Fth‘lll‘IS, SI’ARROWS, IC'l‘('. 3H9

usual call-note is a sharp WIMP/l, not unlike that of the \Vhite-throaled Sparrow. and quite different from the rather nasal whim of the Song Sparrow. Their song is a simple, sweet. but somewhat monotonous luwl-lIrwf-la-cel, repeated many times, all on one note, and sometimes I'llltllillg into a trill.

585. Passerella inaca, t Jlt /'I'. r. l"o.\' Srannow. .llvl.‘l‘pper parts minus—1mm n. the feathers mamined by einnanuunbrown; upper tail—eoverts and tail buy/it rufous.’ wings mar— ;rinml with rut'ous: under parts Mar;— {'1/ streaked and spotted with rut'ous- brown and blackish; middle of the belly white: lower mandible )"allow— ish. L, 7126; \V., 3-311; T., inf); 1%., '5)“.

[t’tlllf/z‘.#lii‘t‘clls from the Magda- len Islands and Manitoba to Alaska; winters from Virginia southward.

Washington. very abundant 'l‘. \'., Feb. to .\pl. :3: (let. 2?: to Now; a few FIG. 87.7Fox Sparrow, (Natural size.)

winter. Sing Sing. tolerablv eommon 'l‘. \'., _\leh. 4 to .\pl. 2H; (let. 14 to Nov. :28. Cambridge, abundant T. V; Mel). 1.3 to ;\pl. 20; (let. :0 to Nov.1:3.

dist, of coarse grasses, lined with finer grasses, hair, moss, and feathers, on the ground. and in low trees and bushes. Iii/(H, tour to tive. pale bluish. evenly speekled or heavily blotehed with umber or viiiaeeous—hrown, ‘50 x '63 (see Bendire, Auk, vi, lvii, p. 108}.

In the early spring,r the Fox Sparrow is seen mostly about damp thiekets and roadside, shruhlwry; later it takes more to \voodsides, foraging on leaf~strewn slopes where there is little or no undergrowth, often assoeiai’ed with small parties of Juneos. On its return in the autumn it again beeomes a common denizen of hedgerows and thickets, and also invades the weedy graintields, rarely, however, straying far from some thiekety cover. Sometimes large numbers congregate among,r withered growths of tall weeds, whence they emerge with a. loud whirring of wings as their retreat is invaded. and hie away in tawny clouds, flock after flock. It is a. great, serateher among dead leaves, and can make the wood rubbish fly in a way which, in propor- tion to its size. a barnyard fowl could seareely exeei.

The usual note of the, Fox Sparrow is a feeble fsrep. A note of exeitemeut is louder and sharper in tone. lts song is not. surpassed by that of any of our Sparrows. it is a revelation to hear it at sun- down on some. vernally softened evening of early springtime; little swarms of gnats hover in the balmy air; from the twilight meadows mines the welcome. half-doubtful piping of the first hylas~no other