This species is also given by Mr. Sumichrast as a resident throughout the year of the great plains of the plateau of Mexico. From them it occasionally descends to the distant intervals, as far as Orizaba, or at the elevation, above the gulf-level, of 1,220 metres.

Plectrophanes maccowni, Lawrence.

CHESTNUT-SHOULDERED LONGSPUR; MACCOWN’S BUNTING.

Plectrophanes maccowni, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, Sept. 1851, 122. Western Texas.—Cassin, Illust. I, viii, 1855, 228, pl. xxxix.—Heerm. X, c, p. 13.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 437.

Sp. Char. Male in spring. Top of head, a broad stripe each side the throat from lower mandible, and a broad crescent on jugulum, black; side of head including lores and band above the eye, throat, and under parts, ashy-white; ear-coverts bordered above and behind by blackish, running out at the maxillary stripe. Breast just behind the black crescent and sides, showing dark bases of feathers. Upper parts ashy, tinged with yellowish on the mandible, and streaked with dusky; least so on nape and rump. Lesser wing-coverts ashy; median chestnut-brown, with blackish bases sometimes evident; the quills all bordered broadly externally with whitish, becoming more ashy on secondaries. Tail-feathers white except at the concealed bases and the ends, which have a transverse (not oblique) tip of blackish; the outermost white to the end; the two central like the back. Bill dark plumbeous; legs blackish. In winter the markings more or less obscured; the bill and legs more yellowish.

Female lacks the black markings, which, however, are indicated obsoletely as in other Plectrophanes; there is no trace of chestnut on the wings, no streaks on the breast. Length, 5.50; wing, 3.60; tail, 2.50; bill, .46.

Hab. Eastern slopes of Rocky Mountains, from Texas to Upper Missouri.

This species varies considerably in markings, but is readily recognized among other Plectrophanes in all stages by short hind toe, very stout bill, and the transverse dark bar at the end of all tail-feathers except the inner and outer.

Dr. Heermann found this species congregated in large flocks, in company with the Black-shouldered Bunting. They were engaged in gleaning the seeds from the scanty grass, on the vast arid plains of New Mexico. Insects and berries formed also a part of their food; in search of these they showed great activity, running about with celerity and ease. In the spring, large flocks were seen at Fort Thorn, having migrated thither from the North the previous fall. With the return of mild weather they again departed for the North for the purposes of incubation. Among these large flocks Dr. Heermann noticed also the Shore Lark, but they formed only a small proportion of the whole number.

In a letter to Mr. Cassin, Dr. Heermann states that he found this species congregated with large numbers of other birds about the isolated water-holes in the barren plains of New Mexico.

Mr. J. A. Allen states (Am. Nat., May, 1872) that, during a few weeks’ stay near Fort Hays in midwinter, he found Maccown’s Longspur tolerably frequent in that vicinity.

An egg of this species, in the collection of the late Dr. Henry Bryant, measures .80 by .60 of an inch. Its ground-color is a light bluish clay-color, marbled, dotted, blotched, and lined with light neutral tints of lavender and darker markings of purplish and reddish brown. The nest was placed on the ground, and is composed entirely of coarse grass-stems (No. 3,521, J. Pearsall, Fort Benton).

Subfamily PYRGITINÆ.

The introduction into the United States, at so many distant points, of the European House Sparrow (Pyrgita domestica) renders it necessary to introduce it with any work treating of the birds of North America, although totally different in so many features from our own native forms. I follow Degland and Gerbe in placing the genus Pyrgita in a separate subfamily (Pyrgitinæ, see page 446), without any distinct idea of its true affinities, as it does not come legitimately within any of the subfamilies established for the American genera. In some respects similar to certain Coccothraustinæ, in the short tarsi and covered nostrils, the wings are shorter and more rounded, the sides of the bill with stiff bristles, etc. The much larger, more vaulted bill, weaker feet, and covered nostrils, distinguish it from Spizellinæ.

Pyrgita, Cuvier, R. A. 1817. (Type, Fringilla domestica, Linn.)

Passer, Brisson, Orn. 1760. Same type. Degland & Gerbe, Orn. Europ. I, 1867, 239.

Gen. Char. Bill robust, swollen, without any distinct ridge; upper and under outlines curved; margins inflexed; palate vaulted, without any knob; nostrils covered by sparse, short, incumbent feathers; side of bill with stiff, appressed bristles. Tarsi short and stout, about equal to or shorter than the middle toes; claws short, stout, and considerably curved. Wings longer than tail; somewhat pointed. Tail nearly even, emarginated, and slightly rounded.

Pyrgita domestica, Cuv.

THE HOUSE SPARROW.

Fringilla domestica, Linn. Syst. Nat. 12th ed. 323, 1766. Pyrgita domestica, Cuv. Reg. An. 2d ed. (1829), I, 439. Passer domesticus, Degland & Gerbe, Ornith. Europ. I, 1867, 241.

Sp. Char. Male. Above chestnut-brown; the interscapular feathers streaked by black on inner webs; the top of head and nape, lower back, rump, and tail-coverts plain ashy; narrow frontal line, lores, chin, throat, and jugulum black; rest of under parts grayish, nearly white along median region. A broad chestnut-brown stripe from behind eye, running into the chestnut of back; cheeks and sides of neck white; outside of closed wing, pale chestnut-brown, with a broad white band on the middle coverts, and behind showing the brown quills; the lesser coverts dark chestnut like the head stripe. Tail dark brown, edged with pale chestnut. Bill black; feet reddish. Iris brown.

Female. Duller of color, and lacking the black of face and throat; breast and abdomen reddish-ash; cheeks ashy; a yellow-ochre band above and behind the eyes, and across the wings. Head and neck above brownish-ash; body above reddish-ash, streaked longitudinally with black.

Male in winter. The colors generally less distinct. Length, 6.00; wing, 2.85; tail, 2.50; tarsus, .70; middle toe and claw, .60.

Habits. The common House Sparrow of Europe has, within the past few years, achieved a right to a place in the avi-fauna of North America by its complete introduction, and its reproduction in large numbers, in various parts of the country, from Portland, Me., to Washington City, as also about Salt Lake.

The first attempt to introduce these birds, within my knowledge, was made by a gentleman named Deblois, in Portland, Me., in the fall of 1858. Six birds were set at liberty in a large garden in the central part of the city. They remained in the neighborhood through the winter, and in the sheltering porch of a neighboring church they found places of shelter and security. In the following spring three nests were built in dwarf pear-trees in the garden in which they were first set at liberty. One, at least, of these nests, was successfully occupied, and six young birds were reared from it. A second nest, with four young, was also hatched by the same pair. Neither of these nests was globular in shape, but open and coarse, built of hay and straws. These nests were taken, after their use, and came into my possession. Since then I have been informed that these birds increased and multiplied, and for a while were quite abundant in that portion of the city, and a large colony of this Sparrow appeared in the winter of 1871 in Rockland, Me.

Two years later, Mr. Eugene Schieffelin, of New York, imported and set at liberty, near Madison Square, in that city, twelve of these birds, and this he repeated for several successive summers. In 1864, fourteen birds were set at liberty in Central Park, by the Commissioners. Other birds were also brought from England, by different parties, in the Cunard steamers, and released at Jersey City. These have increased very largely, and have spread to the adjoining cities, until these birds have become familiar and social residents in all the large cities and towns within an extended area around New York, as well as in all parts of that city.

In 1869 about one thousand birds were imported, by the City Government, into Philadelphia. Fortunately they came in good condition, and being released early in May immediately separated into scattered parties and prepared for themselves new homes. Some appeared in Morristown and other distant towns in New Jersey. Others wandered to Germantown, and the remoter suburbs of Philadelphia, where they found the cherry-trees in full blossom, and where their exploits in stripping the blooms from the trees gave a not very favorable first impression of these new-comers.

It has been exceedingly interesting to watch the manners and habits of these strangers in their new homes. They have become quite tame, are fearless and gentle, and as they have been very kindly treated live in a condition of semi-domestication. At first they built their nests, and passed their winters, in New York, among the thick ivies that cover the walls of so many churches, in such cases building globular nests. As soon, however, as suitable boxes were prepared for them in sufficient quantities, these were taken possession of in preference to anything else.

At the time of their introduction the shade-trees in the parks and squares of New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Newark, and other places, were greatly infested with the larvæ of the measure-worms that destroyed their foliage. Since then these worms have almost entirely disappeared. A doubt has been expressed whether the Sparrows destroy these insects. That they eat them in the larvæ form I do not know, but to their destruction of the chrysalis, the moth, and the eggs, I can testify, having been eye-witness to the act.

The Sparrows endure the severest of the winter weather without any apparent inconvenience, appearing as cheerful, contented, and noisy with the thermometer at zero as at any other time. They are quite fearless, especially in New York, running about under the feet of the passers-by with perfect indifference and confidence. In Boston I have noticed their nests in convenient places, a few feet above crowded sidewalks. In winter they come regularly about the houses to be fed.

The House Sparrow has also been introduced into Australia, where it has become acclimated, and was, at the last accounts, rapidly increasing in that quarter. It is likewise very common about Havana, Cuba.

In the Old World this bird has a widely extended area of distribution, and is resident wherever found. It is very abundant in the British Islands and throughout the northern and central portions of Europe. In Spain and in Italy it is replaced by two closely allied species or races. This bird, however, is also found in North Africa, in the Levant, at Trebizonde, and among the mountains of Nubia. Specimens have also been received from the Himalayas, from Nepaul, and the vicinity of Calcutta.

Both in Europe and in this country the Sparrows pair early in the season. I have known them sitting on their eggs, in Boston, in March. They are very prolific, have broods of five, six, and even seven at a time, three or four times in a season. They are full of life and animation, somewhat disposed to brief and noisy quarrels, which are always harmless.

Their great attachment and devotion to their young is dwelt upon by all English writers as quite remarkable. They evince a great partiality for warmth, and even in midsummer line their nests with all the feathers they can pick up. In New York it is a favorite amusement with the children to carry with them to the public parks quantities of feathers, which they throw, one by one, to the Sparrows, to witness their amusing contests for possession.

The eggs of this bird are oval in shape, pointed at one end, with a ground of a light ashen color, blotched, dotted, and streaked with various shades of ashy and dusky brown. They measure from .85 to .95 of an inch in length, and from .60 to .65 in breadth.

Subfamily SPIZELLINÆ.—The Sparrows.

Char. Bill variable, usually almost straight; sometimes curved. Commissure generally nearly straight, or slightly concave. Upper mandible wider than lower. Nostrils exposed. Wings moderate; the outer primaries not much rounded. Tail variable. Feet large; tarsi mostly longer than the middle toe.

In the arrangement of this subfamily, as of the others belonging to the Fringillidæ, we do not profess to give anything like a natural system, but merely an attempt at a convenient artificial scheme by which the determination of the genera may be facilitated.

A. Tail small and short; considerably or decidedly shorter than the wings, owing either to the elongation of the wing or the shortening of the tail. Lateral toes shorter than the middle without its claw. Species streaked above and below. (Passerculeæ.)

a. Thickly streaked everywhere above, on the sides, and across the breast. Wing pointed; longest primaries considerably longer than the secondaries. Tail forked.

Centronyx. Hind claw very large; rather longer than its digit. The hind toe and claw, together, as long as or longer than the middle toe and claw. Other toes as in Passerculus. Claws gently curved. Tertials shorter than the secondaries. Tail forked, but the lateral feathers shorter.

Passerculus. Hind claw as long as its digit; the toe equal to the middle one without its claw; lateral toes falling considerably short of the middle claw. Wings very long; first primary longest. Tertials as long as the primaries. Tail forked; feathers acute.

Poocætes. Hind claw shorter than its digit; the whole toe less than the middle toe without its claw. Lateral toes nearly equal to the middle one, without its claw. Tertials but little longer than secondaries. Tail stiffened, forked; feathers acute, outer ones white.

b. Moderately streaked above, on the sides, and on the breast, the latter sometimes unstreaked; the dorsal streaks broader, the others fainter than in the last. Wings short, reaching a little beyond the base of the tail. Not much difference between the primaries and secondaries. Tail short, graduated, and the feathers lanceolate, acute.

Coturniculus. Bill short; thick. Tertials almost equal to the primaries; truncate at the end. Claws small, weak; hinder one shorter than its digit. Outstretched feet not reaching the tip of the tail. Tail-feathers not stiffened. (In one species tail nearly equal to the wing.)

Ammodromus. Bill slender, small at base, and elongated. Tertials not longer than the secondaries; rounded at the tip. Claws large, hinder one equal to its digit. Outstretched toes reaching considerably beyond the end of the stiffened, almost scansorial tail.

B. Tail longer and broader; nearly or quite as long as, sometimes a very little longer than, the wings, which are rather lengthened. The primaries considerably longer than the secondaries. None of the species streaked beneath, and the back alone streaked above. (Spizelleæ.)

a. Tail rounded or slightly graduated.

Zonotrichia. Tail moderately graduated. Wings moderate, about as long as the tail, reaching about over the basal fourth of the tail; first quill less than the second to fourth. Feet large. Head striped with black and white, or with brown and ochraceous. Back streaked.

Junco. Tail very nearly equal to the wings, slightly emarginate, and decidedly rounded. Outer toe rather longer than inner, reaching the middle claw. No streaks anywhere except in young; black or ash-color above; belly white; with or without a rufous back and sides. Outer tail-feathers white.

Poospiza. Tail lengthened, slightly graduated; the feathers unusually broad to the end. Bill slender. Wings about as long as the tail, reaching but little beyond its external base. Tertials broad, and, with the secondaries, rather lengthened. Second to fifth quills nearly equal, and longest. Bill dark lead-color. Tail black. Uniform ashy-brown above; white beneath. Sides of head with stripes of black and white.

b. Tail decidedly forked; a little shorter than the wing, sometimes a little longer.

Spizella. Size rather small. Wings long. Lower mandible largest. Uniform beneath, or with a pectoral spot or the chin black.

C. Tail lengthened and graduated; decidedly longer than the wings, which are very short, scarcely extending beyond the external base of the tail. Feet reaching but little beyond the middle of the tail. Species all streaked above; streaked or nearly unicolor beneath. No white on wings or tail. Outer lateral toe the longer. First quill not the shortest of the primaries. (Melospizeæ.)

Melospiza. Culmen and commissure nearly straight. Claws stout; hinder one as large as its digit. Tail-feathers rather broad. Body streaked beneath.

Peucæa. Culmen and commissure curved. Claws weak; hinder one not much curved, decidedly shorter than its digit. Tail-feathers narrow. Without streaks beneath, excepting a narrow maxillary stripe.

D. Tail rather short, and much graduated; longer than the wings; the midrib more median. Culmen curved. Tarsus considerably longer than middle toe. Outer toe longer. But little difference in the length of the quills; the outer ones much rounded; even the second quill is shorter than any other primary except the first.

Embernagra. Color, olive-green above.

Genus CENTRONYX, Baird.

Centronyx, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 440. (Type, Emberiza bairdi, Aud.)

This genus differs from Passerculus, as stated in the description of the species farther on. It would be taken for Plectrophanes on account of its lengthened hind claw, which, however, is more curved than in that genus; the tarsi are much longer, the tertials less elongated, and the coloration different, though closely resembling that of the female Plectrophanes. But one species has thus far been recognized.

Centronyx bairdi, Baird.

BAIRD’S BUNTING.

Emberiza bairdi, Aud. Birds Am. VII, 1843, 359, pl. d., Coturniculus bairdi, Bon. Syn. 1850, 481. Centronyx bairdi, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 441.

Sp. Char. Somewhat similar in general appearance to Passerculus savanna. Back grayish, streaked with dusky. Crown nearly covered by black streaks, but divided by a broad median band of brownish-yellow. Eyelids and a faint superciliary stripe yellowish-white. Beneath white, with a maxillary blackish stripe and some narrow streaks on the upper part of the breast, and sides of the throat and body. Outer edges and tips of tail-feathers white; the two outer feathers obsoletely white. Bend of wing white. Length, 4.75; wing, 2.80; tail, 2.20.

Hab. Mouth of the Yellowstone River. One specimen only known.

This species has somewhat of the general appearance of Passerculus savanna, but with important differences both of form and color. The bill is much longer, and more slender in proportion. The wings are quite unusually long; the primaries more than half an inch longer than the tertiaries; the first quill as long as the fourth, and but little less than the second and third. The tail is very short; the feathers narrow and pointed. The feet are large; the hind claw very long and considerably curved, as are the other claws generally.

Habits. In regard to the habits, distribution, or general history of this very rare species, but little is known, only one specimen having been met with. This was procured by Mr. Audubon’s party to the Yellowstone River, in Dakota, on the last day of July, 1843. That it is a resident where obtained, certainly during the breeding-season, is a natural inference from the circumstances of its capture. That it may be a common bird in certain other portions of the region, immediately north of Dakota, is quite probable. Its close habits, as described by Mr. Audubon, favor its escaping notice wherever it may exist.

The specimen was met with in a wet place, overgrown closely by a kind of slender rush-like grass, from the midst of which the notes of these birds were heard, and at first mistaken for those of the Marsh Wren. A search was immediately instituted for the singers, which Mr. Bell soon ascertained could not be the Wren in question, the notes being much softer and more prolonged. Much difficulty was encountered in the endeavor to raise them from the long close grass to which they closely confined themselves, and they were several times nearly trodden on before they would take wing, almost instantaneously realighting within a few steps, and running like mice through the grass. After a while two were shot while on the wing, and proved to be adult male and female. The party found this species quite abundant in all such situations, and there seems to have been no doubt that it was breeding.

Genus PASSERCULUS, Bonap.

Passerculus, Bonap. Comp. List Birds, 1838. (Type, Fringilla savanna.)

Gen. Char. Bill moderately conical; the lower mandible smaller; both outlines nearly straight. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe. Lateral toes about equal, their claws falling far short of the middle one. Hind toe much longer than the lateral ones, reaching as far as the middle of the middle claw; its claws moderately curved. Wings unusually long, reaching to the middle of the tail, and almost to the end of the upper coverts. The tertials nearly or quite as long as the primaries; the first primary longest. The tail is quite short, considerably shorter than the wings; as long as from the carpal joint to the end of the secondaries. It is emarginate, and slightly rounded; the feathers pointed and narrow.

Species and Varieties.

Common Characters. Above grayish-brown, beneath white; whole upper surface, as well as the breast and sides, streaked with dusky. A light superciliary stripe, and a whitish maxillary one, the latter bordered above and below by stripes of coalesced dusky streaks.

A. Bill small, the culmen slightly concave in the middle portion; a median light stripe on the crown.

1. P. savanna. Superciliary stripe yellow anteriorly; streaks on the back blackish, sharply defined.

Throat and upper part of abdomen unstreaked; vertex-stripe without yellow tinge.

Bill .34 from forehead and .25 in depth at the base; wing, 2.85; tail, 2.30. Colors deep; outer surface of wing (in spring) decidedly reddish. Hab. Eastern Province of North America … var. savanna.

Bill, .32 and .20, or less; wing, 2.75; tail, 2.10. Colors very pale; outer surface of wing (in spring) pale ashy. Hab. Western Province of North America, except coast of California, where replaced by var. anthinus … var. alaudinus.

Bill, .37 and .27, or considerably more; wing, 3.10; tail, 2.40. Colors as in savanna. Hab. Northwest coast of North America. … var. sandwichensis.

Throat and upper part of abdomen streaked; vertex-stripe strongly tinged with yellow.

Bill, .33 and .19; wing, 2.50; tail, 1.90. Colors darker than var. savanna, the ground-color more uniform, and the black streaks heavier and more numerous. Hab. Coast of California. … var. anthinus.

2. P. princeps. Superciliary stripe white anteriorly; streaks on the back sandy-brown, badly defined. Wing, 3.25; tail, 2.60; bill, .45 and .23; tarsus, .95; middle toe, .80. Hab. Eastern Massachusetts (northern regions in summer?).

B. Bill robust, the culmen arched; no median light stripe on the crown. Superciliary stripe white anteriorly; streaks on the back sandy-brown, obsolete.

3. P. rostratus.

Bill, .43 and .30; wing, 2.90; tail, 2.25. Ground-color above fulvous-gray, beneath white; the streaks, above and below, sandy-brown. Colors much as in P. princeps. Hab. Coast of California, to the mouth of the Colorado River; Cape St. Lucas in winter … var. rostratus.

Bill, .33 and .22; wing, 2.55; tail, 2.00. Ground-color above plumbeous-gray; beneath white; streaks blackish-brown. Hab. Cape St. Lucas (resident?) … var. guttatus.

Passerculus savanna, Bonap.

SAVANNA SPARROW.

Fringilla savanna, Wilson, Am. Orn. III, 1811, 55, pl. xxii, f. 2.—Ib. IV, 1811, 72, pl. xxxiv, f. 4.—Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 63; V, 1839, 516, pl. cix. Passerculus savanna, Bon. List, 1838.—Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 480.—Cab. Mus. Hein. 1851, 131.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 442.—Coues, P. A. N. S. 1861, 223.—Samuels, 301. Emberiza savanna, Aud. Syn. 1839, 103.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 68, pl. clx. ? Fringilla hyemalis, Gm. I, 1788, 922.—Licht. Verzeichniss, 1823, No. 250. Gmelin’s description, based on Pennant Arctic Zoöl. II, 376 (winter Finch), applies equally well to a large number of species. Linaria savanna, Richardson, List, 1837.

Young. Ground-color of the upper parts (except wings and tail) light ochraceous, more brownish on top of head, upper part of back, and on upper tail-coverts; the streaks blacker and more conspicuous than in the adult. Beneath with an ochraceous tinge anteriorly, the streaks broader, and deeper black, than in the adult, though less sharply defined. The infra-maxillary streak expanded into a broad blackish elongated blotch.

Hab. Eastern North America to the Missouri plains, and northwest to Alaska. Cuba, winter (Cab. Jour. IV, 6).

Specimens vary considerably in size, color, and shape of bill, but the average is as described. Spring birds have the markings sharper and clearer, the dark streaks with little or no suffusion of rufous.

Habits. The Savanna Sparrow is an abundant species throughout North America, from the Atlantic sea-board to the Great Plains. It is, however, everywhere much less common in the interior than nearer the shore. The Smithsonian specimens are from points as far south as Georgia and Louisiana, and as far west as the Black Hills of Wyoming. It passes north through Massachusetts, from the first to the middle of April, and some remain to breed in the eastern part of the State. Mr. Maynard speaks of it as a common summer resident. This, however, is true only of a few restricted maritime localities, but is not so of the entire eastern portion of the State. It occurs both in the salt marshes of Charles River and in the vicinity of Fresh Pond, but I could never trace it in any of the neighboring towns. It is occasionally met with in inland situations where we would not naturally look for it. In the summer of 1869, Mr. William Brewster found quite a colony of these birds in an open field near the Glen House, at the foot of Mt. Washington. They had nests with eggs the last of July and the first of August.

In Western Massachusetts, according to Mr. Allen, it rarely or never stops to breed. In Western Maine, Mr. Verrill mentions it as a common summer visitant, and as breeding there in the latter part of May. In the vicinity of Eastport, and in all the islands of the Grand Menan group, I found these Sparrows very abundant. They almost invariably built their nests in depressions on the edge or just under the projecting tops of high bluffs of land near the sea. They were by far the most abundant of the land-birds, and it was quite common to find their nests in close proximity one to another. They arrive there in April, and leave in September, passing slowly south more in reference to the abundance of their food than the severity of the season, until the weather becomes very severe, when they all disappear. They winter in the Southern States, from Virginia to Georgia, and are especially abundant in the Carolinas. Dr. Coues states that they were very common about Columbia from October to April, moving in large flocks and associating with other species. Wilson states that he met with this species, from Savannah to New York, in all the low country, and regarded it as resident in those places, but rarely found at a distance from the sea-shore. He found them especially numerous at Great Egg Harbor, N. J.

During my visits to the islands of the Bay of Fundy, in one of which I remained a number of days, I had a good opportunity to notice these birds. In many respects their habits undergo noticeable changes during the breeding-season. As they pass north or south in their migrations, they are not particularly shy or difficult to approach, but when they had nests they seemed to become particularly cautious and mistrustful. The male and female sat by turns upon their eggs, but generally one remained within hailing distance, and always gave promptly a signal of danger when the nest was approached, at which the other would glide from the nest, running off on the ground like a mouse. I found it impossible to identify by shooting the parent on the nest, and only accomplished its identification by means of snares. When once lost in the tall grass, it was impossible to find it again, or if it reappeared it was impossible to tell which of the many chirping Sparrows, all of them out of reach of shot, and keeping a sharp lookout on my movements, had any connection with the nest. This manœuvre was gone through with in every nest I found, but I soon learned to distinguish them without the need of gun or snare.

This Sparrow is eminently terrestrial, confining itself almost entirely to the ground, and rarely alighting on anything even so high as a fence. Though frequenting low moist grounds, its nest is always in a dry spot and usually somewhat elevated. The nest is almost always sunk into the ground, is made very simply and loosely of dry grasses, with a lining of softer materials of the same. I have never found any other material than this in the many nests I have examined, although nests of var. alaudinus, in the vicinity of Fort Anderson, are frequently lined with feathers or deers’ hair, according to MacFarlane.

The eggs, five or six in number, vary considerably in their appearance. In shape they are a rounded oval, one end being much more pointed than the other. They measure .68 by .55 of an inch. In some the ground-color, which is of a greenish-white, is plainly visible, being only partially covered by blotches of brown, shaded with red and purple. These blotches are more numerous about the larger end, becoming confluent and forming a corona. In others, the ground-color is entirely concealed by confluent ferruginous fine dots, over which are darker markings of brown and purple and a still darker ring of the same about the larger end.

WESTERN SAVANNA SPARROW.

Passerculus alaudinus, Bp. Comptes Rendus, XXXVII, Dec. 1853, 918, California.—Ib. Notes Ornithologiques Delattre, 1854, 18 (reprint of preceding).—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 446, pl. xlvi.—Cooper & Suckley, 197, pl. xxviii, f. 2.—Elliot, Illust. Am. B. III.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 284 (Alaska).—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 181. Passerculus savanna and P. anthinus, Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, pp. 283, 284.

Sp. Char. Similar to P. savanna, but smaller; the bill slenderer and more elongated. Little of yellow in the superciliary stripe (most distinct anteriorly); the rest of the head without any tinge of the same. General color much paler and grayer than in P. savanna. Breast with only a few spots. Length, 5.25; wing, 2.75; tail, 2.30.

Hab. Middle and Western Provinces of North America; south to Orizaba, north to Alaska (Kodiak) and the Arctic coast. Oaxaca (Scl. Oct.); Vera Cruz (winter, Sumichrast).

This western race of P. savanna is smaller, considerably paler in general colors, the superciliary stripe with little yellow in it, and the bill more slender, and longer. In coloration, some Atlantic coast specimens often exhibit an approximation, especially in the pale tint of the superciliary stripe; but the bill is always decidedly more attenuated in alaudinus.

The Western Savanna Sparrow is a common species throughout the Western Province of North America, from the plains to California, and from Alaska to Mexico. In California it appears to be replaced along the Pacific coast by the variety anthinus, a quite different and very local form. In Alaska, specimens were obtained by the naturalists of the Russian Telegraph Expedition at various localities, chiefly in the interior, and on the Yukon it was obtained by Mr. Lockhart. Dr. Cooper found it at Fort Steilacoom, in Washington Territory, where it was in company with P. sandwichensis, in the wet meadows. In California this species inhabits chiefly, according to Dr. Cooper, the dry plains of the interior of the State. The statement of the occurrence of this form anywhere along the coast of California should be received with considerable doubt, since in the large series of these birds all specimens from this region are of the variety anthinus, an exclusively littoral type.

Habits. The Western Savanna Sparrow was found throughout the Great Basin, by Mr. Ridgway, in all wet, grassy situations, in which preference it is like its eastern relative. It was very abundant at Carson City, inhabiting exclusively the meadows. At Salt Lake City it was also very abundant, frequenting the wet meadows near the Jordan.

This bird was also obtained at Sitka by Bischoff, and was found on the Yukon by Mr. Lockhart. It is the only species found in the Valley of the Mackenzie, up to the Arctic coast.

Dr. Cooper speaks of them as only winter visitants in California, and there residing only on the dry interior plains, as far south as San Diego, where they remain in large flocks until April. He has never met with this bird during the summer months, though some are supposed to remain and breed in the high prairies. He did not meet with any about the summits of the Sierra Nevada, in September. They appeared to prefer the dry rolling prairies to marshes, though they were occasionally found in the latter.

This species is also a migratory visitant to the Department of Vera Cruz, Mexico, where they are said by Sumichrast to pass the winter.

Their nests are built upon the ground, and are composed almost entirely of the dry stems of grasses, and are lined with finer materials of the same. Their eggs measure .75 of an inch in length by .52 in breadth, have a greenish-white ground, over which are distributed numerous markings, spots, and blotches of various sizes, of a light purplish-brown and a deeper red-brown, confluent about the larger end, where they form a crown.

Near Fort Anderson nests were found in great numbers, no less than two hundred and four having been obtained during four summers in that locality. These nests were all taken on the ground, under low grass, in dry spots in a large marshy prairie, and it is stated that they were never found in any other situation or locality.

Passerculus savanna, var. sandwichensis, Baird.

NORTHWESTERN SAVANNA SPARROW.

Emberiza sandwichensis, Gm. I, 1788, 875. Emberiza arctica, Latham, Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 414. Fringilla arctica, Vigors, Zoöl. of Blossom, 1839, 20 (perhaps one of the smaller species).—“Brandt, Icon. Ross. 2, 6.” Euspiza arctica, Bp. Conspectus, 1850, 469. Zonotrichia arctica, Finsch, 1872. Emberiza chrysops, Pallas, Zoög. Rosso-As. II, 1811, 45, tab. xlviii, fig. 1 (Unalaska). Sandwich Bunting, Lath. Syn. II, 1783, 202. Unalaska Bunting, Pennant, Arctic Zoöl. II, 363, 320, No. 229.(not of p. 364, No. 233). Passerculus sandwichensis, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 444.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 284.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 180. Passerculus savanna, Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 283.

Sp. Char. Almost exactly like P. savanna, but half an inch longer, with much larger bill. Length, 6.12 inches; wing, 3.00; tail, 2.55. Bill above, .50; below, .36; gape, .56; depth, .27.

Hab. Northwestern coast from the Columbia River to Russian America.

Habits. This variety is the northwest-coast form of the common Savanna Sparrow, and is found during the summer from Oregon to Alaska. Dr. Suckley states that he found this species an abundant spring visitor at Fort Steilacoom. Dr. Cooper, in his Zoology of Washington Territory, states it to be only a passenger through that section, migrating northward, at the end of April, in pairs, and not returning until the end of September. They come back in flocks, and frequent the shores and prairies along the sea-coast. Their plumage seems to be the same at all seasons. Nothing is known of their note. They are supposed to spend their winters in Southern Oregon and California, though their actual presence has not been detected in either State. They do not remain during the summer near the Columbia, but pass to the north, or to the interior plains east of the Cascade Range. Dr. Cooper states that their habits closely resemble those of P. anthinus.

Mr. Dall states that two specimens of this species were taken at Sitka by Mr. Bischoff.

Passerculus savanna, var. anthinus, Bonap.

CALIFORNIA SHORE SPARROW.

Habits. The Shore Sparrow of California is said to be, to a remarkable degree, the peculiar marsh species of the Pacific coast of that State. Dr. Cooper states that he very rarely met with these birds out of the salt marshes, where they lie so close and run so stealthily among the weeds that they are flushed with difficulty. They rise only to fly a few rods, and drop again into their covert. They are not at all gregarious, except when migrating, and are found singly or by pairs. They are abundant about San Francisco in the winter, though Dr. Cooper is not sure that any are found so far south in the summer. Near San Diego, in February, they had already begun to utter their short and pleasant song, as they perched on the top of some tall weed. Dr. Cooper observed them in that neighborhood into April, but did not succeed in finding any of their nests, nor was he ever able to meet with this species at San Pedro in summer.

Dr. Coues speaks of (Ibis, 1866, p. 268) finding three species of the difficult group of Passerculi, and all of them very abundant, in Southern California in November. These were P. rostratus, P. alaudinus, and P. anthinus. The anthinus seemed confined to the moist salt grass and sedgy weeds of the sea-shore itself. It was flushed with great difficulty, and then its flight was very rapid and irregular. It would alight again almost immediately, and run with great celerity among the roots of the thick grasses, and was therefore exceedingly difficult to procure. P. alaudinus was common two or three miles away from the coast, but Dr. Coues did not find one mixing with P. anthinus. It was a brush and weed, rather than a grass, species, associating with Anthus ludovicianus and Zonotrichia coronata.

Passerculus princeps, Maynard.

IPSWICH SPARROW.

Centronyx bairdi, Maynard, Naturalist’s Guide, 1870, 117, frontispiece (Ipswich, Mass.). Passerculus princeps, Maynard, American Naturalist, 1872.

♂. (Collector’s No. 1,744, Ipswich, Mass. Dec. 4, 1868; C. J. Maynard.) Wing, 3.25; tail, 2.60; culmen, .45; tarsus, .95; middle toe, .80; hind claw, .40.

♀. (Collector’s No. 6,245, Ipswich, Oct. 15, 1871; C. J. M.) Wing, 2.90; tail, 2.40; culmen, .50; tarsus, .85; middle toe, .65; hind claw, .30.

(Collector’s No. 6,224, Ipswich, Oct. 14, 1871; C. J. M.) Wing, 3.00; tail, 2.30; culmen, .50; tarsus, .85; middle toe, .60; hind claw, .30.

The specimens described above were at first supposed to be Centronyx bairdi, having several points of resemblance to that species, a comparison with the type in Professor Baird’s collection at first failing to establish a difference, as it was in faded and much worn summer plumage, while the Massachusetts specimens were in perfect, blended fall dress, so that a satisfactory comparison was almost impossible. A more recent examination, however, with the advantage of two additional specimens of the Massachusetts bird, has fully convinced Mr. Maynard that his specimens are not Centronyx bairdi, and that, indeed, they are referrible in all respects to the genus Passerculus.

In carefully examining the type of Centronyx bairdi, it is seen that its characteristic features are the following: Outstretched feet reaching beyond the end of the tail; hind claw as long as its digit, and much curved;—whereas in Mr. Maynard’s specimens the outstretched feet reach to only about the middle of the tail, while the hind claw is much shorter than its digit, and only slightly curved. With a wing .10 to .45 of an inch longer, they have the tarsus not any longer, and proportionally more slender. In coloration they are still more different. The most striking feature in C. bairdi is a broad and very conspicuous median stripe of ochraceous-buff on the crown, bordered on each side by an aggregation of black streaks, which form the predominating color of the lateral stripes; of this median stripe there is scarcely any trace in the specimens under consideration, while the crown generally is grayish-brown, with small dusky streaks; C. bairdi has broad, conspicuous, black stripes on the back, while P. princeps has obsolete sandy-brown ones; in C. bairdi there are only a few small streaks of black across the jugulum and along the sides and flanks, while in P. princeps the whole breast, as well as the sides and flanks, are thickly streaked with broader marks of sandy-brown.