ground a good deal in running about after seeds, they fly com- pactly, and wheel all together. In their evolu-

Courtesy of tho N.-w York State M.jseun

Plate 80

TREE SPARROW Ximrllii mnnlicnla nvmticohi (Gmelin) SNOW BUNTING I'lectrophrniix nivalis nivalis (I.innacm) i nnt. size

FINCHES

ti(in>^ they present a i>rotty sight, and have not a displeasing stridulent sound, from mingHng of the weak chirrups from so many throats."

John Burroughs rises to his best literature as he speaks of this bird [Far and N'car). "The only one of our winter birds that really seems a part of the winter, that seems to be born of the whirling snow, and to be happiest when storms drive thickest and coldest, is the Snow Bunting, the real snowbird, with phnnage copied from the fields where the drifts hide all but the tops of the tallest weeds, large spaces of pure white touched here and there with black and gray and brown. Its twittering call and chirrup coming out of the white obscurity is the sweetest and happiest of all winter bird sounds. Tt is like the laughter of children. The fox-hunter hears it on the snowv hills, the farmer hears it when he goes to fodder his cattle from the dis- tant stack, the country schoolboy hears it as he breaks his way through the drifts toward the school. It is ever a voice of good cheer and contentment."

In the Far \orth are found two other members

of this branch of the h'inch family. They never come as far south as the United States. The Pribilof Snow Hunting, or Aleutian Snowfiake [Plectrophcnax nk'alis towusciidi ) is similar to the better known Snow Hunting but decidedly larger with a relatively longer bill. As his name indicates his home is among the Aleutian Islands ; he is also found on other islands of that region and along the Siberian coast of Bering Sea. McKay's Snow Bunting or Snowflake (Plec- trophcnax hypcrborcns) is similar to the Pribilof Snow Bunting, but with much more white, the back and shoulders of the adult male being en- tirely white. This Snow Bunting breeds on Hall Island and St. Matthew's Island, north- central part of Bering Sea ; in the winter it mi- grates to the western portion of the .-Maskan mainland. L. Nei.sox Xichols.

The Snow Bunting feeds almost exclusively from the ground : the reports of his feeding in trees are rare. Small seeds — pigweed, ragweed, and all kinds of grass — are his chief foods. From Nebraska comes a statement that he always eats locusts' eggs when thev are obtainable.

LAPLAND LONGSPUR

Calcarius lapponicus lapponicus ( Linnccux)

A. O. U. Number jjf.

Other Name. — Common Longspur.

General Description. — Length 7'4 inches. L'p[)er parts, light brownish, streaked with blackish ; under parts, white. Bill, small; wings, long and [lointed ; tail, more than '■'j length of wing, anri double rounded; hind claw, long and slender.

Color. — Adult M.\le in Summer: Head and chest, deep black, relieved by a broad white or buffy stripe behind eye, continued downward (vertically) behind ear-coverts and then backward along sides of chest; sides, broadly streaked or striped with black ; rest of under parts, white; hindneck, deep chestnut-rufous; rest of upper parts, light brownish, broadly streaked with blackish ; lesser wing-coverts, grayish, featliers black in center. Adult M.«lLE in Winter: Black of head con- fined to crown, posterior and lower border of ear- coverts, lower part of throat, and patch on chest, all more or less obscured by whitish or pale brownish tips to feathers; sides of head (including lores and greater part of ear-coverts), mostly dull light brownish; rufous on hindneck also similarly obscured. Adult Fem.^le in Summer: Much like the winter male, but markings

more sharply defined, black areas of chest, etc., more restricted and still more broken, hindneck streaked with blackish and size smaller. Adult Female in Winter: Similar to summer plnma.gc, but browner and less sharply streaked above, hindneck often without trace of rufous, lower parts dull brownish-white, and dusky markings very indistinct.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : On ground or in tussock of grass; constructed of fine dried grass and moss; lined with feathers or fur shed from the winter coats of the arctic fox. Eggs: 3 to 6, dull white specked and spotted and clouded witli umber-brown so thickly as almost to obscure the ground color.

Distribution. — Breeding in arctic and subarctic dis- tricts of Europe, northeastern North America, including Greenland, and for an undetermined distance west- ward to at least the more western portions of Siberia; in North America migrating south in winter (more or less irregularly) to Virginia, South Carolina, Ken- tucky, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and even to Texas; west during migration to eastern portion of Great Plains (Manitoba to Texas).

The general characteristics of the I.ongsjnir family are the small acutely conical bill, which is deeper at the base than it is wide; exposed nos- trils; long, pointed wing; tail more than half hidden by the pointed upper coverts ; and a slen-

der and nearly straight hind claw about the length of the toe. There are three species, difTer- ing considerably in details of form. The type species is the Lapland. .Smith's Longspur, or the Painted Longspur (Calcarius f^icfii.';). found on

22

BIRDS OF AMERICA

the interior plains of North America east of the Rocky Mountains from the Arctic coast in sum- mer south to Texas in winter, is very similar to the Lapland, but has a slenderer and more pointed bill. The Chestnut-collared Loncjspur (Calcariiis onmtiis) differs from the other two species in having the tail much shorter than the distance from the carpal or wrist joint of the wing to the end of the wing-quills. The Chest- nut-collared is also an inhabitant of the great plains of the United States, but instead of ex- tending his range to the north he prefers Mexico. A relative of this family — so close a relative that he has adopted the family name for popular use — is McCown's Longspur ( RliynclwpJmiics

dent. In the winter they come down to the north- ern States to stay only as long as the n(jrthern barrens are swept by the unbearable storms. While here they are seen in the most numbers in broad prairie lands and along the wide sloping mountain meadows. In the East they are not as commonly seen, but many Snowflake flocks have a few Longspurs. The Shore Larks that feed up and down the wintry seashore of New England and the middle States have also many Longspurs among them.

Toward spring the male becomes a beautiful bird with his black head and breast. He is the most conspicuous creature of the northern bar- rens when he reaches there in April. Louis A.

(J'-urtcsy ul Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. LAPLAND LONGSPUR (] nat. size) In April he is the most conspicuous creature of the northern barrens

mccozvtii). He is fotmd on the interior plains of North America, east of the Rocky Mountains. His bill is much larger and relatively thicker and his tail relatively shorter than in his cousins. His nostrils are nearly concealed by well developed soft feathers. The Lapland Longspur and its varieties, the Alaska and Siberian Longspurs {Calcariiis laj^poniciis alascciisis and Calcariiis lappoiiiciis colorahis), inhabit a broad subarctic belt around the world during the breeding season. In North America the Alaska occupies the northwestern tundras east to the Mackenzie country. From there east to northern Labrador and Greenland the species is the same as the one that extends across northern Europe and east into western .Siberia. It derives its name from Jhat part of the northern Russian tundras called Lap- land. The differences noted in America between the Alaska and Lapland are so slight that they may be generally disregarded by the casual stu-

Euerte.- said after an Alaskan trip, that the Long- spur sang the most beautiful song north of Bobo- link-land. Edward \\'. Nelson has given nuich time to the study of the bird. " The Lajiland Longspur is one of the few birds, which, like the Skylark and the Bobolink, are so filled with the ecstasy of life in spring that they must rise into the air to pour forth their joy in singing. The males are scattered here and there over the tundra on their chosen jtrojecting points and at frequent intervals mount slowly on tremulous wings ten or fifteen yards into the air. There they pause a moment and then, with wings up- pointed, forming V-shaped fi,gures. they float gently back to their perches, uttering, as they sing, their liquid notes, which fall in tinkling succession on the ear. It is an exquisite, slightly jingling melody . . . resembling the song of the Bobolink."

L. Nelsox Nichols.

FINCHES

23

VESPER SPARROW Pooecetes gramineus gramineus {Giiiclin)

A. O. V XumlKr ;40 See Culor Pbtc 8.-

Other Names. — Bay-winged Bunting; Grass Finch; Gray Bin! ; Pasture Bird ; Grass Sparrow ; Ground- bird ; Bay-winged Finch.

General Description. — Length, 6'^ inches. Upper parts, grayish-brown, streaked witli black ; under parts, white. Bill, small ; wings, long and pointed ; tail, about ii length of wing, forked, and with the feathers rather narrow.

Color. — Adults: .\bove, light grayish-brown (hair- brown) conspicuously streaked with lilack, the streaks broadest on back, less distinct on rump ; lessor wing- coverts, cinnamon or russet with a dusky ( mostly concealed) wedge-shaped central space; wings other- wise and tail dusky, the feathers edged with light grayish-brown, especially the larger wing-coverts and secondaries, the former (middle and greater coverts) indistinctly tipped with pale dull buffy. forming in- distinct narrow bands ; outcniwst tail-fcallicrs. larrjcly while: region over eye, light grayish brown or brown- ish gray, narrowly and indistinctly streaked with dusky ;

ear region, browner : a white or bufTy white cheek stripe margined below by a series of dusky streaks along each side of throat ; under parts dull white tinged with pale bufify on chest, sides, and flanks ; iris, brown.

Nest and Eggs.— Xest : Always placed upon the ground, sunk level, in pastures, meadows or along roadsides in the brush ; rather bulky, thick rimmed, well cupped but not tightly woven; constructed of dried grass, weed stalks, some bark strips, and lined with fine grass and hair. Eggs : 4 to 6, grayish or bluish-white spotted with burnt umber and chest- nut.

Distribution. — Eastern I'nited .States and more southern British provinces ; breeding from Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, etc.. northward to Nova Scotia ( ?), Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick( ?), Province of Quebec( ?), eastern Manitoba ( ?), etc.; south in winter to Gulf coast (Florida to eastern Texas); casual in Bermudas.

It has been said that what the Veery's song is to the deep woods, the Vesper .'-iparrow's is to the fields and pastures. There is a certain accuracy in this comparison, and yet the son.gs are essentially different in spirit ; for the \''eery's resonant tremolo has an elfin-like ring, which is entirely absent from the Sparrow's simple little expression of qniet thankfulness and very beau- tiful contentment. Both songs may be heard at any hour of the day, but there seems to be an especial sincerity and spontaneity in the Spar- row's utterance when it blends perfectly, as it

always does, with the spirit of the evenin'^' and the advancing shadows. Then it is truly vcspc- rian, and in that respect few birds have been more a|)propriately named.

Some listeners consider the song similar to that I if the .Song Sparrow, but such similarity cer- tainly is not invariably ]>resent ; and generally the songs are qm'te different in mood and musical structure. Air. Torrey expressed this .general difference accurately when he said that the Song Sparrow's utterance is more declamatory and the X'esper's more cantabile. l^requentlv the \^es-

"^^5^- **,

"t:*^^^.

..>

■^.

Fhotograph by A. A. Alle

FOUR lAPI-AND LONGSPURS AND FOUR PRAIRIE HORNED LARKS

24

BIRDS OF AMERICA

])t'r's lay is a simple descending series of notes, very sweet and somewhat violin-like in quality, delivered with increasing rapidity. Not infre- quently the song is heard in the dead of night, and occasionally the bird delivers a quite elab-

1 by H. K. Jub Cuurtcsy of C

NEST OF VESPER SPARROW Containing three eggs of the Cowbird

orate flight-song as it flutters upward to a height of fifty or seventy-five feet. This effort is very different from the usual leisurely ditty, gen- erally rendered from a conspicuous perch atop a fence-post or bush.

The Vesper Sparrow is shy, after the manner of its kind. Often in the fields or on the road- sides, it will run along for some distance, keep- ing just ahead of the pedestrian. When it takes to its wings the two white feathers on either side of its tail show very plainly. It has no true crest, but it often elevates the feathers on the crown of its head so that they form a temporary one.

In western North America, except the Pacific coast district, there is a variant form of the \^esper Sparrow, known as the Western Ves- per Sparrow {Poa-cctcs grauiincns confinis). It averages larger, and has a slenderer bill than the eastern Vesper ; it is also slightly paler and grayer and the marks on the chest are not so dark.

Both of these forms are replaced in the Pacific coast district by the Oregon Vesper Sparrow (Pocccctcs gramlncus affinis). The Oregon Vesper is smaller than the Vesper, browner above and distinctly biiffy below.

The Vesper Sparrow lives chiefly on different injurious insects, the animal proportion of its food reaching 90 per cent, in the height of sum- mer. Beetles and grasshoppers are most sought after, and next to them come cutworms, army worms, and other smooth caterpillars. It should be accorded the fullest protection because of its value to the farmer.

IPSWICH SPARROW

Passerculus princeps Mayiiard

\. O. I'. Xumbcr 541 See Color Plate 81

General Description. — Length, 6'i incites. Upper parts, grayish ; under parts, whitisli. Bill, small ; wings, long and pointed: tail, about •f'i length of wing.

Color. — Adui-TS : .\bove, pale grayish : the crown and back, streaked with pale brown and blackish : cro'cii, ivith a narro'tC center stripe of fiale grayish huff or dull huffy 'cchilish : broad siinilar but paler stripe over eye; outer surface of inner wing-quills and greater wing-coverts, pale bulTy brown ; cheek stripe, pale buff or whitish ; under parts, white tinged later-

ally (sometimes across chest also) with pale brownish bufif; the chest and sides, streaked with brown; iris, brown.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : On the ground in ineadow and grassy reaches of Sable Island (so far as known) ; constructed of similar materials as the nest of the Savannah Sparrow. Eggs: Also similar but larger.

Distribution. — Breeding on Sable Island (and other islands?), off Nova Scotia; migrating southward along Atlantic coast as far as Georgia.

FINCHES

25

This is a songless Sparrow which occurs, dur- ing its migration, on the beaches along the Atlan- tic and Gulf coasts from Sable Island, Nova Scotia, where it breeds, to Georgia. It is most likely to be found skulking in the beach-grass, generally quite near the ocean. In such sur- roundings it seems to have been first discovered near Ipswich, Mass., in 1868, and thereafter for several years was confounded with Baird's Spar- row {Ainiiiodrainiis bainli), a western form, which it only very slightly resembles. It is very timid and when flushed is likely to flv rapidly for a considerable distance, then plunge down into the grass and continue its retreat by running for perhaps fifty yards, so that it is difficult to see the bird a second time. Its associates frequentlv are Horned Larks, from which it may easily be distinguished, but it somewhat resembles the

larger light-colored Savannah .Sparrow. Its single note, only occasionally uttered, is a faint

The Ipswich Sparrow is a very rare bird and this fact, added to its exceedingly limited range, prevents it from having any appreciable impor- tance. Grass seed, particularly in winter, forms the staple diet. Lambs-quarters, different polyg- onums, and dock are also taken. The fruit ele- ment consists of bayberries, bkieberries, and bunchberries. The animal food is made up of beetles, wasp-like insects, bugs, caterpillars, flies, spiders, and snails. In June the most common article of diet is the little dung-beetle. Tiger beetles are also eaten, a rather unusual element of Sparrow fare, but due. probably, to the abun- dance of these active insects ujjon the sand dunes which the bird frequents.

SAVANNAH SPARROW Passerculus sandwichensis savanna {IVilson)

Other Names. — Ground Sparrow; Field Sparrow (incorrect): Ground-bird; Savannah Fiunting.

General Description. — Length. 6 inches. Upper parts, grayish-brown; under parts, white; streaked above and below with black. Bill, small; wings, long and pointed; tail, about ^i length of wing, and notched.

Color. — Adults : Above, grayish-brown, conspicu- ously streaked with black, the broad black streaks on back and shoulders edged with narrower dull whitish or light buffy-grayish ; streaks; croivn, zvith a median narrow stripe of pale grayish or buffy-grayish streaks; a broad stripe of yellowish over the eye. more decidedly yellow in the front ; wings, light brownish with dusky centers to the feathers ; tail, dusky grayish-brown, the feathers edged with pale grayish but without any white on inner webs; ear and under eye regions light brown- ish-gray or dull grayish-buffy. margined above and below by blackish streaks ; a broad white or pale buffy stripe on the cheek; under parts, white (sometimes.

especially in fall and winter |iluniage. tinged with buffy on chest and sides) with sides of throat, chest, sides, and flanks conspicuously streaked with blackish, the streaks on chest wedge-shaped, those on throat coalesced into a stripe.

Nest and Eggs. — Xest: Level with ground, gen- erally well concealed in tall grass or tussock ; a sparse collection of grass and weed stalks; lined or not. E(;(..s : 4 or 5, ground color varying from bluish-white to grayish-white, spotted, speckled, and blotched with brown and lavender, sometimes so thickly as to be obscured.

Distribution. — Eastern Xorth .\merica; breeding from Connecticut, Pennsylvania (Bradford, Crawford, Clinton, Elk, and Erie counties). Ontario, northwestern Indiana (Calumet, P^nglish, and Wolf Lakes), etc., northward to Ungava (Fort Chimo), western side of Hudson Bay, etc.; migrating south ni winter to Gulf coast, Bahamas, and Cuba; casual in Bermudas.

The Aleutian Savannah .Sparrow or Sandwich Sparrow (Passerculus saiidn'ichnisis saiidicich- ciisis) is the typical bird of this species. lie breeds on LInalaska Island anrl in the winter comes east and south along the coast to British Columbia and occasionally to northern Califor- nia. The san(i7vichcusis part of his scientific name refers to his being first found on Sandwich Island in the .Meutians bv a Russian. The better

known member of this family, however, is the .Savannah Sparrow.

The peculiarity of this otherwise rather com- monjilace bird is its habit of singing from the ground. This is very unusual with birds which have any song at all ; for though the habit of singing from a more or less cons])icuous perch is clearly an inherently dangerous one, since it nnist have the effect of attracting the notice of the

26

BIRDS OF AMERICA

singer's natural enemies, it is i)ersisted in by all but a very few American s])ecies, the law of the " survival of the fittest " to the contrary notwith- standing. In point of fact, however, the Savan- nah's song is a rather insignificant elTort. Dr. Jonathan Dwight describes it as " a weak, musi- cal little trill following a grasshopper-like intro- duction, and is of such small volume that it can be heard but a few rods." As the sun sinks and the quiet of evening deepens the tsip-tsip-tsip se-e-e- s'r-r-r ( Dwight ) is sung more frequently and is audible for a greater distance. The bird's best known note is a sharp tsip, frequently heard when it is migrating and still more frequently during the breeding season. This note seems to be used either to express alarm or to scold.

The Savannah is primarily a bird of the fields, especially those near the coast, and is likely to be mistaken for any of several other field Spar- rows, for the Vesper, probably, more often than others ; but careful study of the bird's coloration, plus its ground-singing habit, will make its iden- tification comparatively easy.

The Savannah is one of the most useful of the Sparrows. Nearly half of its food consists of in-

sects, beetles being most eagerly sought, and in winter it consumes large quantities of grass seeds and weed seeds. Individuals taken in cotton fields in winter were found to have eaten a number of boll weevils.

In western North America, breeding in Alaska but ranging south to Mexico, is the Western Sa- vannah Sparrow (Passcrcuhis sandimchensis alaudiniis) . It is about the same size as the eastern species but the coloration is decidedlv paler and grayer.

Other members of this group are : Bryant's Sparrow {Passcrcuhis saudzinchciisis br\<anti), somewhat smaller and darker than the Savannah and found in the salt marshes along the coast of California; Belding's Sparrow (Passcrcnliis bcldhuji), still darker in coloration than Bryant's and found in the salt marshes of southern and Lower California; and the Large-billed .Sparrow {Passcrcnliis rostratiis rostratiis), differing as its name suggests in the size of the bill and also in not having the upper parts conspicuously streaked ; this Sparrow is also found in the salt marshes of southern California and Lower California.

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW

Ammodramus savannarum australis Maynard

A. O. U. Xumber =.46 See Coh.r I'late 81

Other Names. — Quail Siiarrow ; Yellow-winged Sparrnw-

General Description. — Lengtli, 4' j inches. Upper parts, gray, buff, brown, and black, mixed ; under parts, whitish. Wing, short: tail, short and the featliers narrow and lance-likc.

Color. — Adults in Summer: Crown, blackish nar- rowly streaked with light gray or grayish buffy and divided centrally by a distinct tine of pale grayish buff; rest of upper parts, mixed grayish, pale buffy, rusty brown, and black, the last prevailing on back and shoulders, where forming large central or median spots: hindneck, grayish streaked with chestnut, the chestnut streaks sometimes black centrally : feathers of rump, streaked or spotted with rusty brown, the streaks sometimes black basally ; wings, dusky with distinct pale buffy grayish edgings ; the lesser coverts, mostly yellowish olive passing into yellow on edge of wing; sides of head, including broad stripe over eye, dull buffy, paler and more grayish on lores, the region above lores yellowish; a dusky streak behind eye; under parts, buffy becoming white or nearly so on lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts ; bill, brown, paler on the edge and below ; iris, brown. Adults IN Winter: Similar to summer plumage, but brighter colored, with less black and more of chestnut on upper

parts; the center crown-stripe, deeper buffy; the hind- neck broadly streaked with chestnut; the space be- tween the shoulders distinctly edged with buff and .gray; buff of under parts deeper, that of chest some- times indistinctly streaked with chestnut. Young : Crown, dusky with an indistinct center stripe of pale .grayish, and indistinctly streaked with the same, or with pale brownish ; hindneck streaked with dusky and pale buffy grayish; back and shoulders, dusky or dull blackish ; the feathers distinctly margined with dull buffy and pale grayish ; middle and greater wing-coverts, margined terminally with dull buffy whitish; under parts, dull buffy whitish; the chest and sides of head streaked with dusky ; no yellow over lores nor on edge of wing.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : On ground or sunk level, in dry fields, clearings, or pastures, and well concealed ; bulky ; built of dried grass, sometimes semi-arched with deep interior. Eggs : 3 to 5, clear white, spotted and specked rather sparsely, chiefly around large end, witli chestnut, black, and lilac gray.

Distribution. — Eastern United States and more southern British Provinces; west to edge of the Great Plains ; north, in summer, to Maine, New Hampshire, Ontario, etc. ; south, in winter, to Bahamas, Cuba, island of Cozumel, Yucatan, and Gulf coast of Me.xico.

Courlesyul tlio N,-w York Stale Mus.-urr

Plate 8i

HENSLOWS SPARROW Pasm-h,rlmli,.i h.naln.n li,„.-,l,m'i (Auauhmi) LECONTE'S SPARROW l'„s«,rli,rhulu.^ Immlr, ( Aucliihiiii)

IPSWICH SPARROW ra-isirrulux pnii, ;■,,.■< M;ivnaril SHARP-TAILED SPARROW Pn.-<s,Thirl,ulu.s niuil.ifutu.-: iCliicIiii,!

■a

SAVANNAH SPARROW PaN«Ti-i</(/,v sajirfir;,-/,,:«»,,< xnm,i„„ (Wilson) SEASIDE SPARROW P.,^«,rl„rl,„/„s mnrilimu.i manbmus (VVilsonI ACADIAN SHARP-TAILED SPARROW Pai.'or/artmhi^ „,l.<„,i, .^„hi'n;,;,lu ^ (Dwicllt) NELSON'S SPARROW /'„»»«■/»•;■).„/«» «,/.so„, „,b<,„, (AlU-ri)

FINCHES

It is unfortunate that this bird should over h:i\(.- received the descriptive desig-nation, " yel- low-winged," since the ])atch of color which ap].)ears on its shoulders does not justify that de- scription. Consequently, the absence of yellow- wings is likely to mislead an observer who re- members that the bird has been so described. And this likelihood is increased by the extreme shyness of the bird, and its decided disinclina- tion to sit still in plain view if it sees it is being observed. Under such conditions it is almost certain to dive into the nearest cover. So the observer will have to use his eyes quickly and to note accurately the comparatively inconspicu- ous marking of the plumage.

The insect-like, buzzing song of the bird ( whence its name ) is, however, quite distinctive, and can hardlv be mistaken for that of any other bird of the tields. It faintly suggests the song of the R'.ue-winged \\"arbler. which, however, is es- sentially a bird of the woods. This .Sparrow has the skulking habits of most nf the members of his family who live in the fields and build their nests on the ground. .\lso, like other ground birds, the female, when incubating, will sit still until you are within a few feet of her. and then leave her nest very quietly and flutter along the ground, dragging her wings as if she were dis- abled. This is plainly an instincti\'e efTort to attract attention to herself and away from her precious eggs. If one is determined to discover the nest, it is best to stop short immediately the bird is seen, try to locate that spot exactly, and then mark it with a handkerchief, or a stick thrust into the ground, and long enough to be conspicuous. Then by patiently walking about this spot in circles of slightly increasing diameter, examining minutely every foot of the groimd (and please, "watch your step"), the pretty secret may be revealed. But it must be remem- bered that the nest is built of grasses which blend perfectly with the surroundings, and fur- thermore, that it is an almost completely en- closed structure, the entrance being at the side. so that it is exceedingly difficult to discover it un- less one detects this little door, which is often itself partly concealed.

If the observer has a very sharp and trained eye, he may notice the almost imperceptible path, a few feet long, by which the Sparrow enters and leaves her little home. Knowledge of this trait is also useful if one undertakes to find the nest by watching the bird until she returns to it, which will take a deal of patience, if the little mother sees she is observed. If, however, the bird leaves her perch on a bush, or fence rail.

an<l dives into the grass, wait a few minutes, with your gaze concentrated on that spot and then walk slowly and softly toward it and mark- it. Friim here, by very careful scrutiny of the ground, you n-iay lie able to discern the little jiath, for the bird never flies directly to her nest. These suggestions have been offered, because to lind a (Grasshopper Sjiarrow's nest is a real tri- umph in field ornithology — one, indeed, which many a trained observer has never accomjilished. The vegetable food of the Grasshopper Spar- row is of little importance when compared with that of other species. Grain forms 2 per cent, of the food : weed 'iccd amr)mits to about one-

Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (I nat. size) An extremely shy little bird of the fields

fourth. Insects form its staple diet, and of these, beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillars are the most important. As a destroyer of insect pests the Grasshopper Sparrow is most efficient, and, both its vegetable and animal food consid- ered, it seems to be individually the most useful species of bird whose food habits have been thus far investigated.

The typical species of the Grasshopper Spar- row family is the Antillean Grasshopper Sparrow {.liiiuiodmiiiiis saz'aiiiiaruiii siwannanmi) : it is a resident of Jan-iaica and Porto Rico and is sim- ilar to the Grasshopper Sparrow of eastern Xorth America but decidedly smaller and darker. In the western United States and south over the ])lains of Mexico, is found the Western Grass- hopper Sparrow (Auimodramus savannarum bi- )iiaciilattis) . This western species is the sanie size as the eastern. Init of a paler coloration ;ind with more rusty brown and less black on the upper jiarts.

28

BIRDS OF AMERICA

HENSLOW'S SPARROW

Passerherbulus henslowi henslowi (Audubon)

Other Name. — Henslow's Bunting.

General Description. — Length. s'A inches. Upper parts, chestnut, black, and white, mixed ; under parts, whitish. Bill, stout ; wing, short ; tail, not longer than wing, and graduated.

Color. — Adults: Head and neck, buffy olive, the crown heavily streaked, except along center line, with black, the hindneck, more narrowly streaked ; back and shoulders, chestnut, the feathers black centrally and narrowly edged or margined with whitish ; wings, mainly chestnut ; chin and throat, pale buff or buffy whitish ; chest, sides, and flanks, deeper buffy streaked with blackish ; abdomen, whitish. Young : Above, dull

See Color Plate 8i

brownish-buffy, streaked and spotted with black ; be- neath, light buff, the sides streaked with dusky.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : In old clearings, pasture lands, or fresh water meadows, on the ground under a clump of grass; built of grass, lined with fine blades and some horse- or cow-hair. Eggs : 4 or 5, pale greenish or grayish white, heavily spotted and blotched with shades of brown and lavender.

Distribution. — Eastern United States, west to edge of Great Plains, north to New Hampshire, New York, Ontario, Minnesota, etc.; breeding south at least to 38° ; wintering from about the same latitude to southern Florida and Texas.

Henslow's Sparrow never will be a very popu- lar bird. It is only a plain striped Sparrow, its song is quite insignificant, its breeding home is within inaccessible wet meadows, and it is very retiring. It is really not so very rare in southern New Jersey and Maryland and across the weedy prairies of southern Indiana and Illi- nois. In many parts of northern Missouri and across Iowa to southern Minnesota, it is actually common. It may not be as rare as has been supposed in the northern part of its range, that is, in the northeastern States and southern Can- ada ; but only a keen ear will notice the explosive Chc-sUck notes far off in the weeds or marsh

tussocks. The song as written bv P. L. Jotiy is sis-r-r-rit-srif-srif. and this is as easily tin- noticed as in that of the Grasshopper Sparrow that sings its summery lay in the hearing of thousands of people who never hear it at all, be- cause a little distance makes the notes just the simple buzz of spring and suminer. The aggres- sive bird student, however, who sees and hears everything, has made an acquaintance of this little brown .Sparrow with its pale olive-green head.

In the winter Henslow's Sparrows are found most commonly throughout the south in the broom sedge of the dry fields. As tliese fields

HENSLOW'S SPARROW (J nat. size)

But few bird lovers know this plain striped Sparrow

Courtesy of Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.

iCj^^^'

A^T

'^:

FINCHES

29

are iu'.t,'lfCU'(l in winter and tlie S|)arro\vs call but rarely, the people of tlie s(]uth know the bird even less than do the people of the north. Because of its small mniiliers and irregular local distribution Henslow's Sparrow is of little econoniic importance. Beetles, cutworms, grass- hoppers, soldier inigs, assassin bugs, spiders, blackberries, grass, and plant seeds have been found in the stomachs exaniineil by the mem- bers of the United States Biological Survey.

There is a ])aler race of Henslow's S|)arrows in South Dakota that is called the \\'cstern Hens- low's .Sparrow { I'asscrlicrbuliis hciislozci ocri- ili-ii talis).

< )n the |)rairie marshes of the Mississippi valley and of the central Canadian provinces, southeastward in winter, is another very similar species, known as Leconte's Sparrow { Passcr- hcrhiiliis Iccontci). (See Color Plate 81.)

L. Nelson Nichols.

SHARP-TAILED SPARROW

Passerherbulus caudacutus ( Ginclin]

A. O. U. Numl.LT S49 S<;e Color I'latc .Si

General Description. — Length, 5'j inches. Upper parts, olive-l)r<nvn : under parts, whitish ; streaked ahove and below. tJill, stout; wing, short; tail, rounded, the feathers sharp-pointed.

Color. — Adults : Broad, sharply delined, and con- spicuous stripe over eye and broad cheek stripe, deep bufT, the latter curving upward behind the ears, but separated from the stripe on the eye by a narrow black or dark brown stripe back of the eye ; ear region, grayish ; crown, clear bister brown streaked with black, divided by a broad but not sharply defined center stripe of grayish; prevailing color of upper parts, olivaceous, grayer on sides of hindneck and rump, the shoulders and between decidedly darker olive-brown, sharply edged with pale grayish or bufi'y whitish, pro- ducing distinct streaks which are margined internally by a narrower blackish streak; crf</r of icing, pair

yclluic: under parts, mostly white, but the chest, sides, and flanks tinged witli butf, sharply and usually con- spicuously streaked with dusky. YouNc; : Crown, blackish divided by a narrow center stri(<e, or series of streaks, of dull bulify; general color of upper parts, light bufi'y brownish, the shoulders and between broadly edged with buflFy, (Producing conspicuous streaks; under parts, huffy, deepest on chest and sides, where streaked, narrowly, with dusky ; the abdomen, some- times nearly white.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Always in salt meadow grass, sometimes concealed like the Seaside Sparrow's under a bit of drift sedge; constructed of the same materials as that bird's. Eggs : 4 or 5, pale brownish or greenish white, profusely specked with chestnut.

Distribution. — Atlantic coast of United States; breeding from Massachusetts southward.

The Shar])-tailed Sparrow is a bird of the salt- water marshes along the coast of New England and New York. It has a peculiar habit of perch- ing on a perpendicular reed stalk, where it manages, by spreading its feet wide apart, to assume a ])artly upright position. On the ground it runs about with its head lowered, among the tussocks, like a mouse, and it is apt to resort to this method of escaping observation, rather than to flight. A distinguishing peculiaritv is the form of its tail, which is rather long, and tapers to a point, instead of being s(|uare at the end as is that of the .Savannah .Sparrow; hence, of course, its name. A distinctive plumage marking is the bufTy line over the eye and on the sides of the throat. Its song, like that of the Seaside -Sparrow, is short and unmusical.

The food habits of the Sharp-tailed Sparrow have inany striking peculiarities. The bird shows

a gretiter liking than most species for bugs, and about half of those eaten are leaf-hoppers. 1 hese are, it is trtie, wonderfully abundant in the moist, grassy j^laces where this Sparrow lives, but they are not often eaten by other birds that inhabit the same kinds of places. Of the true bugs — that is, those belonging to the heter- opterous division — both the smaller plant-feeding ;md predacious species are eaten. Perhaps the most curious feature of the bird's food habits is the liking shown for flies. These insects, mainly midges and their larvpe, certain allied insects, and the smaller adult horseflies, constitute 3 per cent, of the food, probably a larger proportion of flies than characterizes the food of any other birds except Flycatchers and those shore-inhabiting species in the Far North which feed so exten- sively on midges.

There is a difference in the food of the -Sharp-

30

BIRDS OF AMERICA

tailed Sparrows collected by salt water and those taken near fresh water, owing, no doubt, to differences of environment. The salt-water birds feed on the seeds of salt grasses and occa- sionally eat wild rice ; the fresh-water birds eat other grasses. The salt-water birds eat many sand fleas which are very abundant along the beach, and the birds pick them up either on the clear sand or amid the seaweed or other shore debris. The fresh-water birds do not eat snails, while the others seem to find them very palatable. Birds collected in fresh-water marshes had fed on army worms.

Nelson's Sparrow (Passcrlicrbiilus nclsoiii lu-lsoiii). also known as Nelson's Finch and as Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, is decidedly smaller than the Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Its col-

oration is much brighter, the white, ])ale grayish, or [jale buffy streaks of back and shoulders more sharply contrasted with the rich brown or olive ground-color. It breeds in the Mississippi valley northward and winters along the Gulf coast; occasionally it visits the Atlantic coast during migrations. (See Color Plate 8i.)

More plainly colored than either the Sharp- tailed or the Nelson's is the .\cadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow { Passcrlicrbiilus iiclsoni siihvirgatns) which makes its home in the salt-water marshes of the Atlantic coast of the United States and the adjacent Canadian provinces. The conspicu- ous lighter streaks on the back and shoulders are lacking in this member of the family or else they are not strongly contrasted with the ground color. (See Color Plate 8i.j

SEASIDE SPARROW Passerherbulus maritimus maritimus ( Wilson )

.\. O. V. Xiiml.cr 550 Ste Color I'late 81

Other Names. — Meadow Chippy ; Seaside Finch.

General Description. — Length, 6 inches. Upper !)arts. oHve-grayish. streaked ; under parts, white. Bill, stout: wing, short; tail, rounded, the feathers sharp- pointed.

Color. — Adults: Above, olive-grayish tinged with olive especially on back, where feathers are somewhat darker with light grayish edges producing streaks; crown, olive laterally, grayish medially, producing three broad but very indistinct and faintly contrasted stripes ; a stripe on the cheek, chin, throat, and abdomen, white ; strif'c under the check and broad streaks on chest, grayish; edge of xving, yellozv. Young: Above, browner than in adult, the back broadly and crown

narrowly streaked with blackish; beneath, whitish; the chest, sides, and flanks buffy and streaked with dusky.

Nest and Eggs. — Nkst : Placed in the areas of fine marsh grass, usually beneath dead drift patches of grass, above normal high-water mark {many nests are destroyed every year by extra high tides) ; con- structed almost entirely of dried grass, lined with finer blades. Eggs : 4 or 5, pale greenish or pale brownish white, finely spotted all over and wreathed at large end with rufous and dull purple.

Distribution. — Atlantic coast of United States, in salt-water marshes, breeding from southern Massachu- setts {Westport, near Rhode Island line) to Georgia.

.'\s its name indicates, the .Seaside .Sparrow is a land bird which, nevertheless, evidentlv loves the sotmd and the sight of the ocean, for it is most frequently found in the salt marshes along the Atlantic coast from Rhode Island southward. It often has as companions Savan- nah, Sharp-tailed, Swamp, or Song Sparrows from any of which it may be distinguished by its lack of the reddish cast of color, more or less of which is shown in their i)Iumage, and by its blunt tail. Its song, of four or five notes, can hardly be considered musical ; it is delivered from atop a reed, or sometimes as the bird flutters a few feet upward.

There are four varieties of the Seaside Spar- row found in dift'ercnt localities in the south- eastern United States. Macgillivray's Seaside .Sparrow ( Passcrlicrbiilus iiiaritiiiiiis macgilli- vraii) is found on the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Florida and, in winter, along the Gulf coast; in coloration it is darker than the Seaside and its back is distinctly and often broadly streaked with black. Scott's Seaside Sparrow (Passcrlicrbiilus iiiariliiiiiis peninsula:') is similar to Macgillivray's. but the coloration of the upper parts is more uniform, the markings being less sharjilv contrasted with the general color; it inhabits the west coast of Florida. The

FINCHES

31

Louisiana Seaside Sparrow or Fislier's Seaside Sparrow {Passcrhcrhiihis luariliiiiiis fi^iicri) is niucli darker than Macgillivray's, often tlu- black- on the upper parts exceeding the olive-gray, and the ground color of the underparts being deep bufTy ; it breeds on the coast of Louisiana and in winter is distributed along the coast of Texas and on the west coast of Florida. The fourth variety is the Texas Seaside S]>arrow ( Passcr- hcrbuhis iiwritiiiuix sciiiirtfi). .\s its name would indicate, it is found along the coast of Texas. It is smaller, paler, and much more buffv than the Seaside, with the shoulders and the space between distinctly darker than the rest of the upper i)arts.

that this species is abundant and that the region it inhabits is in no sense isolated, but that both to the north aiul the south there are marshes apparently simil.ar to those it occupies, the re- striction of its range to an area onh- a few square miles in extent makes its distrilnition unique among North American birds."

The food habits of the Seaside Sparrow and the .Shar]>tailed .Sparrow are very similar both in elements and in the proportions of the food. There are, however, some minor differences of details. Thus, the .Seaside .Sparrow does not take nearly so many sand fleas as its congener, but it feeds on small crabs which so far as known form no part of the food of the Sharp-

SEASIDE SPARROW ' ; nat. si!

Closely allied to the Seaside .S])arriiw ])Ut cun stituting a different s])ecies is the Dusky .Seaside Sparrow [ Fasscrlicrbiiliis iiif/rcscciis ) . Its gen- eral coloratiiin above is lilrul^. indistinctl\' streak- ed with olive .and gr,i\ish ; the wing and tail feathers are edged witli oli\'e-brown : tlu- under ])arts are white thickly and broadly streaked with black: the ed.ge of the wing and ;i s|)ot above the lores are ganibo,ge-yellow. It is found in the marshes at the northern end of the Indian River, east coast of Florida. Of this species. Dr. Chapman says: "In view of the fact

tailed .Sparrow. I'.ecause of the limited distribu- tion of these birds they pr(jbabl\' do not come in contact to any great extent with cultivated cro|)s. In so far as they destro\- insect enemies of s.alt-marsh hay they are hel])ful. and in so far as they destroy enemies of insects which prey upon this crop, they are harmful : but other- wise they exercise little influence on agriculture. The birds do not prey on the s.alt-marsh cater- pillars, so destructive to the hay. and thev de- stroy a considerable amoitnt of the seed of the marsh grasses.

LARK SPARROW

Chondestes grammacus grammacus (Sav)

Other Names.— Quail-head; Kuad-bird ; Lark Finch; Little Meadnwlark.

General Description.— Length, b'/'. inches. Upper I)arts, bro\vnish-Kra.v streaked with blackish ; under parts, white. Hill, stout; wings, long and pointed; tail, \ong and rounded ; feet, small.

Vol. III. — 4

Color. — .'\dults : Crown and ear region, chestnut, the former with a center stripe of pale brownish-gray or grayish-bulif ; over eye a broad stripe of white, becoming buffy toward the rear; under eye a large white crescent-shaped spot; under farts, white l)econn'ng bufTy grayish-brown on sides and flanks: tlie cliest

32

BIRDS OF AMERICA

tinge'd with the same and marked in center witli a blackish spot ; back, shoulders, lesser wing-coverts, and upper tail-coverts, brownish-gray or grayish-brown (hair-brown): the back and shoulders broadly streaked 'a'itli blaek; wings (except lesser coverts"), dusky with light grayish-brown edgings, the middle coverts tipped with white (producing a rather distinct band), and the eighth to fifth or fourth primaries with white at the base (producing a patch) ; middle pair of tail-feathers, dusky grayish-brown, the remaining feathers black, abruptly tif'f'ed icilh 'd'hite. this white occupying nearly if not quite all the exposed terminal half on outermost feather : iris, brown.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Located usually on tlie

ground in prairies or dry open meadows, sunk flush with the earth, carefully concealed ; constructed of dried grass, weed stalks, lined with finer similar mate- rial. Eggs : 3 to 6, pure white or very pale bluish or brownish white, with spots and pen lines of sepia and black, bearing a singular resemblance to Oriole eggs.

Distribution. — Mississippi valley, east of the Great Plains: north to eastern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and southern Michigan, east (regularly) to Ohio, Ken- tucky, Tennessee, etc., casually or more rarely to Mas- sachusetts, Long Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Virginia, etc., and (during migra- tion ) Florida.

Tlie Lark Sparrow is one of the commonest and most attractive of American birds. It is found in grass country everywhere except in

Drawing by R. I. Brasher

LARK SPARROW (J nat. size) A familiar bird, common on both city iawns and rocky mesas

the Alleghenies and on the Atlantic coast. In the southwest there is less grass but plenty of sage- brush, and there the Lark Sparrow is also common. No one can travel through America west of the Alleghenies without seeing the Lark Sparrow. And no one who has ever known this Sparrow will ever forget how handsome he is with his chestnut and white head, one black spot on a white breast and a white-edged tail. He runs ahead along the dusty road, he rises out of the June meadows, he walks across the lawns of towns, he perches on rocks and Spanish bay- onet and sagebrush and all kinds of wayside bushes. Even out upon the flat and grassless deserts he may be seen flying from cactus to cactus. His absence from the Atlantic coast States is the only fact that prevents his being one of the best known birds of America. Over

his great range he is known not only for his beauty, btit also for his friendly habit of nesting near the farm buildings and villages.

If nothing else made the bird a favorite, his melodious, long, and varied song, heard almost continuously, would make him beloved. It is a wonder that the poets have not sung his praises. A poetic and intelligent people love the Lark Sparrow already. The writer of poetry will praise him in verse some later year. The song is described by Ridgway as " one continued gush of sprightly music, now gay, now melodious, and then tender beyond description — the very ex- pression of emotion. At intervals the singer falters, as if exhausted by exertion, and his voice becomes scarcely audible ; but suddenly reviving in his jov it is resumed in all its vigor

, l.v I I H. i inir;v Mf v,,t, .A:, '\url.

NEST AND EGGS OF LARK SPARROW Always carefully concealed

FLNCHES

53

until he appears to be really overcome by the effort."

From the plains to the coast the l.ark Sparrow- is lighter colored than east of the plains. This makes a subspecies, according to the ornitholo- gist ; and the western form is named the Western Lark Sparrow {Chondcstcs grauimacus striga- tus). There is. however, no [practical difference in the habits, song, and beauty of eastern and western birds.

It is very likely that the l.ark Sparrow will extend his range eastward in much the same way as has the Prairie Horned Lark. Being a grassland bird the prairie land was the home of

the bird before man broke up the eastern forests and made meadows and pastures suitable for liomes for grassland birds. Man's progress into the West, creating a continuous area of grass- land all the way west to the prairies, has made it possible for the prairie birds to find con- genial homes further east. So as man has gone west, some of the western birds have come east. The food of this Sparrow is made up of seeds of weeds, .grasses, and grain, with about 27 per cent, of insects. It is considered to be one of the most valuable of the S])arrows as a destrover of grasshoppers.

L. Nelson Nichols.

HARRIS'S SPARROW Zonotrichia querula (Nuttall)

A. O. U, Number 5,53

Other Names. — Hnod-crowned Sparrow : FSIack- hood.

General Description. — Length, 7'i inches. Upper parts, brown, streaked with blackish ; under parts, white. Bill, small, compressed-conical : wings, lonu and pointed; tail, about the length of wing, rounded or slightly double rounded.

Color. — Adults : Crown, cheek region, chin, and throat, uniform black, this extended over center portion of chest in the form of a broad streaking or spotting; sides of head, dull brownish buf¥y becoming more grayish on sides of neck and nearly white next to the black throat-patch, relieved by an irregular blackish or dark brownish spot just back of upper rear portion of ear region ; hindneck, brownish varied with blackish ; upper parts, light brown or buffy hair-brown ; the back and shoulders, broadly streaked with brownisli black ; middle and greater wing-coverts, tipped with white

iir buffy white, producing two distinct bands; under parts (except chin, throat, and center portion of chest), white, becoming dull hnt'a'iiish huffy on sides and flanks, where streaked witli l)rown or dusky; iris, brown. Immature (young in first winter?) : Crown with feathers black centrally, but margined witli pale grayish buffy, producing a consi)icuously scaly effect ; throat, white, or mostly .so, witli black along each side; middle of chest, blotched or broadly streaked with black or dark brown.

Nest and Eggs. — Probably but one nest has been discovered.

Distribution. — Interior plains of North America, from eastern base of Rocky Mountains to western Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Manitoba, etc., occasionally, during migration, to Illinois, and Wisconsin ; breeding west of Hudson Bay; south in winter to Texas; acci- dental in British Columbia and Orc.gon.

How modern is much of our knowledge of American birds is shown by the fact that the breeding range of the Harris's Sparrow was not known in the nineteenth century. Only the in- vestigation of the country west of Hudson's Bay made since 1900 has established that country as the nesting home of this bird. In the United States it is distinctly a bird of the Missouri River basin, not to breed, to he sure, but to haunt for half the year the shrubberv along the river bottoms and the thickets along the smaller streams. In fact what the Wliite-throat does

when it comes down out of the North for three seasons, that also does this Black-hooded Spar- row. Black-hood and White-throat are members of the same genus, but the former has the more restricted area. Black-hood will chirp much in the same tone as the White-throat, will seldom rise much above the bushes, and haunts the damper places in the thickets to rustle about in the dead leaves.

In the spring the Black-hood's song, uttered from the same bushes as the ^^^^ite-throat's, begins something like the hvmn-notes of the

34

BIRDS OF AAlERICA

White-throat. A change suddenly conies in the middle of the song that makes it very different from the song of any other Sparrow. The close of the song is harsh and drawling, reminding one of the distant rasp of the Nighthawk.

When the winters are severe in the lower Missouri valley, the birds push on in large num- bers to central Texas, only to return, as a White- throat would, to more northern wet woods and thickets with the first sign of sjiring. .\t this season they are known as Black-hoods, and are a welcome sight in the Dakotas. where they sing their cheerv songs from the tojimost twigs of the scanty bushes. Their size and their colors

Writing in The Auk, he describes it thus: "It was nil the ground under a dwarf birch, was made of grass, and resembled the nest of tlie \Miite-thruated Sparrow. It contained three young, nearly readv to fl\'."

Figures indicate that it is advisable to afford this species all possible encouragement and pro- tection. The report of the United States Biologi- cal Survey was bared on the examination of loo stomachs. .\s is the case with many of the birds that br(,-ed for the most part to the north and merely winter in the United States, the stomach contents wt'i-e mostly vegetable in character, the animal matter amounting to but 8 per cent. The

Drawing by R. I. Brasher

HARRIS'S SPARROW (1 nat. size) A comparatively little known bird whose nest was not discovered until 1907

make them as conspicucnis as Towhees. But civilization loses sight of them during the breed- ing season and through the heat of summer.

September, though, finds them corning back over the international boundary into the upper Missouri valley. But now the hoods are incon- spicuous. Most noticeable now are the heavy markings underneath and the generally reddish appearance. In this garb it is as well to name them after Mr. Harris as to call them by any other name. The birds must search far on down below the Arkansas River to find their black hoods again.

The only nest of this species known was dis- covered by Ernest T. Seton, August 5, 1907.

animal matter was made up of about the same kinds of insects, spiders, and snails that enter into the fare of other Sparrows, but the quantity of leaf hoppers was unusually large (2 per cent. of the food).

Of the vegetable food, _'5 [ler cent, was made up of the seeds of wild fruits and of various plants of uncertain economic position; 10 \>ev cent, of grain, which included more corn than wheat and oats; 0 per cent, of grass seed, mainly pigeon grass, cral) grass, June grass, and Johnson grass ; 6 per cent, of the seeds of ama- rantli, lamb's-quarters, wild sunflower, and gromwell, and 42 per cent, of ragweed and ])olygonum.

FINCHES

35

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW

Zonotrichia leucophrys leucophrys ( ./. A', l',trstcr)

A. (X V Xiiiiil.or ^54 See Color I'latc Rj

Other Name. — White-crown.

General Description. — LeiiRth. 6'4 inches. IMum- agc. gray, light liclcnv, and dark with streaks nf hnnvn above. Bill, small, compressed-conical ; w-ings. long and pointed: tail, about the length of wing, rounded or slightly double rounded.

Color. — Adults: Crown, with tz^u-i )<r,Hul Intrrnl bands of dccf black, iiiclosiun tt i rii/rr i);;i- n/ i,7)(7.' or grayish white of appro.ximately equal width: black of forehead extending backward to the front angle of the eye: a white or grayish-white stripe over eye extending forward above the eye nearly or quite as far as its front angle; hindneck, sides of neck, and ear region, plain gray; liack and shoulders, light gray or brownish- gray broadly streaked with chestnut-brown or vandyke- brown ; rump and uiiper tail-coverts plain hair-brown ; tail, dark hair-brown with paler edgings ; middle and .greater win,a;-coverts, dusky grayish-brown, edged witli pale hair-brown and tii)ped with white, forming two dis- tinct bands ; inner wing-quills dusky, margined ter- minally with whitish, this passing into chestnut-brown toward basal portion of outer webs ; primaries, dusky hair-brown narrowly edged with paler; sides of head and neck and chest uniform rather light gray, fading

into nearly wdiite on tliroat. chin, and ahdonien ; sides and flanks, pale bulTy-brown ; the under tail-coverts pale buffy or buffy-whitish ; iris, brown.

Nest and Eggs. — Ne.st : Commonly placed on the ground, in dry, high mountain meadows or clearings, sometimes in low Inishes ; constructed of small twigs, .grasses and rootlets, lined with fine .gra'-s .uid hair. Eggs: 3 to 3. pale greenish bhie to dull pak brownish white, specked and spoiled with cliestnnt. luaviest at large end.

Distribution. — More eastern I'.rnish ]n-ovinces and .greater part of United Slates; breeding from N'ermont, Province of Quel)ec, northeastern Minnesota (?). etc., northward to west side of Hudson Bay and over peninsula of I.alirador to southern Greenland, and throughout tlie higli mountain districts of the western United States, from tlie main Rocky Mountain ranges to the Sierra Nevada, including the intermediate Uinta and Wasatch ranges ; breeding southward to New Mexico and Arizona, northward to northern Cali- fornia; mi.gratin.g southward over greater part of eastern United .States, over Mexican plateau and throughout peninsula of Lower California.

Drawing by R. I. Brasher

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW (■ nat. sizs) His song has a singular sweetness, all its own

36

BIRDS OF AMERICA

By careless observers this Sparrow is often mistaken for the White-throat, though the diiTer- ence in the coloration of the two is very marked. In the first place, the White-crown lacks entirely the yellow patch before the eye, the white stripe over the eye, and white patch on the throat, all of which are conspicuous markings of the White- throat's plumage. Then, too, the White-throat's head is much more nearly flat on the crown than is the White-crown's, which is distinctly dome- shaped. On the other hand. White-crowns and White-throats frequently associate, and feed together, and their manners are not unlike.

There is, however, little similarity in the songs of the birds, and the \\'hite-throat's will be con- sidered the better of the two probably by most listeners. This is by no means intended to dis- parage the effort of the White-crowned minstrel, which has a singular sweetness and effective- ness all its own. Indeed. Mr. Burroughs con- siders the White-crown " a vastly finer songster than the White-throat." As described by Mr. Mathews, " it is comjjosed of six, or at the most, seven notes (unless it is doubled) ; the first one is twice as long as the others which are of about even value. The intervals are fairly accurate and include anything from a third to a fifth ; all the notes are clearly whistled except (generally) the two next to the last, and these are distinctly double-toned or burred ; the whole is marked by an even crescendo to the highest note, which is next to or within one of the last, or some- times actually the last." The song has something, though rather less, of the plaintive quality which

characterizes that of the White-throat, and like that bird's is also often heard at night.

In western North America there are two varie- ties of the White-crowned Sparrow, riambel's Sparrow (Zonotrichia Iciicof^Jirys (jauibdi) and Nuttall's Sparrow {Zoiwtiichia Iciicoplirys luit- talli). Gambel's Sparrow averages a trifle smaller than the White-crowned; its coloration is similar, but the lores is entirely white, thus making the light-colored stripe over the eye continuous to the bill. Nuttall's Sparrow also has this unin- terru]jted stripe, but its general coloration is much darker and its size smaller than Gambel's Sparrow. Gambel's Sparrow is not found in the Pacific coast district of the United States while that is the home-land of Nuttall's Sparrow.

Like most of the family these birds are seed- eaters by preference, and insects comprise very little more than 7 per cent, of their diet. Cater- pillars are the largest item, with some beetles, a few ants and wasps, and some bugs, among which are black-olive scales. The great bulk of the food, however, consists of weed seeds, which amount to 74 per cent, of the whole. In California these birds have been accused of eat- ing the buds and blossoms of fruit trees, but buds or blossoms were found in only thirty out of 516 stomachs, and probably it is only- under exceptional circumstances that they do any <lam- age in this way. Evidently neither the farmer nor the fruit grower has much to fear from White-crowned Sparrows. The little fruit they eat is mostly wild, and the grain eaten is waste or volunteer.

GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW

Zonotrichia coronata ( Pallas)

A. <). U. Xuinl).

Other Name. — rioldeii-crown.

General Description.— Length, 6.54 inches. Plum- age, gray. light below, and dark with streaks of brown above. Bill, small, compressed-conical ; wings, long and pointed; tail, about the length of wing, rounded or slightly double rounded.

Color. — Adult Male: Crown, deep black, divided medially by a broad stripe of oUvc-yclloiv, changing rather abruptly to light gray on back of head : upper parts, grayish olive-brown, the back and shoulders broadly streaked with brownish black, these streaks with a marginal suffusion of chestnut-brown ; outer webs of innermost greater wing-coverts and inner wing- quills inclining to chestnut-brown ; middle and greater

coverts, tipped with white, forming two distinct bands ; sides of head, dull grayish ; under parts, dull brownish gray, somewhat paler on chin and throat, nearly white on abdomen. li,ght buffy brownish color on sides and flanks; under tail-coverts, light grayish-brown or drab, broadly margined with pale buffy ; iris, brown. Adult Fem.«,le: Similar to the male, sometimes hardly dis- tinguishable, but usually with the lateral black stripes of the crown narrower and less intensely black, the yellow of the crown-spot rather paler, and the gray of back of head streaked with dusky. Immature (Young IN First Winter?^) : Similar to adult female, but with- out any lateral black stripe on crown or well-defined center stripe, the whole forehead and front portion of

Coortesy III thi; N,-« Yn.k Stat- MuSf-uri

Plate 82

^ip^"'''* ^»rfej

SLATE-COLORED JUNCO Jniirii h;idnalis lu/frniili.^ ( Linnaeus)

MALE FEMALE

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37

crown yellowish olive, more or less Hecked with dusky, the back portion of the crown, liglit grayish-olive- brown, streaked with dusky.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest: In alder thickets of Alaska streams ; constructed of coarse grass, weed stems, rootlets; lined with fine grass; quite large, and loosely built. Eggs: 4 or 5, pale greenish blue, distinctly speckled with shades of brown and chestnut.

Distribution. — Pacific coast and Bering Sea dis- tricts of North America; breeding on the Shumagin Islands, Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak, and more western parts of the Alaskan mainland; migrating southward in winter through southern Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, to the San Pedro Martir Mountains, Lower California, the Santa Barbara Islands; occasional straggler eastward.

Alaska is the home of the Golden-crowned Sparrows. They nest during the month of June. After the breeding season, the Golden-crowns are somewhat erratic in their movements. Some stay in the North for a while ; others begin strag- gling off for the South, either alone or in small flocks. As a rule, the Golden-crowns join with the White-crowned Sparrows. Our acquaint- anceship with the Golden-crowns begins late in the fall when we ;-ee a small flock in the shrub- berv and hedgerows through California. It is easy to make friends with these Sparrows by scattering a few crumbs along the paths.

As far as I have observed, the Golden-crowns <lo not sing much when traveling. I see them each fall on their way through Oregon, but they ;ire silent. I knew the bird best about the campus of the University of California at lierkeley and in Golden Gate Park at San Francisco.

His mood is different from that of other birds. It isn't the sun that makes him joyous; it is the rain. Perhaps the lack of moisture in the Cali- fornia climate makes him homesick. When a rain does come, it reminds him so much of the mist and showers of his northern home that he cannot help breaking into song. The song of the Golden-crown, therefore, is always associated in my mind with a drizzling rain. It is a simple, mournful lay in a high key. quite quavering at times. It is a minor strain, each note lowered a half step.

In his last book. Field Davs in California, Bradford Torrey speaks of meeting the Golden- crowned Sparrow at Paso Robles. " T was soon

close upon a flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows. They were no novelty. I had seen many like them. P)Ut these were in song ; and that was a novelty; a brief and simple tune, making me think of the opening notes of the eastern White- throat, but stopping short of that bird's rollick- ing triplets, ending almost before it began, as if it had been broken off in the middle, with a sweetly plaintive cadence. Like the White- thr(iat's, and unlike the \\'hite-crown's, tlie tone is a i>ure whistle, so that the strain can be imi- tated, even at first hearing, well enough to excite the birds to its repetition. I proved it on the spot." William L. Fixlev.

For the determination of the food of the Golden-crowned Sparrow, 184 stomachs were available. The animal food amounted to 0.9 per cent., vegetable to 99,1 per cent. The animal food consisted of insects and was prettv well dis- tribtited among the various orders. It was evi- dent that the Golden-crowned does not search for insects and takes only those that come in its way. The vegetable food consists of fruits, buds and flowers, grain, and some miscellaneous matter. Fruit amounted to a little more than I per cent, of the food and consisted of elderber- ries, grapes and what was thought to be apple. Piuds and flowers averaged 29.5 per cent., grain nearly 26 per cent., and weed seed 33 per cent. This bird does no direct harm to fruit, but by the destruction of buds and blossoms it may do serious harm where it is numerous and visits the orchards.

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW Zonotrichia albicollis (Gnirlin)

.\. n. V. \umher ;^.<! S.-c Color I'l.Ttf 8_-

Other Names. — Pcabody Bird; Cherryhird (in parts, rusty-hrown, streaked with black; under parts,

Adirondacks) ; Canada Bird; White-throated Crown while and gray. Bill, small, compressed-conical ; win.sjs,

Sparrow; White-throat; Nightingale (in Manitoba"); long and pointed; tail, about length of wing, rounded

Canada Sparrow : Peverly Bird. or slightly double rounded.

General Description. — Length, -'4 inches. L'pper Color. — .Xntii.T: Crown, black divided centrally by

38

BIRDS OF AMERICA

a line or narrow stripe of white; a broad stripe over eye, br'ujht yellow anti-riorly if nun lull to above eyes), white posteriorly; a broad streak of black behind eye; ear and under eye regions, plain gray; a conspicuous li'liite patch covering chin, upper throat, and greater part of cheek region; this white patch abruptly defined below against the gray of lower throat and chest, which passes into a more brownish hue on sides and flanks, the latter streaked with grayish-brown; breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, white ; back and shoulders, rusty-brown streaked with black; rump and upper tail-coverts, light olive or hair-brown ; tail, deeper hair-brown edged with paler ; middle and greater wing-coverts, tipped with whitish forming two narrow bands; primaries, primary coverts, and outer- most greater coverts, edged with lighter and more

grayish-brown ; the edge of wing, pale yellow ; iris, brown.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Typical site on ground, in burnt-over clearings of coniferous forests ; some- times in low bushes near streams or borders of fresh- water swamps, in the evergreen woods ; a rather bulky structure, of coarse grasses, strips of bark, moss, lined with fine blades of grass. Eggs; 4 or 5, minutely and evenly sprinkled or heavily blotched with dark brown on a pale greenish or pale buffy ground.

Distribution. — Eastern North -America ; breeding from Massachusetts, northern New York, Ontario, northern Michigan, nortlieastern Wyoming, eastern Alontana, etc., northward to Great Bear Lake, west shores of Hudson Bay, Labrador, etc.; south in winter to Florida and southern Te.xas

Tliis is not only one of the handsomest of the Sparrows ; it is perhaps the sweetest singer of them all. The pity of it is that comparatively little is seen or heard of him by humans who would be glad to know him better ; for he shows his fetching black, white, and yellow-striped cap, his white ascot tie and his warm brown jacket, and sings his beautiful little song, only on his way to and from his breeding groimd in the Canadian forests. This at least is true of the great majority of White-throats, though many breed in northern New York, Maine and in the New England moimtains as far south as northern Massachusetts. Both in spring and in fall the birds are likely to travel in little flocks and to spend much f)f their time on the ground, where

they scratch vigorously like Towhees and Juncos. In this operation a White-throat creates a commotion in the dry leaves which suggests the presence of a bird or animal many times its size.

There are few bird utterances at once more characteristic and more appealing than the fin- ished song of this Sparrow. Various eflorts have lieen made to represent the song in words, but all of these attempts are more or less unsatisfac- tory, for the very good and sufficient reason that they fail utterly to express the spirit of the utter- ance. " Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody " is the common New England rendition, from which is derived the popular name of " Peabody liird," but as W. Leon Dawson, the Ohio orni-

Drawing by R. I. Brasher

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW {\ nat. size)

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39

thologist, says, " the bird does not utter anythine; remotely resembling Peabodv while in Ohio," nor anywhere else, he might have made bold to add.

From a New England farmer, Bradford Torrey had the following story of the origin of another eti'ort to put the song into words :

"A farmer named Peverly was walking about his fields one spring morning, trying to make up his mind whether the time had come to put in his wheat. The question was important, and he was still in a deep (piandary, when a bird spoke up out of the wood and --aid, ' Sow wheat, Peverly, Peverly, Peverly !' That settled the matter. The wheat was sown and in the fall a most abundant harvest was gathered ; and ever since then this little feathered oracle has been known as the Peverly bird." ( Birds in fhr Push ).

The fault with all of these attem[)tcd trans- literations, as has been said, is that thev quite fail to convey the real genius of the song. Its two commoner forms are reduced to musical notation bv Mr. Mathews as follows:

tt

^

Old <Sdm Tesbody. Peabody, Pedbody. ^J- ores.

W^

ishfe*

mdemto. '^'■^■^•

*t:

^1 ctrrTrirrr-a

rue bird img] ^°'^ '^hedt, Peverly,' Peverly, Peverly.

twice 8vd.

^^

mm

rile piano conveys only a verv faint sugges- tinn of the truly ethereal quality with whicli the singer invests this simple little phrase. Played with a \ery skillfully executed tremolo effect well up on the K string of a fine violin, the notes cmney a somewhat more definite idea of the Ming, though the bird's tone is not that of the \iolin. Kssentially the song is a lament — a la- ment which is wistful and ineffably plaintive, but in which there is no despair, only sweet hope- fulness. Stewart Edward White in his book. riw Forest, has a singularlv faithful rqiprecia- tion of this quality in the song, .\scending from jest to eloquent earnest, he writes:

rile \\"hite-throated Sparrow sings nine dif- terent variations of the same song. He may sing more, but that is all I have counted. . . . One man 1 knew he nearly dro\-e crazv. To that man he was always saying. 'And he never heard the

man say drink and the .' Toward the last

my frien<l used wildly to otTer a thousan<l dol- lars if he wtiuld. if lie only would, finish that sentence.

Rut occasionally, in just the jiroper circum- st.ances, he forgets his stump corners, his vines, his jolly sunlight, and his delightful bugs to be- come an intimate voice of the wilds. It is night, very still, very dark. The subdued murmur of the forest ebbs and flows with the voices of the furtive folk, an undertone fearful to lireak the )iight calm. Suddenly across the dusk of silence flashes a single thread of silver, vibrating, trembling with some unguessed ecstasv of emo- tion. '.\h ! [loor Canada, Canada, Canad.a ' it mourns passionately, and falls silent. That is all." George Claddex.

Pike many of the .members of its family, this S])arrow is a great destroyer of weed seed and has an especial fondness for the seeds of the r;igweed and birdweed. It consumes, also, a great many wild berries and a goodlv number of insects. Its food habits in general place it among the useftfl birds of the farm.

40

BIRDS OF AMERICA

TREE SPARROW

Spizella monticola monticola ( Cniiclin)

A. O. U. Xumher 559 See Color Plate 80

Other Names. — Snow Chippy; Winter Chip-bird; Winter Chippy; Tree Bunting; Canada Sparrow; Arctic Chipper; Winter Sparrow.

General Description. — Length, zVa inches. Upper parts, gray, rusty, and black, streaked; under parts, gray. Bill, small; wings, rather long and rather pointed ; tail, shorter than wing, forked or double rounded, the feathers narrow and blunt.

Color. — .'Vdult : Crown, streak behind eye. and patch on sides of chest, brownish ; hindneck, sides of head and neck (except as described), and broad stripe over eye, light gray ; chin and throat, similar but paler ; breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, dull white, the first with a dusky center spot or blotch at upper edge, next to the pale grayish of the chest; sides and flanks, pale wood brownish or brownish huffy; back and shoulders, pale grayish huffy broadly streaked with black and, more narrowly, with rusty ; rump and upper tail-coverts, plain hair-brown ; tail, grayish dusky, the feathers conspicuously edged with pale gray or buffy

gray; greater wing-coverts, broadly edged with rufous, dusky centrally ; middle and greater wing-covcrts, dusky, tipped zvith white, forming tzvo distinct bands; iris, brown. Young : Crown, dull brown streaked with blackish ; rump, pale bufify grayish indistinctly streaked or mottled with dusky ; under parts, whitish tinged with buffy on chest; the sides of throat, chest, breast, and front portion of sides, streaked with dusky; other- wise essentially like adults.

Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Located in low trees, bushes or on ground ; constructed principally of dried grass, strips of bark, moss, weed stems, and warmly lined with feathers. Eggs : 3 to 5, pale greenish blue, specked minutely and regularly over entire surface with rufous brown.

Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding in Newfoundland, Labrador, and region about Hudson Hay (limits of breeding range very imperfectly known ) ; south in winter to South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, etc.

The word " tree " is misleading as applied to the Tree Sparrow ; for the bird is most fre- quently found on the ground, and does not even nest in trees ordinarily. This is r)nlv one of very

. by H. K. J.jb ('Murlt.-y -.

TREE SPARROW Feeding on window-sill

many instances of strange inaccuracy in popular nomenclature. The vernacular names "Arctic Chipper " and " Winter Chip-bird " are, how- ever, justified by the facts that the bird breeds in the northland, and passes the v\'inter months in the temperate zone. Indeed, the Tree Sparrow and the Slate-colored Jtinco are the only native members of the Sparrow family which may fairlv be counted winter residents within the United States. This, of course, excludes the English Sparrow, " which does not deserve to be considered as a bird, but rather as a feathered rat," as Mr. Job says. The Tree Sparrow has the further distinction of being one of the few .Vmerican birds who sing real songs in real \\inter weather, for its pleasing little Canary- like ditty of tinkling notes is often heard in February when there is both snow and blow aplenty.

The Western Tree Sparrow {SpiccIIa jiwnti- fola ochracca) has decidedly longer wings and tail than tlie eastern species and its coloration is |)aler. It breeds from the valley of the Anderson River, near the Arctic coast, westward through -■\laska and southward for an tmdetermined dis- tance. In the winter it comes south through western North America to Arizona, Utah, Colo- rado, and Texas.

One-foiu-th ounce of weed seed per day is a conservative estimate of the food of an adtiit Tree Sparrow. On this basis, in a large agricul-

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4^

tural state like Iowa, Tree Sparrows annually eat apjiroxiinately 875 tons of weed seeds. Only the farmer, uiion whose shoulders falls the heavy hurdcn of freeing; his land of noxious weeds, can realize what this vast consumption of weed seeds means in the savini; and cost of lahor. Dr. Judd reports an interestini; illustration of the Tree Siiarrow's habits which was noticed durint; a heavv snnwstorm in the third week of Februarv. Here and there, where the whiteness of the field was pierced by i)halanxes of dry

broom-sedge, a flock of a d<:)zen or more Tree Sparrows found good cheer in spite of driving flakes. From one brown i)atch to another they flew, clinging to the plants while they [iluckcd out the seeds, seldom leaving a stalk unexplored. Frequently