In the garden, from the nook looking toward sunset, I am always certain to hear a half dozen of these little soloists, continuing their music after the evening chorus has ceased, until finally, with the Veery and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, they form a final trio which precedes such silence as Nature allows to the early summer nights.
The Vesper Sparrows are, in the main, seed-eaters, but during the summer they also feed upon insects, earthworms, and berries. They are birds of the roadside and of waste fields, where they are abundant in early autumn, fluttering about in flocks, now perching on a fence rail, and as you approach them, scattering widely, only to collect again a few feet further on. They are dingy-looking birds in the distance, but the white tail quills will always name them.
Ipswich Sparrow: Ammodramus princeps.
Length: 6.25 inches.
Male and Female: Above grayish, with a reddish cast to back; dusky streaks on top of head, separated by a broad stripe of pale yellowish white. Below pure white, sides of throat and broad band across breast and sides, streaked with red-brown; bill and feet brown.
Song: Poor and halting, as if the voice weak and tired.
Season: A rare winter resident.
Breeds: In the grass-covered sand-hills of Sable Island, Nova Scotia.
Nest: A few strands of grass in a hollow of the ground.
Eggs: Harlequin, pale green groundwork, jumbled with blotches of brown of every shape and tint.
Range: Nova Scotia, south; in winter, to South Carolina The Ipswich Sparrow is a puzzling bird to identify. It was discovered by Mr. Maynard among the Ipswich sand-hills — hence its name. Its plumage is difficult to describe tersely; perhaps it is best to say that it resembles the Vesper Sparrow, but has a yellowish head stripe and two dull white wing bars. Here it is seen either as a winter resident or a migrant, and is decidedly a local species. It is a very hardy Sparrow; Mr. Torrey has found it near Nahant, Mass., in every one of the colder months from October to April.
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