560. Spizella socialis. 5 1/4 inches.

Crown chestnut; forehead black; line through the eye black.

One of the commonest and most useful of our Sparrows, frequenting orchards, yards and bushy pastures. They are not at all timid and frequently nest in vines, covering porches or the side of the house, provided that English Sparrows are not too plenty. They eat great quantities of insects and worms, and some seeds, feeding their young wholly upon the former.

Song. - A very rapidly chanted chip, chip, chip, chip, continued for several seconds: call, a sharp chip.

Nest. - A small cup-shaped structure of rootlets, lined with horsehair; placed in bushes, trees or vines; eggs three to five, bluish green, specked, chiefly around the large end, with blackish brown (.65 x .50).

Range. - N. A. east of the Plains, breeding from the Gulf of Mexico north to Newfoundland and Hudson Bay: winters in the Gulf States. A sub-species is found west of the Rockies.