The Bird Book Part 73

Size .90 .65.

534a. PRIBILOF SNOW BUNTING. _Plectrophenax nivalis townsendi._

Range.--Pribilof and Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

A slightly larger variety which is resident on the islands in its range.

Eggs like those of the preceding; laid from May to July.

[Ill.u.s.tration 334: Pine Siskin.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Greenish white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Greenish white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Snowflake.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: left hand border.]

Page 333

535. MCKAY'S SNOW BUNTING. _Pletrophenax hyperboreus._

Range.--Western Alaska; known to breed on Hall's Island.

This beautiful species is, in summer, entirely white except for the tips of the primaries and a black spot on end of central tail feathers, thus being very distinct from the preceding, which has the back and the wings to a greater extent black, at this season. Their eggs probably very closely resemble those of the last species.

536. LAPLAND LONGSPUR. _Calcarius lapponicus lapponicus._

Range.--Breeds in northern North America; winters south casually to New York, Ohio and Oregon and occasionally farther.

These sparrow-like birds are 6.5 inches long and have a black crown, cheeks and throat, and chestnut band on nape. Like the Snowflakes they nest on the ground in moss, but the four to six eggs that they lay are grayish, heavily mottled and blotched with chocolate brown; size .80 .60.

536a. ALASKA LONGSPUR. _Calcarius lapponicus alascensis._

Range.--Northwest North America, breeding in Alaska; winter south to Oregon. This sub-species is like the last but slightly paler. Eggs indistinguishable.

[Ill.u.s.tration 335: Grayish.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Norman W. Swayns. NEST AND EGGS OF GOLDFINCH.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: right hand margin.]

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537. SMITH'S LONGSPUR. _Calcarius pictus._

Range.--Breeds in Hudson Bay and Mackenzie River districts and winters south to Texas chiefly on the Plains.

This species is of the size of the last but is a rich buff color below, and the other markings are very different. These birds together with the next species are very common on the prairies in central United States in winter. They nest on the ground like the preceding species but the nests are scantily made of gra.s.ses and not warmly lined like those of the last. The eggs are similar but paler; size .80 .60. Data.--Hersch.e.l.l Island, Arctic Ocean, June 10, 1901. Nest built in a tuft of gra.s.s; made of fine roots and gra.s.s, lined with feathers.

538. CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR. _Calcarius ornatus._

Range.--Plains in the interior of North America, breeding from Kansas north to Saskatchewan; very abundant in the Dakotas and Montana.

This handsome species in the breeding plumage has the throat white, breast and belly black, and a chestnut collar on the nape. They are one of the most abundant breeding birds on the prairies, nesting in hollows on the ground either in the open or protected by a tuft of gra.s.s. The nests are made of gra.s.ses and sometimes moss; three or four eggs laid in June or July; white, blotched, lined and obscurely marked with brown and purplish; size .75 x .55.

539. MCCOWN'S LONGSPUR. _Rhynchophanes mccowni._

Range.--Great Plains, breeding from Kansas to the Saskatchewan.

This Longspur which breeds in company with the preceding, throughout its range, can be distinguished from it by the small black patch on the breast, the black crown, and chestnut wing coverts. Their nesting habits are the same, and at this season all the Longspurs have a sweet song often uttered during flight, like that of the Bobolink. Their eggs are of the same size and similarly marked as the last, but the ground color is more gray or olive.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Smith's Longspur.]

[Ill.u.s.tration 336: Grayish.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chestnut-collared Longspur.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Dull white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Grayish white.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: left hand margin.]

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540. VESPER SPARROW. _Pocetes gramineus gramineus._

Range.--Eastern United States, breeding from Virginia and Missouri north to Manitoba and New Brunswick; winters in the southern half of the United States.

A streaked grayish, buffy and white bird distinguished by its chestnut shoulders and white outer tail feathers. They are abundant birds in eastern fields where their loud piping whistle is known to many frequenters of weedy pastures. They build on the ground, either in gra.s.sy or cultivated fields, lining the hollow scantily with gra.s.ses.

Their four or five eggs are usually laid in May or June; they are dull whitish, blotched and splashed with light brown and lavender tints; size .80 .60.

540a. WESTERN VESPER SPARROW. _Pocetes gramineus confinis._

Range.--This paler variety is found in North America west of the Plains and south of Saskatchewan.

Its nesting habits are like those of the preceding and the eggs are indistinguishable.

540b. OREGON VESPER SPARROW. _Pocetes gramineus affinis._

A browner variety found on the coast of Oregon and northern California.

Its nesting habits are like those of the eastern bird and the eggs similar but averaging a trifle smaller.

* * * ENGLISH SPARROW. _Pa.s.ser domesticus._

These birds, which were imported from Europe, have increased so rapidly that they have overrun the cities and villages of the country and are doing inestimable damage both by driving out native insect eating birds and by their own destructiveness. They nest in all sorts of places but preferably behind blinds, where their unsightly ma.s.ses of straw protrude from between the slats, and their droppings besmirch the buildings below; they breed at all seasons of the year, eggs having often been found in January, with several feet of snow on the ground and the mercury below zero. The eggs number from four to eight in a set and from four to eight sets a season; the eggs are whitish, spotted and blotched with shades of gray and black. Size .88 .60.

[Ill.u.s.tration 337: Whitish.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: McCown's Longspur.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: White.]