Part 34

Other Names.—Sparrow; House Sparrow.

Description.—Male: Chin and throat black; crown gray; cheeks whitish; back of head, neck, and back reddish brown, the back streaked with black; a prominent white wing-bar; underparts grayish white; wings and tail dull brown. Female: Grayish brown, with an indistinct wing-bar, a darker line through the eye, and a rather distinct superciliary line. Length: About 6 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—An abundant permanent resident, principally in the towns and on the farms.

Nest.—A bulky mass of dry grasses, usually domed over and lined warmly with feathers, placed in crevices in buildings, in bird-houses, in cavities in trees, and rather rarely on a branch of a tree. Eggs: 4 to 6, white, spotted with gray.

The amateur bird student may do well to fix definitely in his mind the size and appearance of this abundant bird, since it is advisable to know these when making the acquaintance of other bird friends, and especially when studying the rather difficult sparrow group.

English Sparrows are not altogether objectionable. During summer they prey upon almost all kinds of insects, including the hard-shelled and disagreeably scented insects which many birds pass by. Nevertheless, we regret that these birds are so abundant because of their tendency toward driving out some of our more beautiful native birds.

SNOW BUNTING Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Snowflake; Snow Bird.

Description.—A little larger than an English Sparrow. Male in winter: Upperparts dull reddish brown, darkest on the crown; feathers of back with partly concealed black bases, causing a streaked effect; outer primaries black, white at base; secondaries white; middle tail-feathers black, outer ones white; underparts white. Female: Similar, but duller, and with primaries all dark brown, and white secondaries somewhat tipped with dusky. Length: 6¾ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A rare and irregular winter visitant, save at Erie, where it is fairly regular and sometimes common on the outer beaches from November to early March. It is occasionally seen in small flocks in other northern counties.

A single Snow Bunting in flight might suggest to the bird student an albinistic sparrow of some sort, but a whole flock of the remarkably colored creatures, as they swing over a dead weed-field, can but bring the instantaneous thrill which a glimpse of such exotic creatures always brings. Snow Buntings are usually seen in flocks, often in company with Horned Larks or Tree Sparrows, their companions in the North Country, and they have a jovial twitter.

The Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus lapponicus) occurs rarely during early spring or late fall migration, or in winter. It is about the size of an English Sparrow, and in winter has a concealed reddish patch on the neck, a concealed blackish belly, and is to be seen in fields where it sometimes associates with Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, or Tree Sparrows.

VESPER SPARROW Poœcetes gramineus gramineus (Gmelin)

Other Names.—Grass Finch; Grass or Ground Sparrow; Bay-winged Bunting; Road Sparrow.

Description.—Size of English Sparrow. General appearance grayish above, lighter below, considerably streaked above and on breast and sides; outer tail-feathers white; lesser wing-coverts reddish brown, not particularly conspicuous save at close range. Length: 6 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common summer resident from early April to late October. It is not found in woodlands.

Nest.—A cup in the ground, in an open field, lined with grasses, hair, and other fine material. Eggs: 3 to 5, white, spotted and scrawled, chiefly at larger end, with blackish.

The Vesper Sparrow is not very easily recognized by its appearance alone, as it stands on the ground or on a fence-post, but if the bird student will remember that this species is always found in the open, never at great distance from the ground, and that the white outer tail-feathers always show in flight, identification should be easy. The bright song is given with great enthusiasm, often in a remarkably beautiful evening chorus. At the beginning of this song we usually hear two accented descending whistles which stand out more prominently than any other portion of the warbling performance. Look for Vesper Sparrows along fields and roadsides in country districts.

SAVANNAH SPARROW Passerculus sandwichensis savanna (Wilson)

Description.—Smaller than English Sparrow. General appearance above, gray, considerably streaked, and with white underparts considerably streaked on breast and sides with black; line above eye pale yellow, not noticeable in field save at close range in ideal light; a blotch of blackish in middle of breast. Length: 5½ inches

Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly common but not often recorded migrant, and a local and sometimes common summer resident, particularly in the central and northern counties, from early April to mid-October.

Nest.—A depression in the ground, in an open field, lined with grasses and other soft material. Eggs: 4 to 6, pale bluish or bluish green, irregularly and sometimes heavily spotted with brown.

Look for the Savannah Sparrow in spring and summer only in wide, open fields where the grass is short. Here a slight, buzzing, trilling song may be heard from a sparrow which is prominently streaked below, and which has much the appearance of a Song Sparrow, but does not bob its tail as it flies, nor seek cover in bushes. If the bird student will remember that this species is to be found only in wide fields, usually when there are no bushes, and that there are no prominently white outer tail-feathers, as in the Vesper Sparrow, he may find this little-known bird fairly common in his region. In fall it is found in weed-patches along roads or in bushy fields. (See illustration, page 109.)

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW Ammodramus savannarum australis Maynard

Other Names.—Yellow-winged Sparrow; Yellow-winged Bunting.

Description.—Smaller than English Sparrow. Tail-feathers rather short and pointed. Adult male: General color buffy brown, the upperparts streaked with black and margined with whitish, in characteristic pattern; bend of the wing yellow (this mark usually not evident in the field); forepart of superciliary line yellow, noticeable in good light in the field. Female: Similar, but duller. Length: 5½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A rather local summer resident throughout, from late April or early May to September 15. It is found only in more or less flat, wide meadows, not usually in marshy places, and never in woodlands.

Nest.—A depression in the ground beneath a clump of grass, lined with fine, dry grasses. Eggs: 4 or 5, white, spotted, chiefly around the larger end, with reddish brown.