Part 17

BAIRD SPARROW 545. Ammodramus bairdi. 5¾ inches

Crown and nape brownish yellow streaked with black; underparts white, streaked on the throat, breast and sides with blackish; tail slightly forked and the feathers pointed.

In summer the western plains and prairie ring with the tinkling songs of these little Sparrows; they are especially abundant in Dakota and Montana.

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW 546. Ammodramus savannarum australis. 5½ inches

Crown blackish with a central buffy stripe; nape brown and gray; sides of head, breast and flanks, buffy without streaks.

Song.—A weak, insect-like “zee-e-e-e-e.”

Nest.—A grass-lined hollow in a field, with the top arched over so as to keep off the sun and conceal the eggs. In June four or five white, brown-specked eggs are laid (.75 × .55).

Range.—U. S. east of the Rockies; winters in southern U. S.

546b. Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (floridanus), a darker race found on the plains of interior Florida.

HENSLOW SPARROW 547. Passerherbulus henslowii. 5 inches

Crown and nape greenish, streaked with black; breast and sides buffy, streaked with black; tail feathers narrow and pointed.

This species is of a more southern distribution than the last, being rarely found in New England, but quite common in favorable localities south of Virginia.

LECONTE SPARROW 548. Passerherbulus lecontei. 5 inches

Hind head chestnut and gray; sides of head, throat, breast and flanks a rich buff color.

Song.—A grasshopper-like squeaking.

Nest.—Of grasses in hollows of the ground on prairies; eggs greenish white thickly specked with brownish (.65 × .50).

Range.—Breeds in the Great Plains from Dakota to Manitoba, and winters southeastward to the South Atlantic and Gulf States.

SHARP-TAILED SPARROW 549. Passerherbulus caudacutus. 5¾ inches

Back of head greenish; sides of head, breast, and flanks buff with black streaks; tail feathers sharp.

Salt marshes along the seacoast or along streams emptying into the ocean are the dwelling-places of these finches. They creep about like mice in the salt grass, now running across an open space, now threading their way through the upright stalks.

Song.—A rather weak, squeaky trill.

Nest.—Of seaweed and marsh grass, attached to the grass stalks several inches above ground and often covered by a mass of dry seaweed. Eggs greenish white specked with brown (.78 × .56).

Range.—Atlantic coast of the U. S.

NELSON SPARROW 549a. Passerherbulus nelsoni. 5½ inches

Similar to the last but brighter colored and not streaked below. In the Mississippi Valley north to Manitoba. 549a. Acadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow (sub-virgatus), Atlantic coast, breeding from Maine to New Brunswick.

SEASIDE SPARROW 550. Passerherbulus maritimus. 6 inches

Yellow spot before the eye. General plumage above grayish green with no black markings. All the habits of the Seaside Sparrows are precisely like those of the Sharp-tailed Sparrows. The nests and eggs are indistinguishable and are often found in the same marshes.

Sub-Species.—550a. Scott Seaside Sparrow (peninsulæ), slightly smaller and with the back marked with black and brownish green; South Atlantic coast. 550b. Texas Seaside Sparrow (sennetti), greener above than No. 550; coast of Texas. 550c. Fisher Seaside Sparrow (fisheri), darker above than scotti and with the breast and sides heavily washed with rusty and streaked with black; coast of Louisiana. 550d. Macgillivray Seaside Sparrow (macgillivrayii), coast of South Carolina.