Dusky Seaside Sparrow
551. Passerherbulus nigrescens. 6 inches
Darkest of the Seaside Sparrows. Found only in marshes at head of Indian River, Florida.
Lark Sparrow
552. Chondestes grammacus. 6¼ inches
These handsome Sparrows are very abundant in the Mississippi Valley; their favorite resorts are fields, pastures, and prairie lands, or along dusty roadsides. Their song is one of the sweetest of any of the Sparrows, and is freely given throughout the summer.
Song.—A hurried gush of silvery tremulous notes.
Nest.—Sometimes in bushes but usually on the ground; of grasses arranged in a hollow to form a little cup, and usually concealed under a tuft of grass or bunch of clover. The birds usually run some distance from the nest before flying, so that they are quite hard to find. They lay three to five eggs, white, specked and scrawled sparingly with blackish (.80 ×.60), wholly different from those of any other Sparrow.
Range.—Mississippi Valley, breeding from Texas to Manitoba; winters in southern U. S. and Mexico.
Sub-Species.—552a. Western Lark Sparrow (strigatus) is slightly paler and less heavily marked; found from the Plains to the Pacific.