Var. gramineus.
_Fringilla graminea_, GM. Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 922.—AUD. Orn. Biog.
I, 1831, 473; V, 502, pl. xc. _Emberiza graminea_, WILSON, Am.
Orn. IV, 1811, 51, pl. xxxi, f. 5.—AUD. Syn. 1839, 102.—IB. Birds
Am. III, 1841, 65, pl. clix.—MAX. Cab. Jour. vi, 1858, 342.
_Fringilla_ (_Zonotrichia_) _graminea_, SWAINSON, F. B. Am. II,
1831, 254. _Zonotrichia graminea_, BON. List, 1838.—IB.
Conspectus, 1850, 478. _Poocætes gramineus_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am.
1858, 447.—SAMUELS, 303.
[Line drawing: _Poocætes gramineus_.
11123 ♀]
SP. CHAR. Tail-feathers rather acute. Above light yellowish-brown; the
feathers everywhere streaked abruptly with dark brown, even on the
sides of the neck, which are paler. Beneath yellowish (sometimes
reddish) white; on the jugulum and sides of neck and body streaked
with brown. A faint light superciliary and maxillary stripe; the
latter margined above and below with dark brown: the upper stripe
continued around the ear-coverts, which are darker than the brown
color elsewhere. Wings with the shoulder light chestnut-brown, and
with two dull whitish bands along the ends of the coverts; the outer
edge of the secondaries also is white. Exposed portion of outer
tail-feather, and edge and tip of the second, white. Length, about
6.20; wing, 3.10; tail, 2.50; bill, .33 from frontal feathers to
point, by .33 in depth at base; tarsus, .72. Bill yellow, dusky above;
legs yellow. (Measurement of No. 10,147 ♀, Washington, D. C.)
HAB. Eastern Province of United States.
Var. confinis.
_Poocætes gramineus_, var. _confinis_, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858,
p. 448 (in text under _P. gramineus_).
_Poocætes gramineus_, COOPER & SUCKLEY, 200.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 186.
SP. CHAR. Resembling _P. gramineus_, but colors paler, the dark
streaks narrower. Bill more slender, tarsi longer. (Measurement of
40,803 ♂, Fort Whipple, Arizona: Bill, .36 from point of frontal
feathers by .25 in depth through base; tarsus, .78; wing, 3.35; tail,
2.80).
HAB. Western and Middle Provinces of United States, south into Mexico;
Oaxaca (SCL. 1859, 379; March).
This species is readily identified by the absence of a median stripe
on the head, the chestnut-brown of the shoulder, and the white lateral
tail-feathers. The young birds have the ground-color above more
whitish, the streaks blacker, in sharper contrast; the streaks on
jugulum, etc., less sharply defined;
the general appearance, however, is not different from the adult.
Sometimes there is a decided cinnamon wash beneath. Western specimens
(var. _confinis_) appear to be paler, with longer wings, and longer
and more slender bills, in this respect resembling other Finches
(_Melospiza_, _Passerculus_, etc.).
All specimens from west of the Rocky Mountains are to be referred to
var. _confinis_.
[Illustration: _Poocætes gramineus._]
HABITS. The Bay-winged or Grass Finch is a very abundant species
wherever found, and has a very extended distribution. Accepting as one
species the slightly variant races above indicated, this bird extends
from Florida and Mexico, on the south, to the 57th parallel of
latitude, and from the eastern to the western shores. It was found by
Richardson frequenting the plains of the Saskatchewan, where it
arrives early in May and leaves in September, and where it nests
abundantly in the short withered grass of that sterile region.
Richardson did not trace it farther north than the 57th parallel, and
it was not obtained on the Yukon or Anderson Rivers by Mr. MacFarlane
or Mr. Lockhart. It breeds from Northern Virginia north.
In the Middle States it is partially resident, a portion remaining all
the winter. South of Washington it is chiefly migratory, only found,
in any numbers, from November to March, and probably but few remaining
to breed. Audubon states that he never saw any of this species in any
portion of Louisiana, Missouri, Kentucky, or Ohio. Mr. Dresser, on the
other hand, found them common about San Antonio in August and
September, and also in May and June, and had no doubt that some remain
to breed.
It is very abundant throughout New England, arriving in some seasons
as early as March 11, and remaining until quite late in the fall,
often through November. It is found chiefly in dry open fields and
pastures, where it nests, with no pains at concealment, on the ground,
in depressions made by its own work. It is an unsuspicious and
fearless species, neither seeking nor avoiding the companionship of
man. It does not usually build near houses, yet is not unfrequently
known to do so. It may be often found perched on fences along the
roadside, chanting its simple and pleasing lay, and quite as
frequently in the road feeding and dusting itself. The latter
operation it is very fond of practising, and almost any day in the
summer these birds may be found in such situations.
West of the Great Plains is found a marked variety of this species,
differing in many respects from the eastern. The western species or
race of this Finch, Mr. Ridgway states, is an abundant summer bird in
all the elevated grassy portions of the West. It is especially
characteristic of the higher grassy slopes of the elevated mountains,
particularly in the Rocky Mountain regions, and its sweet and simple
song is one of the pleasant associations of those regions. It
descends, in the autumn, to the lower districts, having been observed
during September in the greatest abundance among the “rye-grass”
meadows of Senot Valley, at the northern end of the East Humboldt
Range. It nests on the ground in grassy banks, in various situations.
Dr. Suckley found this bird abundant on the Nisqually Plains, about
Puget Sound; and Dr. Cooper says it is common, in summer, on the
prairies of the interior of Washington Territory. Dr. Cooper also
found it wintering in the Colorado Valley, in considerable numbers,
but all disappeared in April. He thinks they breed in Northern
California, though he has never found them doing so. Dr. Newberry
states that they are common in the Sacramento Valley, both in the
summer and in the fall. It was found by Mr. Boucard, in winter, near
Oaxaca, Mexico.
Their song is a very simple and pleasant succession of soft notes,
resembling that of the Canary, but thinner and feebler. It is begun
early in the morning and continued a few hours, and then renewed at
sunset and kept up often until after dark. It is also not unlike the
song of the Song Sparrow, but is neither so varied nor so loud and
strong. It continues to sing until late in the season.
They feed in the road, eating insects, seeds, and grain. They are fond
of searching also in ploughed fields, and keep principally upon the
ground, exclusively so when they are searching for their food.
Although as unsuspicious as the Song Sparrow or the Chipping Sparrow,
this Finch rarely, like them, comes about the house for crumbs of
bread, but seems to prefer to forage for itself in the fields and by
the roadside. Taken from the nest, these birds may be readily tamed,
and soon become very interesting and familiar little pets, though
Nuttall states that where several are thus kept they become very
jealous of each other, and quarrelsome.
Their nest is always placed upon the ground, and is very simply
constructed of dry stems of grasses, with no other lining than soft
fine materials of the same. They have two, and sometimes three, broods
in a season. When their nest is approached, they make use of various
artifices to draw away the intruder, and often vary their devices in a
very striking manner. In May, 1836, crossing a field within a few rods
of my home in Roxbury, I nearly stepped upon a female sitting upon her
nest. She immediately tumbled forward towards me, counterfeiting the
most extraordinary lameness, so much so that I supposed that I had
really stepped upon and severely injured her. I stooped to pick up
what I supposed to be a wounded bird, and found her nest and four
eggs. Visiting her nest again, as I approached she flew from it
quietly and silently, and immediately began the same manœuvres, at
some little distance from her nest, which she discontinued as soon as
she noticed that I was examining her treasures. These devices she
varied several times in a very remarkable manner. In Massachusetts I
have known this species to have its complement of eggs by the 15th of
April.
The eggs of this species are usually five, often four, and rarely six
in number. They are of an oblong-oval shape, the smaller end but
slightly more pointed than the other. They vary greatly in size,
ranging from .90 to .80 of an inch in length, and averaging about .65
in breadth. Their ground-color is a pale greenish-white, marked with
spots, lines, dots, and blotches of various shades of reddish and
purplish brown. In some eggs the spots are few and small, chiefly
confluent in a ring about the larger end, while the ground-color is
very plainly distinguishable. In others the ground is nearly concealed
by the abundance of the spots.