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Yellow-winged or Grasshopper Sparrow — Part 1
Adult--Upper parts dark or dusky, the feathers being bordered with buff; back of neck warm brown; tail feathers rather short and pointed; under parts buffy, shading into white on the belly. The most distinctive features of this bird are the bright yellow at the bend of the wing and the darker yellow in front of the eye, Length--5.20.
Immature birds have the breast spotted with dark brown or nearly black.
Breeding Range--From the Gulf States to New England, probably not north of Massachusetts.
The nest is either arched or opened. It is made of grass, with fine grass and occasionally horse-hair for lining, and may be found in open fields, usually where the grass is short; often it is placed under an upturned sod or beneath a tussock. 4 to 5 eggs are laid; they are white, with few or many reddish brown spots, mostly around the larger end. Size--.73 x .56. See Fig. 14, Plate B.
The Yellow-winged Sparrow spends nearly all the time on the ground, running through the grass, and only taking wing when forced to do so. When he does fly he gets up with a great deal of noise for so small a bird, and takes a zig-zag course during his short flight, which is seldom more than a few yards.
The nesting season in the neighbourhood of New York begins about the middle of May. In Illinois eggs have been found from April 20th to August 12th. Two broods are reared during the season.