Part 35

Here is a bird which will more than likely pass unnoticed unless the fine, insect-like song is heard. Some bird students never realize that this species nests in their region, for they never hear this song, and they have not the patience to trail about after every little brown bird they see. The Grasshopper Sparrow’s song is dry, unmusical, and buzzing, and it seems a fitting accompaniment to hot midsummer fields which are covered with dust and upgrown with coarse weeds. The bird is almost never seen, save while it is singing from the top of a weed or from a fence-post. On the ground it disappears almost at once, for its colors are highly protective. The flight is fluttering and somewhat erratic. If the bird flushes from the grass, it usually does not alight near at hand, but zigzags to a far corner of the field and drops into the grass.

The smaller Henslow’s Sparrow (Nemospiza henslowii susurrans) has a greenish cast over the head and neck. This retiring, unmusical little bird occurs in Pennsylvania as a very rare and exceedingly local summer resident. Its ludicrously short song, chis-lick, is to be listened for in low meadows where the grass is thick and deep. Additional records of this species are very desirable.

The Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta nelsoni) occurs at Erie as a migrant, particularly in the fall.

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW Zonotrichia leucophrys (J. R. Forster)

Description.—One of the larger sparrows, being larger than an English Sparrow. Adult male: Crown white, with two broad black streaks along either side and a blackish streak through eye; rest of upperparts grayish brown, considerably streaked; underparts clear light gray, palest on throat and belly, and somewhat brownish on sides. Adult female: Similar, but duller. Immature: Similar, but crown buffy and brown, and underparts more buffy. Length: A little under 7 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A regular and fairly common migrant throughout from latter April to May 20 and from October 1 to 20.

The large size and noticeable markings of this sparrow make it comparatively easy to identify. It is not often so common as its near and similar relative, the White-throated Sparrow, from which it differs in having no yellow before the eye or on the bend of the wing, and no white throat-patch. The song of the White-crowned Sparrow is composed of soft, rich whistles which have a plaintive character, similar to that of the well-known White-throat’s peabody song, with an additional rough undertone between the first and latter parts of the song. The White-crown, while in Pennsylvania, nearly always occurs in flocks, usually in the woodlands, in brush-piles, or along hedges. Remember that a bird with a white crown need not necessarily be this species, for the White-throat also has such a crown; but the plain gray throat of the White-crown is usually easy to detect in the field, since the birds are not wild. All members of the sparrow tribe are seed eaters.

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW Zonotrichia albicollis (Gmelin)

Other Name.—Peabody-bird.

Description.—A little larger than an English Sparrow; similar in general appearance to the White-crowned Sparrow. Adult male: Crown white, marked laterally with two black bands which extend backward to nape; forepart of superciliary line yellow; rest of upperparts rich brown, streaked with black and margined with grayish; bend of wing yellow, not usually noticeable in field; chin and throat pure white, in contrast with gray of breast; belly whitish; sides washed with brownish. Female and young: Similar but duller. Length: 6½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A regular and abundant migrant throughout, from mid-April to May 20 and from September 15 to November 1.

The clear, fragile whistle of the White-throat is one of our most beautiful bird-notes, and is a familiar song of the spring woodlands. It has been written as sweet, sweet, peabody, peabody, peabody. The white throat and yellow spot in front of the eye must be looked for in this species. A trained observer can recognize the White-throat easily by its characteristic, rather metallic, call-note, but the beginner had best depend on the markings of the bird which are easy to note. Sometimes these birds are common about lawns in towns.

TREE SPARROW Spizella arborea arborea (Wilson)

Description.—About as long as, but slenderer than, an English Sparrow; tail longer proportionately than an English Sparrow’s. Crown-patch bright rufous; rest of upperparts brownish gray, streaked with black and reddish brown; wing with two noticeable white wing bars; underparts brownish gray, whitish on chin and throat, and in middle of belly; a dusky spot in center of breast. Female: Similar but duller. Bill yellow with dusky tip. Length: About 6 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A winter visitant from the Far North, arriving in October and remaining until late March or April.

The Tree Sparrow is a bird of weedy fields and hedges. In flocks they search for seeds which have fallen upon the snow. When the winter sun shines they call in companionable and softly musical notes. In spring the Tree Sparrow has a gay, somewhat warbler-like song, which I believe is not very well known among our bird students. The Tree, Field, and Chipping Sparrows are similar in appearance. Identification of these birds should not be difficult, however, if one remembers that the Tree Sparrow is a winter bird, while the Field and Chipping Sparrows usually arrive in spring after the Tree Sparrows have returned north. If by some chance the three sparrows do occur together, remember the black spot in the breast of the Tree Sparrow and the yellowish bill, field-marks which the other two species do not have.

CHIPPING SPARROW Spizella passerina passerina (Bechstein)

Other Name.—Chippy.

Description.—A small, slender Sparrow, noticeably smaller than the English Sparrow. Male: Crown bright reddish brown; forepart of crown and line through eye black; line above eye whitish; rest of upperparts grayish brown, streaked with black; chin and throat white; rest of underparts grayish; bill black. Female: Similar, but duller. In winter both sexes are similar but they are much more streaked, particularly on the crown. Length: Under 5½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—An abundant summer resident from early April to mid-October.

Nest.—A neat cup made of fine weed-stalks and grasses, lined almost invariably with horse-hair, and placed in a low bush or rose vine, or sometimes at some distance from the ground in an evergreen tree. Eggs: 3 or 4, delicate blue, wreathed about the larger end with black spots and scrawls.

Look for the Chippy, as a rule, only near houses or farms. It is not a bird of the wilds, and because of its confiding disposition has come to be associated with our very doorsteps. The monotonous, though cheerful, chipping song of this bird is familiar to all who listen for bird-calls. So rapidly are the chips of its song given that it is almost impossible to imitate it. Remember the black bill and unmarked underparts of the Chipping Sparrow.

FIELD SPARROW Spizella pusilla pusilla (Wilson)

Description.—Size small; this is one of our slenderest, smallest sparrows. Male: Crown-patch rufous; upperparts grayish brown, streaked with black and rufous; wings with two prominent white wing-bars; underparts whitish, unmarked; bill pink. Female: Similar but duller. Young: Similar but somewhat more streaked. Length: 5½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—An abundant summer resident from early April to mid-October, and occasionally later.

Nest.—A neat cup made of fine grasses and slender weed-stalks, lined usually with finer grasses and, as a rule, not with hair, placed on the ground among weeds or in a low, thick bush in a pasture or field. Eggs: 3 to 5, bluish white, spotted with reddish brown.

The clear, whistled trill of the Field Sparrow is a welcome promise of spring, as the bird, just returned from the south, sings in the brown fields. This song is often but a simple repetition of the same note, becoming more rapid toward the end and running into a sort of trill.

This bird is rather shy, and in flying away gives us a rather unsatisfactory glimpse of fairly long tail and grayish rump. If we look carefully at the little creature with a glass, we note the white wing-bars, the dark eye which is surrounded with a grayish ring, and the pink bill. (See illustration, page 113.)