Sparrows SONG—BIRDS.

Seaside Sparrow: Ammodramus maritimus.

Length: 5.75—6.25 inches.

Male and Female: Very dull brownish gray bird. Gray wash on shoulders and the edges of some feathers. Breast mottled gray with bufi tinge. Throat yellow-white. Wings and tail dusky. Yellow spot before eye and yellow mark on edge of wing, the only bright colouring. Bill lead-coloured ; dark feet.

Song: Very similar to that of the last species.

Season..- Common summer resident, breeding on salt-marshes. Present December 9, 1889. Probably sometimes winters (Averill.)

Breeds: Through range.

Nest and Eggs .- Indistinguishable from last species.

Range .' Salt-marshes of the Atlantic coast, from Massachusetts south- ward, and along the Gulf coast to the Rio Grande.

One of our two common Sparrows that have a maritime turn of mind, breeding freely about Fairfield and Stratford on the marshes. The two species are so closely associated that it is easy to confuse them; the Seaside Sparrow has the least definite colouring, no distinct black stripes on the back, and a blunt tail.

White-crowned Sparrow: Zonotriohia leucophrys.

Length: 6.60—7 inches.

Male and Female: White crown set between two black stripes ; white eye stripes. Cheeks, throat, and back of neck gray. Below light gray; some buff on sides and belly. Wings edged with hay, and having two white cross-bars; tail plain. Female, head rusty, paler all through. Bill and feet reddish brown.

Song: 6 or 7 notes, forming a plaintive cadence.

Season: Rare migrant; October and May.

Breeds: Chiefly in the Rocky Mountain region (including Sierra Nevada), and northeast to Labrador.

Nest and Eggs: Not to be distinguished from those of the White- throated Sparrow.

Range : North America at large.

One of the largest Sparrows, and also conspicuously marked, the White—crown is scarcely the inferior of the

White-throat itself. It has a northerly range, and only 150