Part 36

SLATE-COLORED JUNCO Junco hyemalis hyemalis (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Snow-bird; Junco.

Description.—About the size of an English Sparrow, but with a longer tail. Male: Head, neck, breast, and upperparts slaty gray, sometimes brownish on the wings and back, the outer tail-feathers pure white, always showing in flight; bill pink, narrowly tipped with dusky. Female and young: Similar, but duller and often browner. Length: A little over 6 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Best known as a winter visitant from October 1 to about the first of May, or later; rather rare and local as a summer resident in the higher mountains.

Nest.—A cup of fine grasses, built in a bank in woodlands. Eggs: 3 to 5, white, spotted with brown.

The Junco is easy to recognize anywhere, because the dark plumage of its back contrasts so startlingly with the white outer tail-feathers. Its song is not so easy to recognize, however, being a rather musical chipping song, resembling that of the Chipping Sparrow, but more deliberately given. Juncos do not often sing during the winter, but with return of spring they trill in the sunlit corners of the woods where they feed upon weed-seeds. Nesting records of the Junco in Pennsylvania are desirable.

SONG SPARROW Melospiza melodia melodia (Wilson)

Other Name.—Ground Sparrow.

Description.—About the size of an English Sparrow, but with relatively longer tail; sexes similar. Above, rich brown streaked with grayish and black; a rather distinct gray superciliary, and a buffy streak back from lower mandible; underparts white, heavily streaked with black, especially on breast and sides; a blotch in the center of the breast. Length: A little over 6 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—In much of Pennsylvania the Song Sparrow is abundant the year round; it is migratory, however, to an extent, and summer-resident individuals may be replaced during winter by birds from farther north.

Nest.—A neat cup built of grasses, lined with finer materials, and usually with rather bulky foundation, built on the ground in a sheltered situation or in a low bush. Eggs: 3 to 6, greenish or grayish white, rather heavily spotted with brown.

The Song Sparrow’s heavily streaked underparts will distinguish it from all other sparrows, save the rare Lincoln’s Sparrow, the Savannah Sparrow, which is found only in wide, open fields, the Fox Sparrow, whose tail is bright reddish brown, and the female Purple Finch. Look for Song Sparrows along brooks among the bushes. As the brown birds fly away, their rounded tails pump rather regularly.

The song is bright and varied, with usually two or three accented, repeated notes which give it a syncopated rhythm, and is generally delivered from the topmost twig of a bush or low tree.

Lincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii lincolnii) is a little-known migrant in May and September, which may be far commoner than is supposed. It looks much like the Song Sparrow but has a buffy area across the chest and the streaking of the underparts is finer. Look for this species along the brushy margins of streams. The song, which is a remarkably sprightly, gurgling performance, is quite unlike that of any other sparrow which I have heard.

Bachman’s Sparrow (Peucæa æstivalis bachmani) is a very rare summer resident, known from southern counties only. This species looks like a Song Sparrow but it has no streaks on the underparts. It is found on brushy hillsides.

SWAMP SPARROW Melospiza georgiana (Latham)

Description.—A little smaller than an English Sparrow, with the proportions of a Song Sparrow. Male in summer: Crown rich reddish brown; rest of head gray, a black line through the eye, and a buffy streak extending backward from the lower mandible; back reddish brown streaked with black, the feathers margined with grayish; no wing-bars; underparts grayish, the sides washed with olive-brown. Female: Similar, but duller. Male in winter: Somewhat streaked crown-patch and duller in general appearance. Length: A little under 6 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A migrant in latter April and May and in September and October; in the northern counties and at higher altitudes, locally, it occurs as a summer resident, nesting where there are suitable marshes.

Nest.—Of grasses, with bulky foundation and neat cup, usually placed a few inches from the ground or above water, in a clump of weeds or in cat-tails. Eggs: 3 to 5, pale blue, blotched and spotted irregularly with brown.

Look for the Swamp Sparrow, as a rule, only in marshy country. The gray, unstreaked underparts, the red-brown crown-patch, and a shy, furtive manner characterize this species. Its song, which is usually delivered from a cat-tail or high weed-stalk, but often from a hidden spot among the weeds, is somewhat like a Chipping Sparrow’s, with the chips given much more slowly and loudly. (See illustration, page 115.)

FOX SPARROW Passerella iliaca iliaca (Merrem)

Description.—Larger than an English Sparrow. Male: Rich, warm brown on crown and back, these regions somewhat streaked; superciliary line and neck gray; ear-coverts brown; slight wing-bars; rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail bright reddish brown, very noticeable in the field, particularly when the bird is in flight; underparts white; breast and sides heavily streaked with black. Female: Similar, but duller. Length: A little over 7 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common and regular migrant from mid-March (sometimes earlier) to April 20, and from early October to November 15. It is one of the earliest of the spring migrants.

Its rich red-brown rump and tail are sufficient to distinguish this bird from the other sparrows, but not always from the Hermit Thrush, a bird with a surprisingly similar color-pattern when seen from the rear or in flight. The thrush has a slenderer bill, of course, and has the habit of elevating the tail when it alights. Usually, the Fox Sparrow occurs in flocks; in spring it indulges itself in song—a rich, ringing melody, among the most impressive of our sparrow songs. The call-note is a heavy tschŭp, somewhat like the alarm-cry of the Brown Thrasher. Look for the Fox Sparrow in thick woodlands, among grapevines and similar tangles. This species responds readily to squeaking.

TOWHEE Pipilo erythrophthalmus erythrophthalmus (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Chewink; Ground Robin; Swamp Robin; Joree; Guffee (local).

Description.—A little smaller than a Robin, with long tail and comparatively short wings. Male: Head, neck, upper breast, and upperparts black, the base and part of the outer web of the primaries, and spots on the tertials, white; three outer tail-feathers with white tips, the outer web of the outer feather entirely white; sides and under tail-coverts rich reddish brown, bordered irregularly with black spots along sides of belly; belly white; eyes bright red; bill black. Female: Similar in pattern, but black of male replaced throughout by rich, grayish brown, quite bright in some individuals; eyes bright reddish brown. Length: 8½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—An abundant migrant and summer resident in all woodlands, usually from early or mid-April to late October or later. Occasionally it is found in the dead of winter, even when the snow is deep.