heard during the heat of the day. Their nests are sunken in the ground
and

arched over so that they are very difficult to find, especially as the
bird will not flush until nearly trod upon. The four or five eggs, laid
in June, are white, specked with reddish brown. Size .72 x .55.

546a. WESTERN GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. _Ammodramus savannarum bimaculatus_

Range.--West of the Plains from British Columbia to Mexico.

Slightly paler than the last; has the same nesting habits; eggs
indistinguishable.

[Illustration 340: 544--544c.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: White.]
[Illustration: Baird's Sparrow. Grasshopper Sparrow.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]

Page 339

[Illustration 341: C. A. Reed.
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW ON NEST.]

Page 340

546b. FLORIDA GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. _Ammodramus savannarum floridanus._

Range.--Central Florida.

A local form, darker above and paler below than the common species. Eggs
not different in any particular.

547. HENSLOW'S SPARROW. _Passerherbulus henslowi henslowi._

Range.--United States east of the Plains, breeding locally from Maryland
and Missouri north to Massachusetts and Minnesota.

This species is similar in form and marking to the last, but is olive
green on the nape, and the breast and sides are streaked with blackish.
Their nesting habits are very similar to those of the Grasshopper
Sparrow, the nests being difficult to find. The eggs are greenish white,
spotted with reddish brown. Size .75 x .55.

547a. WESTERN HENSLOW'S SPARROW. _Passerherbulus henslowi occidentalis._

Range.--A paler and very local form found in the Plains in South Dakota
and probably, adjoining states. Eggs not apt to differ from those of the
preceding.

548. LECONTE'S SPARROW. _Passerherbulus lecontei._

Range.--Great Plains, breeding from northern United States to
Assiniboia; winters south to Texas and the Gulf States.

A bird of more slender form than the preceding, and with a long,
graduated tail, the feathers of which are very narrow and pointed. They
nest on the ground in damp meadows, but the eggs are difficult to find
because the bird is flushed from the nest with great difficulty. The
eggs are white and are freely specked with brown. Size .70 x .52.

549. SHARP-TAILED SPARROW. _Passerherbulus caudacutus._

Range.--Breeds in marshes along the Atlantic coast from Maine to South
Carolina and winters farther south.

These birds are very common in nearly all th