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SUBSPECIES OF SMITH'’S LONGSPUR Calcarius pictus
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN) 237
i
Life Histories
of North American Cardinals,
Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees,
Finches, Sparrows, and Allies
Order Passeriformes: Family Fringillidae
PART THREE
Genera Zonotrichia through Emberiza
Literature Cited and Index
ARTHUR CLEVELAND BENT and COLLABORATORS
Compiled and Edited by
Outver L. Austin, JR.
Florida State Museum, University of Florida
Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
1968
Publication of the United States National Museum
The scientific publications of the United States National Museum include
two series, Proceedings of the United States National Museum and United
States National Museum Bulletin.
In these series are published original articles and monographs dealing with
the collections and work of the Museum and setting forth newly acquired facts
in the fields of Anthropology, Biology, Geology, History, and Technology. Copies
of each publication are distributed to libraries and scientific organizations and
to specialists and others interested in the different subjects.
The Proceedings, begun in 1878, are intended for the publication, in separate
form, of shorter papers. These are gathered in volumes, octavo in size, with
the publication of each paper recorded in the table of contents of the volume.
In the Bulletin series, the first of which was issued in 1875, appear longer,
separate publications consisting of monographs (occasionally in several parts)
and volumes in which are collected works on related subjects. Bulletins are
either octavo or quarto in size, depending on the needs of the presentation.
Since 1902 papers relating to the botanical collections of the Museum have been
published in the Bulletin series under the heading Contributions from the
United States National Herbarium. Since 1959, in Bulletins titled ““Contributions
from the Museum of History and Technology,” have been gathered shorter papers
relating to the collections and research of that museum.
This work forms number 237, parts 1-3, of the Bulletin series.
FRANK A, TAYLOR,
Director, United States National Museum.
NorE ON THE FRONTISPIECE: The A.O.U. Check-List Committee has not as
yet assessed the validity of the three races of Smith’s longspur proposed in 1961.
For further details of recent investigations see page 1634.—O.L.A.,Jr.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1968
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C., 20402 - Price $8.25 per set of 3 books (paper cover) - Sold only in sets.
Contents
PART THREE
Family Fringillidae: Cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings, towhees, finches, and
sparrows—Continued
Zonotrichia querula: Harris’ sparrow .
Habits
Distribution .
Zonotrichia leucophrys ones ulin: Masters qihicecercumeds sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . eee erik aa atin: We Tie Ge es gods 5
Zonotrichia leurophrys dale Nuttall’s white-crowned sparrow .
Habits
Distribution .
Zonotrichia leucophrys fame: (Gamer S erintecronued oe ;
Habits
Distribution .
Zonotrichia leucophrys tnd Wountatn rai crowned mone ;
Habits
Distribution .
Zonotrichia leucophrys Pugelenste: ‘Punet ‘Sound white: érowneds spar-
OW.
Habits
Distribution .
Zonotrichia airicapilla: @oltienserowned Eero:
Habits
Distribution .
Zonotrichia atbicollis: Wihite-thvoated spuerewe
Habits
Distribution .
Passerella iliaca: Fox Seem 3
Passerella iliaca iliaca: Eastern fox sparrow
Habits
Distribution .
Passerella iliaca zaboria: Maile fox See
Habits
Distribution . ;
Passerella iliaca pte Winecis fox, sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . ;
Passerella iliaca: Fox oe a eeeen pApetal Paeoacies :
Habits
Distribution . : :
Passerella iliaca: Fox eee neeena aunt epeaceics
Habits
Distribution .
Melospiza lincolnii ae: Taincolw $s sparrow
Habits
Distribution .
Page
1249
1249
1271
1273
1273
1287
1292
1292
1323
1324
1324
1336
1338
1338
1343
1344
1344
1351
1352
1352
1363
1364
1364
1387
1392
1395
1395
1411
1415
1415
1417
1418
1418
1418
1419
1419
1422
1424
1424
1431
1434
1434
1463
VI U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
Family Fringillidae: Cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings, towhees, finches, and
sparrows—Continued
Melospiza lincolnii alticola: Montane Lincoln’s sparrow
Habits
Distribution . REE ee re Se oe eS SLCC a
Melospiza lincolnit gracilis: Northwestern (Forbush’s) Lincoln’s
sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . ere 3
Melospiza georgiana aor nta: Northen Enea ao :
Habits
Distribution . eM ears
Melospiza georgiana georgiana: Wooutheat: swamp sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . ey sic
Melospiza georgiana picregton Conceal plain Sha sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . é
Melospiza melodia: Song apeeeat ‘ EM ds
Melospiza melodia melodia: Eastern song on ‘
Habits
Distribution . ey ate
Melospiza melodia atlas ‘Aetanitie: song sparrow.
Habits
Distribution . oe en
Melospiza melodia phonies Risen peEe song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . ‘
Melospiza melodia juddi: Dakota song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . aa yantaw:- ley age
Melospiza melodia montana: Mounatin song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . «LEO
Melospiza melodia Be ncaie: {Mellowhetde or irate song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . ect
Melospiza melodia merrilii: — il’s g song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . ogee
Melospiza melodia fisher Me: Susaae song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . ee tout
Melospiza melodia: Bonet sparrow, SR staepeeies
Habits
Distribution . ORs
Melospiza melodia rufina: Sboty song sparrow
Habits
Distribution . ‘ De ete cer er
Melospiza melodia baopotnen Be song sparrow
Habits
Distribution .
PART 3
Page
1467
1467
1471
1472
1472
1473
1474
1474
1474
1475
1475
1486
1490
1490
1490
1491
1492
1492
1509
1512
1512
1513
1513
1513
1522
1523
1523
1524
1525
1525
1527
1527
1527
1529
1529
1529
1531
1531
1531
1533
1533
1533
1539
1540
1540
1541
1541
1541
1545
CONTENTS
Family Fringillidae: Cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings, towhees, finches, and
sparrows—Continued
Melospiza melodia cleonensis: Mendocino song sparrow. .
Habits
Distribution . Ey 8S ag ERR as
Melospiza melodia gouldii: Marin song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . :
Melospiza melodia: Song sparrow, San pai Gisss ee evans i sai
species
Habits
Distribution . Pt keg, Seu a vs
Melospiza melodia riaillvaraie Modesto song sparrow
Habits
Distribution . SA TUR econ ils, “cesta te ce acs
Melospiza melodia Resmaneiss Heermann’s song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . WP en eee yee teat
Melospiza melodia cooperi: San Diego song sparrow .
Habits :
Distribution . ... ft SPs
Melospiza melodia: Song sparrow, Pacific nna aabeneeies 3
Habits
Distribution . Sea iti, Cone
Melospiza melodia fallaz: areebti song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . : etECEP Ay Yah Cae
Melospiza melodia saltonis: Tiesaet song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . Se oa aioe heiyttens
Melospiza melodia rivularis: Biowh’ 8 song sparrow .
Habits
Distribution . :
Rhynchophanes mccownit: eon 8 ieeacuer
Habits
Distribution . :
Calcarius lapponicus Peeen ee Ghee Paniand iene ‘
Habits
Distribution .
Calcarius lapponicus “abetenaies Atanica ‘onesie :
Habits
Distribution . ‘
Calcarius pictus: Smith’s feneeoee ;
Habits
Distribution . :
Calcarius ornatus: Gtiontmieeolared oaeenur :
Habits
Distribution . :
Plectrophenaz nivalis heels anov aeetigy
Habits
Distribution .
VII
Page
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1545
1545
1546
1546
1547
1547
1547
1553
1553
1553
1554
1554
1554
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1562
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1608
1608
1627
1628
1628
1633
1635
1635
1651
1652
1652
1673
VIII U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM: BULLETIN 237 PART 8
Family Fringillidae: Cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings, towhees, finches, and
sparrows—Continued Page
Plectrophenaz nivalis townsendi: Pribilof snow bunting. . . . .. . 1675
Mabits. <5. p23. 5 3 Pa hee fe fon a of tide lone
Distribution . . . on %. erenldiaietGt ; L677
Plectrophenax hyperborens MeKay 8 bunting AZ hevnny srateh ieee nena l Ole
Habita® .).27 60-4 oe reas tu @ Nis 12> ayes 2) pee rel Maa
Distribution... . 5. As eee te MEI OSU!
Emberiza rustica latifascia: aster n ctic bontine ss uitislane -ebmontane LOS
IEVAIDIGS e920. spe costes sons wy seco Sa GUE ee ty wen he Ate oe) gee OSH
Distribution <> <0! es Mace a. Ga) Sele eee a, © guage BLOS4
Witerature’ Cited "ss we. ao ap eget ae Gk LS eo BS ia or eaeiene Meeteeee ed @hOSe
MY AGKS ei ers? AS ge: hee, he ar Deen One og Sree eer Se reat ee eee ee OO
HARRIS’ SPARROW 1249
ZONOTRICHIA QUERULA (Nuttall)
Harris’ Sparrow
PLATE 68
Contributed by A. MarcuEeriITE BAUMGARTNER
HAasits
It was on a crisp June day in 1933 among the stunted spruces and
the reindeer moss of the timberline at Churchill on Hudson Bay
that I made the acquaintance of my first Harris’ sparrow. I was
captivated at once by the bold black hood and pink bill, the plaintive,
melodious, two-toned whistle, and the shy, gentle ways of this large
handsome sparrow of the middle west. A bird of mystery, I was in
the heart of its breeding grounds where that veteran explorer, Edward
A. Preble, had discovered young just out of the nest in 1900, and
where George M. Sutton had found and described the eggs for the
first time in 1930. By 1933 not a dozen men had seen the nest and
beautiful speckled blue-green eggs of these elusive creatures.
It was a great satisfaction to renew their acquaintance in 1939
when we moved to the heart of their winter range in Oklahoma.
Although they migrate through the plains states in enormous numbers
and have been banded by the thousands in spring and fall, they are
still birds of mystery. Only a handful have been studied through a
winter, and none over a period of years. Perhaps it was a designing
fate, certainly a happy coincidence, that led us after several years in
town, to establish our permanent home on an acreage near Stillwater
where Harris’ sparrows shared our lawn and picnic place, our weedy
chicken yard, and the brushy ravine that wound through our little
pasture. These birds of mystery became our closest neighbors,
constant guests at our winter feeding trays, and regular visitors to
our banding traps.
From its earliest history Harris’ Sparrow has been surrounded by
an aura of excitement and drama. Because its distribution is re-
stricted to the center of the continent, not until 1834 did the eager
eyes of science view it for the first time. Harry Harris (1919) relates
in fascinating detail how two separate parties of explorers discovered
the species within two weeks and a few miles of one another. On an
expedition headed westward across Missouri with John K. Townsend,
Thomas Nuttall (1840) collected a bird on Apr. 28, 1834, that he
subsequently named the “Mourning Finch,” Fringilla querula. On
May 13th the same year, Maximilian, Prince of Wied (1841), returning
from an exploration of the upper Missouri River, likewise encountered
the migrating flocks of these large handsome sparrows in southeastern
1250 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Nebraska. He collected specimens that he described in his account
of the trip as Fringilla comata.
Each of these men delayed publishing his discoveries, Nuttall for
6 years, Maximilian for 7 years. Meanwhile John James Audubon
completed the Elephant Folio of his epochal “Birds of America”
without this interesting species. Traveling up the Missouri by
steamship in 1843, Audubon and his companion, Edward Harris, saw
the bird for the first time near Fort Leavenworth, Kans. Harris
collected specimens and Audubon, unaware that it had already been
discovered and named twice, described it in the octavo edition of his
“Birds of America” (1843) as Fringilla harrisii in honor of his
“excellent and constant friend.” While the priority of Nuttall’s
specific name querula is clearly established, his singularly appropriate
“mourning finch’? was superceded through usage by Audubon’s
vernacular name.
Little was learned during the next 40 years of the distribution or
the life history of these elusive birds. Believed originally to nest in
the type area, it was soon realized that the birds found there were
migrants. The careful work of Wells W. Cooke (1884) established
the eastern limit of their range in the United States and its center
roughly paralleling the 96th meridian, but its western and southern
boundaries remained vague. The wealth of faunal and local studies
of the ensuing three-quarters of a century have defined the normal
winter range more precisely and showed stragglers dispersing widely
into almost every state of the Union.
The summer home of the Harris’ sparrow remained mere conjecture
until Edward A. Preble (1902) found it breeding at Churchill. Preble
(1908b) also found it in 1903 along the eastern shore of Great Bear
Lake ‘in a habitat precisely similar to its chosen nesting ground on
Hudson Bay. All indications therefore point to the conclusion that
its principal breeding grounds are in the strip of stunted timber
extending for 800 miles between Hudson Bay and Great Bear Lake,
along the northern border of the transcontinental forest.”
Ernest Thompson Seton (1908) verified Preble’s conclusions when
he found the species common from Great Slave Lake northward to
the edge of the Barren Grounds, and discovered a nest with young
almost ready to leave on August 5th. Other explorers in the North
have added testimony, but without extending the birds’ known
breeding range.
Spring.—During spring migration Harris’ sparrows spread out over
a wide area that includes most of the central United States. The
species then occurs regularly, though sparingly, from northern Illinois
and southern Wisconsin to eastern Colorado, Montana, and eastern
Alberta east of the Continental Divide. William Youngworth
HARRIS’ SPARROW 1251
(1959) notes that these birds were found originally only in the upper
Missouri River valley, but that during the past 60 years they have
spread eastward and are now regular, though uncommon, migrants
down the upper Mississippi River valley as well.
The northward movement begins in the southern parts of the
winter range in late February and early March, surges into Nebraska
and Iowa by mid-March, and into southeastern South Dakota by
late March (Youngworth, 1959). Then occurs a pause first noted by
Cooke (1913) before the birds move on into the Dakotas and Min-
nesota in late April and May (Swenk and Stevens, 1929). Thus
no appreciable migration is evident beyond the winter range until
May. As Orin A. Stevens (1957) notes: “In the spring Harris’
Sparrows reach Fargo, North Dakota about May 7 * * * and are
present about two weeks. It seems evident that both their arrival
and length of stay are delayed by cold weather, and that their de-
parture is hastened by a warm wave. They are restless and there
are few repeat records of individual birds.”
In their detailed study of the species, Myron H. Swenk and Orin A.
Stevens (1929) note: “The vanguard arrives with remarkable uni-
formity during the first week in May or shortly thereafter at points
over an area extending from the Dakotas to Minnesota and Manitoba.
The passage of the vanguard across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and
Northwest Territory to the breeding grounds of the species is made
during the last half of May, though it is probably the middle of
June before the migration of all the birds is completed.”
Banding records show that some, at least, of the Harris’ sparrows
follow the same migration routes in spring and fall and in consecutive
seasons, with occasionally the same stopovers. Other individuals,
recovered from 25 to 100 miles on either side of their place of banding
during a subsequent migration, manifestly shifted their migration
path. Repeat records at banding stations (Swenk and Stevens, 1929)
show that individuals may remain at given stopovers from 1 to 5
days during spring migration, averaging 1.5 days. In fall the periods
are considerably longer, averaging 7 or 8 days, sometimes a month.
The speed at which Harris’ sparrows migrate in spring is indicated
by several recoveries in the Bird Banding files. A bird banded at
Aberdeen, S. Dak., May 9, 1933, was recovered 325 miles away at
Winnipeg, Man., 5 days later, having averaged 65 miles per day.
Another banded at Ipswich, S. Dak., May 7, 1940, was taken 370
miles northward at Lake Manitoba 8 days later, having averaged
46 miles per day.
Nesting.—Almost a century after the discovery of Harris’ sparrow
on the Missouri prairies, the eggs of this handsome bird were still
unknown to science. While a nest with young and fledglings just out
1252 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
of the nest had been collected and the breeding range roughly estab-
lished, the region was virtually inaccessible during the nesting season.
Completion of the railway to Fort Churchill opened a new world to
ornithological exploration, and in 1930 Percy A. Taverner (Taverner
and Sutton, 1934) found the birds common at the edge of timber a
few miles south of the townsite. First noted on May 28, the birds
became common by June 6. He found no eggs, but collected a nest:
with young on June 27. He last noted the species on September 5.
In 1931 two parties visited the Churchill area with the primary
aim of finding the eggs of the Harris’ sparrow. Most of the following
information is summarized from the full and fascinating account by
John B. Semple and George M. Sutton (1932) whose party discovered
the first nest with eggs. On their way northward they observed
Harris’ sparrows in numbers at The Pas, Manitoba, 500 miles south
of Churchill, on May 23. The train then preceded the migration
and went from spring back to winter. On arrival at Churchill May
25 they found 2 feet of snow on the level and drifts 20 feet deep;
temperatures ranged from 28° F. to about 60° F. during the day.
They first observed Harris’ sparrows there on May 27. Though the
males were in full song, females collected showed unenlarged ovaries.
During late May and early June they saw numbers of birds daily
on the barrens along the river, several miles from spruce timber;
these they subsequently termed migrants on their way to more north-
westerly regions. Of the nesting habitat at timberline they write:
‘We found the birds most common at the edges of the woodlands,
in clearings near the railway track, and in the bushy margins of
burned-over areas. As a rule but one pair of birds lived in a given
patch of spruces or tamaracks; but sometimes two or three pairs
inhabited the same narrow tongue of forest.
“By June 7, we had at least thirty pairs more or less definitely
located in an area of five square miles; we had not, however, wit-
nessed a single action indicative of nest building.”’ In an atmosphere
tense with keen but friendly competition, both between the two
parties and the men within each group, the birds continued to act
indecisively. The weather continued backward and the search
continued fruitless. Semple and Sutton (1932) continue:
We watched certain pairs by the hour, and found them so amazingly non-
commital about what we supposed to be their ‘‘territory” that we began to
wonder whether we were anywhere near the actual nesting grounds. The birds
would feed together for long periods in the morning, walking along among the
moss and grass; kicking vigorously, like Fox Sparrows, through leaves and debris;
then mount the low bushes, wipe their bills quickly, and fly to some far-distant
part of the woodlands, where it was often impossible to find them. Sometimes,
indeed, they became mildly excited at our presence; whereupon they would begin
weenking loudly; but they usually soon lost interest, wiped their bills, shook them-
HARRIS’ SPARROW 1253
selves, and dashed off, leaving us to wonder where their nest could be. Frequently
we found them feeding in tamarack trees; they appeared to be eating the buds.
They were very graceful in their movements, climbing about on the slender,
outermost twigs, and bowing this way and that like crossbills. Sometimes a
single bird would fly suddenly from the ground under a bush, as if it had just
come froma nest. Such a bird usually sought a rather high perch, often the top
of a dead spruce near-by, where it would give itself over to a spasm of alarm
notes, loud enough to summon all the yammering Lesser Yellow-legs from miles
around; then it would dart away, to beseen no more. The habit of the birds, when
frightened from the ground, of flying to rather high perches was characteristic.
By mid-June, all the birds we observed in the woodlands appeared to be mated.
At this season the males so frequently sang in a chorus that it was sometimes
difficult to separate a single song from the medley which sounded through the
woods.
* * * * * *
On June 15, a bird carrying a wisp of dry grass was observed to go to the ground
somewhere near the base of a large spruce stump in a grove of live spruce trees
which grew near a small lake and on rather high ground. Though a prolonged
search was made, the nest was not found. We were torn, that evening, between
high enthusiasm and frank exasperation, for we knew that there must be a nest
somewhere in the vicinity and we also knew we had not found it!
To George Miksch Sutton of the Carnegie Museum-Cornell Uni-
versity party fell the honor and good fortune of discovering the
first nest. He later describes (1936) in his inimitable style the per-
sonal feelings of an ornithologist at such a moment: “As I knelt
to examine the nest a thrill the like of which I had never felt before
passed through me. And I talked aloud! ‘Here!’ I said. ‘Here
in this beautiful place!’ At my fingertips lay treasures that were
beyond price. Mine was Man’s first glimpse of the eggs of the
Harris’s Sparrow, in the lovely bird’s wilderness home.”
Returning to the Semple and Sutton (1932) account:
The circumstances of the finding were these: After watching a certain pair
of birds for a time, the junior author started across a wet, open spruce woods,
bound for an area a mile distant which the birds were known to frequent. Just
as he entered a clump of comparatively tall spruce trees, he noticed a Harris’s
Sparrow picking at its belly with its beak, as if it had just come froma nest. He
watched the bird for a time without moving, and then deliberately and quietly
retraced his steps, marking the spot carefully.’ After about fifteen minutes he
returned briskly, walked noisily through the water, the mossy mounds, and bushes,
and, just as he was about to set foot upon the crest of one of the water-bound hum-
mocks—he flushed the bird. The nest was less than twelve inches from his foot.
The bird flew directly from the nest, without any attempt at feigning injury;
it perched on a dead spruce bough about twenty yards away, where it wiped its
bill. It gave no alarm note. The bird, a female, was collected at once, to make
identification certain.
The nest, like that found by Ernest Thompson Seton (1908), was lined with
grass, and in appearance and location resembled that of a White-throated Sparrow.
It was placed a little to the southward of the top of a mossy, shrub-covered,
water-girt mound in a cool, shadowy spot, about thirty yards from the edge of a
clump of rather tall spruce trees. It was about thirteen inches above the brown
1254 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
water which surrounded the mound. The foundation material was largely moss,
with a few leaves, slender weed stalks, and grasses; the lining was entirely of
grass. The cup was 1% inches deep and 234 inches in diameter, as measured in
the field. The walls were rather thin, for the moss into which the nest was built
was very deep and soft. The eggs were sheltered from above by a few sprigs
of Narrow-leaved Labrador Tea which were then in bud. The male bird was
not seen. The clump of trees where this nest was found was in the forest about
two miles back from the edge of the Barren Grounds; the woods were open, how-
ever, and the mossy, grassy spaces between the patches of trees had much the
appearance of tundra.
During the next 3 weeks they found nine additional nests which
they describe as follows: ‘“The nests were built chiefly of grass,
with a lining of finer grass (no hair, feathers, or plant down of any
sort) and were situated usually in mossy hummocks among the
stunted spruce trees, often on a small ‘island,’ under some sort of low
shrub, and on a sheltered, southern exposure.”
Frank L. Farley of Camrose, Alberta, who led the Canadian party
and spent many subsequent summers in the Churchill region recorded
similar observations. Quoting from a letter he wrote to Mr. Bent in
July 1937:
“T found three good sets of Harris sparrows and got onto some of
their secrets. JI had formerly searched in the woods for their nests,
but this year learned that they invariably nest in open growths, but
always near enough a good-sized spruce tree so as to use it as a look-
out for intruders. On the tops, or in the tops of these, they peer
out at you as you approach, always thinking they are entirely hidden
in the branches. We found the 3 nests all within 100 feet of good-
sized lakes and all nests were under dwarf trees, one under a small
tamarack 2 feet high, the second under a little spruce 2 feet high, and
the third under a pretty little arctic willow shrub, not more than 2
feet high. We found one of the nests nearly a mile from any fair
sized spruce woods. If one can find both birds, neither on the nest,
it is a good bet that if one watches long enough you will see the bird
drop to the ground from its look-out spruce, and then after waiting
for 10 minutes, you may be able to flush it within 100 feet of the tree.
The birds flush at very close quarters; my three all left hurriedly
when I approached within 3 feet of the nests. The nest is always
sunken into the ground and is bulky, made of coarse rootlets and last
year’s heavy grass stems for an outer covering, lined with fine grasses.
I have never seen a feather used as lining as the Lapland Longspur
and Horned Larks do. In some of the nests small pieces of moss
are placed in the outer lining. After the birds know that the nest
has been found, they both disappear not to return while you are near.
They are the most secretive of any of the small birds I know and do
not like the presence of humans near their summer homes.”
HARRIS’ SPARROW 1255
Because of the secretive nature of these shy birds, neither these
first parties nor subsequent visitors to the area were ab!e to observe
details of courtship, nest building, or length of incubation. Of birds
collected as they flushed from the nest, all were females. In some
cases only one bird was found near the nest; in other instances the
male bird was on guard in the tip of a nearby spruce and gave the
alarm. At Nest 4 with four eggs, (Semple and Sutton, 1932), a
female flushed at 5 feet was found, upon dissection, to contain a fully
formed egg in the oviduct, indicating a tendency to set before the
full clutch is deposited. During early incubation the females flushed
off at 3 to 10 feet, and refused to return as long as intruders remained
in the area. Later the birds returned in half an hour or so.
Olin S. Pettingill (Semple and Sutton, 1932) describes ruefully the
bird’s behavior at another of the nests as follows:
I set up my blind five feet away from the nest and attempted to make photo-
graphs. * * * The birds continued to wink, one continuously, during my presence.
After 1% hours one of the birds sang for a while a short distance away and re-
turned suddenly to continue with the racket.
For three hours I remained in the blind. I could see no indication throughout
my stay that either parent would approach the nest. Both birds passed from
one tree to another around the blind, making this circling a continuous perform-
ance. Not once did they drop to the ground nor come any nearer than this
particular circle of trees. During the last hour I remained in the blind, the birds
were as excited as they were the first hour. Had I been standing there without a
blind they probably would have been no more alarmed. I feel sure that if I had
left the blind near the nest the birds would have deserted.
Arthur A. Allen (1951) comments, ‘‘* * * the bird is so wary that
photography is extremely difficult; our single picture of the bird on
its nest gave us more trouble than any other. We spent nearly a
week getting the bird accustomed to the blind, and then at the first
click of the shutter she left and did not return until I gave up after
two hours of waiting.” In retrospect, I feel more fortunate than I
realized at the time, to have ‘‘caught”’ a single photograph of another
of Allen’s nests in the summer of 1934. Possibly because the incuba-
tion period was well advanced, this bird returned to her nest within
half an hour after the ‘“go-way-ster’’ had departed and the neophyte
photographer had endured the 10,000th mosquito. At any rate, it
afforded an excellent opportunity to observe these handsome birds
at close range, to compare the plumages of the male and his definitely
duller mate, and to admire the artistry of their carefully concealed
home among the gray-green lichens and sprigs of arctic crowberry.
Eggs.—The Harris’ sparrow usually lays from 3 to 5 ovate eggs and
they are slightly glossy. The ground may be white or greenish-
white, heavily speckled, spotted, and blotched with ‘Natal brown,”’
“Rood’s brown,” ‘“Mar’s brown,” or ‘Trusset.”? One set in the
1256 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Museum of Comparative Zoology is very pale greenish white, heavily
marked with spots, blotches, and a few scrawls that practically obscure
the ground. Another set is dirty white with fine specklings over the
entire egg. In markings and coloring, they are very similar to those
of the white-crowned sparrow, but average slightly larger. The
measurements of 46 eggs average 22.2 by 16.7 millimeter; the eggs
showing the four extremes measure 24.7 by 16.4, 26.6 by 17.8, 20.3
by 16.1, and 21.5 by 15.0 millimeter.
Of the 10 nests found in 1931 (Semple and Sutton, 1932),6 contained
four eggs or young, 2 contained five, and 2 had three. Farley (corres.)
says: “I would say that four eggs is the usual number laid. Of 5
nests found in the last 3 years, 4 nests had 4 eggs and only 1 had 5.”
Only one brood is reared in this subarctic setting, though nests de-
stroyed by untimely snow storms may be replaced as late as June 18.
Young.—The length of the incubation period has only recently been
determined by Joseph R. Jehl, Jr., and D. J. T. Russell (1966) who
state: “Minimum incubation period for one nest 13% days, computed
from laying of fourth to hatching of third egg; the fourth egg did not
hatch.”’ Little has been recorded of the development of young
Harris’ sparrows beyond descriptions of the plumage. The only
observation on nest life that has been indicated is that both parents
are in attendance. Perhaps when the life histories of our commoner
and more easily-studied summer birds have all been put on record,
some intrepid young student will elect to fill in the many remaining
gaps in our knowledge of this bird of mystery.
Plumages.—Edward A. Preble (1902) first described the juvenal
plumage of Harris’ sparrow from those he collected at Fort Churchill
on July 24, 1900, as follows: “Upper parts dusky black, the feathers
edged with deep buffy and brown, the black predominating on crown,
the brown on hind neck, and the black and brown about equally
divided on back; outer wing quills edged with deep buffy, inner with
brown; tail feathers edged and tipped with whitish; sides of head and
lower parts buffy; chest and side streaked with black, which is most
conspicious on sides of chest and forms a prominent malar stripe;
upper throat grayish white, with fine dusky markings.”’
Margaret M. Nice (1929) notes: “Among Preble’s and Seton’s
specimens in the American Museum there are ten birds collected near
Great Slave Lake in September. One, taken September 4, is a full
grown bird in the nestling plumage. The others all have white
chins and throats. Their crowns differ a good deal, but all have a
more or less scaled appearance, for the feathers are black centrally,
margined with pale grayish buffy; in the least mature birds the effect
is predominantly buffy.”
HARRIS’ SPARROW 1257
I recall the young birds I saw at Churchill during the summers of
1933 and 1934 as recognizably Harris’ sparrows in a typical young
fringillid pattern, streaky dark above, not radically different from
the first winter plumage, and heavily streaked below on the throat,
chest, sides, and flanks. The lower belly is white.
WINTER PLUMAGES.—Three typical plumages occur in Harris’
sparrows during their stay in the United States: (1) The white-throated,
buffy immature with crown feathers broadly margined with buff and
wide, buffy, superciliary stripe giving the bird an overall brownish cast.
(2) The black-throated darker adult with crown wider and blacker,
and the feathers less conspicuously margined with gray or buff, giving
a sharper contrast above and below. (3) The full breeding plumage
with complete black hood, gray cheeks, and dark postauricular spot
acquired by a partial molt of all birds during March and April. (As
characteristic of the genus and most of the family, the flight feathers
and rectrices are replaced only in the complete postnuptial molt.)
Between these three typical plumages occurs a wide variety of
intergradations, some almost impossible to catalogue as adult or
immature. Crown feathers may be broadly margined over the entire
crown, lightly margined, partially at forehead or rear, or almost solid
black. White throats may be flecked, blotched, or patched with black;
black throats may be flecked or patched with white until it is difficult to
say which is the basic color. A number of birds have the black throat
partially or broadly separated from the dark chest patch by a white
band. ;
Considerable attention has been given these “intermediate”
plumages. Robert Ridgway (1901) suggests that the birds with
broadly margined crown feathers and a mixture of black and white
in the throat and chin might be in their second winter, in a 3-year
progression toward fully adult plumage. Swenk and Stevens (1929)
elaborate on this theory, noting that about 80 percent of the migrating
individuals in October and November exhibit these characteristics.
Mrs. Nice (1929a) expresses surprise at the relatively small pro-
portion of “black-hooded birds” in the wintering flocks at Norman,
Okla. She raises the question as to the age at which this characteristic
may be retained throughout the year and exhorts banders to solve
the riddle. While operating banding stations near Stillwater, Okla.,
P. J. Park (1936), C. E. Harkins (1937), and G. M. Steelman and
K. E. Herde (1937) consecutively made detailed observations of plum-
ages and the prenuptial molt. They accept the 3-year age sequence
theory, but while their work carefully details the progression of the
plumages through a season, the few return records of birds from
previous years are insufficient to substantiate any such conclusions.
646-737—68—pt. 3——2
1258 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
My own studies at Stillwater, Okla., over an 18-year period indicate
that much of this variation and intergradation in winter plumages
is due to sheer individual variation, some to minor sex differences.
Between February 1948 and May 1965, I banded at Stillwater a total
of 1,722 Harris’ sparrows, of which 121 individuals (50 banded as
adults, 66 as immatures) returned a total of 204 times from 1 to 6
years after banding. Observations on their plumages may be sum-
marized as follows:
Crown.—Adult birds (the 50 banded as adults and all returning
birds) showed no consistent sequence from year to year in the amount
of edging on the crown feathers or the amount of black, unveiled
crown. Some birds banded as immatures returned the following
winter (R—-1) with crowns only lightly edged with gray and as much
as half jet black. Others returned consistently year after year
(R-1-2-3-4) with a heavy veiling over the crown and only a small
black area on the forehead. Some varied from winter to winter
from heavy to light and vice versa.
SuPERCILIARY sTRIPE.—None of the returns had the broad, buffy
“eyebrows” almost meeting on the forehead that characterize the
first winter plumage.
Turoat.—Birds whose throats were more than half white, with
black flecks, blotches, or patches, usually showed the buffy “eyebrows”’
and were designated immatures. Adult birds with basically black
throats displayed four throat patterns as follows: (1) Throat finely
flecked black and white (“salt and pepper”). (2) Throat black with
white blotches or patches. (3) Broad or partial white band separating
black of throat and chest. (4) Typical adult all-black throat. These
patterns occured indiscriminately in R-1 birds banded as immatures
and in 6-year olds, in very small females (?) and very large males (?).
Lores.—Kach fall I described in my records a number of birds as
conspicuously big and black, or with lores, as well as throat and
crown black, almost approximating the black hood of the breeding
plumage. Of eight returns so described, all but one had been banded
as adults and must have been in at least their third winter. Yet one
banded in immature plumage showed the black hood early in the
winter of his first return. In other cases I noted R-2 and R-3 birds
with buffy lores, so that this appearance of the black hood cannot be
associated consistently with old birds.
My records show that, far more often than not, individual birds
retained their particular adult pattern from year to year, through one
or more returns. They show no evidence whatever of a 3-year se-
quence of plumage patterns from first winter to full adult.
A single adult bird at Stillwater exhibited a reversal to its immature
plumage in the second winter. Banded as an immature Dec. 2, 1962,
HARRIS’ SPARROW 1259
I described it on its R-1 return Feb. 13, 1964, as: ‘“Typically immature
plumage—crown heavily veiled, eye-line wide and buffy, throat white
with only a few flecky lines radiating down from the dark chin, breast
dark splotched, tail heavily frayed but white edging showing slightly.”
Victor Vacin has written me of a single similar “puzzler”? among his
306 return records.
Mo.tt.—Certain characteristics are acquired gradually through the
winter. In immature birds the black fringe of the chin frequently
appears during December and January, and Swenk and Stevens
(1929) note it in some as early as October and November. In adults
the buffy edges of the black loral feathers wear off and leave the bird
dark-faced, not too unlike the black hood of the breeding plumage.
Dark flecks may appear in the superciliary stripe by early February.
The prenuptial molt begins about the middle of March (earliest
Mar. 3, 1951) and continues through most of April. By April 25
young and old are indistinguishable in velvet black hoods, gray cheeks,
and fresh white feathers of chests and sides. The sequence of this
molt is from chin and forehead (if not already black) to throat, crown,
nape, and cheeks. New quills may appear in the chest and sides of
some birds several weeks in advance of other areas. In first-year
birds the superciliary stripe is frequently the last clue to immaturity,
remaining a patchy buff and black until April or early May. Last to
molt is the postauricular spot, which turns from brown to black.
An individual bird completes the molt in about a month. One in-
dividual I handled daily throughout the sprmg showed no quills until
April 13; by May 9 this bird wore the full black hood, though still in
heavy quills. Individuals traced by Mrs. Nice (1929a) at Norman,
Okla., and a stray bird at Berkeley, Calif., by Russell H. Pray (1950)
followed the same sequence. Young and old pass through the molt at
the same time. First signs of molt in the spring have been observed
some years in adult birds, in other years in immatures. While an
occasional old return may be in full breeding plumage before the end
of April, I also have notations on R-1s such as ‘‘molting head, chin,
throat” on May 8, and “almost through molt” on May 14.
EXTERNAL SEX DIFFERENCES.—Sex differences in plumage and
measurements are slight and overlap considerably. In general the
largest, stoutest, brightest birds are males and the smallest, most
drab are females. The crown tends to be wider in males, narrower in
females. A goodly number of intermediates cannot be sexed with
certainty by external examination, though familiarity with the species
increases awareness of minute differences. On my field cards I have
hazarded guesses for as many as possible, resexing at each repeat or
return. In some cases “immature females” have returned the next
year as large, plump, glossy ‘‘adult males,” but more frequently the
1260 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
guess has remained consistent. In birds killed by shrikes or found
dead, dissection has proved the guess correct more often than not.
Male wing and tail measurements average slightly longer than
female, and those of adults slightly longer than first-year birds of
the same sex, but with too much overlap to be used for certain sex
identification.
Weights—During three winters at Stillwater, Okla., I weighed
birds at the time of banding and at intervals throughout the season
on scales accurate to .065 grams. The 754 weights recorded for 200
individuals between November and May reveal definite weight
patterns for the species that can be correlated with age, migration,
molt, and seasonal temperature.
Adult weights showed extremes of 28.4 to 48.8 grams and averaged
36.4 grams; immatures averaged 2 grams lighter at 34.4 grams, with
extremes from 26.2 to 44.9. Weights of individual birds varied up to
about 3 grams during the course of a day: lightest in the early morning,
heaviest at dusk.
The seasonal trend was a rise from low weights on arrival in early
November to comparative highs during the cold months of January
and February, followed by a pronounced drop in March that lasted
through April into early May. The May averages increased con-
sistently and then soared sharply the last 2 or 3 days before departure.
Monthly averages showed adults varying almost 4 grams from a low
of 34.9 in March to a 38.8 gram high at departure in May; immature
monthly averages varied almost 5 grams from an April low of 32.2
to a departure high of 37.0 grams.
Individuals not uncommonly varied as much as 8.0 to 8.5 grams
during their stay, more than 20 percent of their average body weight.
One small immature (presumably a female) that weighed 28.4 grams
when banded Apr. 21, 1950, gained 7.3 grams to 35.7 grams by May 11.
She returned the next fall, still classed as small at 32.3 grams. She
gained only a gram during January and February, and dropped back
to a normal 32.6 through April and the first fortnight of May.
Between May 14 and 18 she shot up 5.2 grams to 37.8, a gain of 16
percent in less than a week. Converted into human terms these
figures become spectacular—they compare to a woman of 120 pounds
putting on another 20 pounds in the week preceding a vacation trip.
Food.—Food habits of the Harris’ sparrows during their stay in
the United States were thoroughly studied by Sylvester D. Judd
(1901), who analyzed the contents of 100 stomachs for the U.S.
Biological Survey. He reports that these birds subsist chiefly on
vegetable matter, which constitutes 92 percent of the total food; 48
percent of the food is weed seeds including ragweed, smartweed,
knotweed, black bindweed, pigweed, lambs’-quarters, gromwell, and
HARRIS’ SPARROW 1261
sunflower; 25 percent of the food is the seeds of wild fruits and of
various miscellaneous plants; 10 percent is grain, chiefly waste corn,
but also including wheat and oats; and 9 percent is grass seed, mainly
that of blue-grass, beard-grass, foxtail-grass, and Johnson-grass. The
8 percent of animal matter consists of insects, spiders, and snails,
with a marked preference for leaf-hoppers among the insects consti-
tuting 2 percent of the total food. Additional animal foods quoted
from various sources by Swenk and Stevens (1929) include grass-
hoppers, beetles, insect larvae, red ants, black carpenter ants, wire-
worms, and moths.
Mrs. Nice (1929a) observes that in Oklahoma they feed on poison
ivy berries and elm blossoms as well as weed seeds. We also noted
this at Stillwater, and found that when the Chinese elm was in bud
and bloom in late February, the birds spent considerable time in
these trees. In Nebraska they are reported to take corn from the
fallen ears in the fall.
At feeding stations they may be attracted by almost any small
grain—canary and sunflower seed, hemp, millet, grain sorghum, chick-
scratch, cracked corn, also occasional suet and crumbs. They have
shown no interest whatsoever in wheat.
of the winter season when the birds are present.
P.i.townsendi: Typically, heavy forest undergrowth and tall dense chaparral in
burned-over forest areas. The ground where activity centers is usually heavily
shaded, moist, and well covered with soft leaf litter. Illumination of twilight
intensity prevails throughout most of the day in the winter season in the habitat
of this Fox Sparrow.
P. i. fuliginosa: Heavy coastal chaparral and forest undergrowth, typified by
moist, weakly insulated thickets of thimble-berry, ceanothus, and salal. Through
the damp, poorly-lighted alleyways beneath the bushes these birds move in search
for food by the characteristic scratching method of this species. Concentration
of birds in the bush tops at a source of disturbance suggests flocking, but merely
because of close spacing of individuals; actually each Fox Sparrow moves inde-
pendently along its forage beat on the ground and to some degree defends it
against competing members of the species.
DISTRIBUTION
Shumagin Fox Sparrow (P. i. unalaschcensis)
Range.—Kastern AJeutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula to coastal
California.
Breeding range.—The Shumagin fox sparrow breeds on the eastern
Aleutian Islands (west to Unalaska), the Shumagin and Semidi
islands, and the Alaska Peninsula (east to the Katmai area).
Winter range.—Winters from southwestern British Columbia (De-
parture Bay, Vancouver) south through western Washington and
western Oregon to California (Helena, Paine Creek, Escondido;
Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands); rarely to northwestern
Baja California (La Grulla).
Casual records.—Casual north to Pribilof Islands (St. Paul), Nunivak
Island, and Point Barrow, Alaska. Accidental (apparently this race)
in eastern Siberia (on Tshukotka, north of Anadyr).
Kodiak Fox Sparrow (P. i. insularis)
Range.—Kodiak Islands, Alaska, to coastal California.
Breeding range.—The Kodiak fox sparrow breeds in the Kodiak
Island group, southern Alaska.
Winter range.—Winters chiefly in coastal districts of central and
southern California (Lakeport, San Geronimo, Santa Monica Moun-
tains, Catalina Island); less commonly from southwestern British
FOX SPARROW: NORTHWESTERN COASTAL 1423
Columbia (Vancouver) south to interior California (Alta, Volcan
Mountains).
Casual records.—Accidental in Japan (Honshu).
Valdez Fox Sparrow (P. i. sinuosa)
Range.—Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound, Alaska, to
northwestern Baja California.
Breeding range-—The Valdez fox sparrow breeds in the Kenai
Peninsula (Seldovia, Kenai Lake) and Prince William Sound districts
(25 miles north of Valdez, Cordova) and on Middleton Island, south-
central Alaska.
Winter range.—Winters from southwestern British Columbia (De-
parture Bay, Chilliwack) south through western Washington, western
Oregon, and California (Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada west-
ward; Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Santa Catalina islands) to
northwestern Baja California (10 miles south ot Alamo).
Casual records.—Casual on the Pribilof Islands (St. Paul) and in
Idaho (Moscow).
Yakutat Fox Sparrow (P. i. annectens)
Range.—Y akutat Bay, southern Alaska, to coastal California.
Breeding range.—The Yakutat fox sparrow breeds in the vicinity of
Yakutat Bay (north shore of Yakutat Bay, Cross Sound), southern
Alaska.
Winter range.—Winters chiefly in central coastal California; less
commonly from southwestern British Columbia (Comox, Vancouver)
to central interior and southern California (Pasadena, Upland).
Townsend’s Fox Sparrow (P. i. townsendi)
Range.—Southeastern Alaska (chiefly on islands) to central coastal
California.
Breeding range-—The Townsend’s fox sparrow breeds in south-
eastern Alaska from Glacier Bay and Lynn Canal south through the
Alexander Archipelago to the Queen Charlotte Islands, British
Columbia; also on the adjoining Alaskan mainland north of the
Stikine River.
Winter range-—Winters from southeastern Alaska (Craig, irregu-
larly) and southern coastal British Columbia (Comox, Victoria,
Chilliwack) south through western Washington and western Oregon
to coastal northern and central California (Willow Creek, Somersville,
Santa Cruz).
Casual records——Casual in southeastern Arizona (Chiricahua
Mountains).
1424 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Sooty Fox Sparrow (P. 1. fuliginosa)
Range.—Southeastern Alaska (mainland) to central coastal
California.
Breeding range.—The sooty fox sparrow breeds from the mainland
coast of southeastern Alaska (south from the mouth of the Stikine
River) and the coastal districts of British Columbia, exclusive of the
Queen Charlotte Islands, south to northwestern Washington (Destruc-:
tion Island, Lopez Island).
Winter range—Winters from southeastern British Columbia
(Comox, Vancouver) south in coastal areas to central coastal Cali-
fornia (Palo Colorado Creek, Morro); casually to interior and southern
California (Manzanita Lake, Los Angeles, San Antonio Canyon).
PASSERELLA ILIACA (Merrem)
Fox Sparrow: Western Mountain Subspecies*
Contributed by Ottver L. Austin, Jr.
HABITS
In these nine races the tail is at least (rarely) equal to and usually
longer than the wing. Grays predominate in their coloration,
increasingly so from north to south, and the rather pale uniform
gray head and back contrasts with the dull reddish-brown wings and
tail. The spots and streaks of the underparts are dull. The bill is
large and somewhat swollen, increasingly so from east to west in the
California forms. As noted elsewhere, many of these subspecies are
weakly differentiated from one another, and identifying specimens
taken away from the breeding grounds is a task for the expert with
good series of breeding material at hand for comparison.
In Oregon Charles E. Bendire (1889) found that schisiacea seems
“to prefer the willows and rose thickets along the streams in the more
open country, but is generally most abundant close to the foot-hills
of the mountains.”” In Montana Aretas A. Saunders (1911) found
the same race prefers “the thickest and most impenetrable” willow
thickets in the valleys. In northern Nevada Walter P. Taylor
(1912) reports them common in the Transition life zone, especially
on “rocky slopes, covered with chinquapin and quaking aspen thickets,
with a sparse intersprinkling of mountain mahogany and timber
pine.” He also found them with white-crowned sparrows and
*The following subspecies are discussed in this section: Passerella iliaca
schistacea Baird, P. 7. olivacea Aldrich, P. 7. swartht Behle and Selander, P. 7.
canescens Swarth, P. 7. fulua Swarth, P. 7. megarhyncha Baird, P. 7. brevicauda
Mailliard, P. 7. monoensis Grinnell and Storer, and P. 7. stephenst Anthony.
FOX SPARROW: WESTERN MOUNTAIN 1425
Macgillivray warblers in the vegetation about springs in the mountain
meadows.
Stanley G. Jewett et al. (1953) state that in Washington the race
olivacea “occurs commonly in spring in the hawthorn copses of the
Palouse country, as well as the wild rose and willow thickets of the
Big Bend and lower east Cascades. As the summer advances most
individuals evidently seek higher altitudes, and the species may be
observed all the way to the scrubby conifers at timber line. Others,
however, probably remain and breed in the lowlands, as summer
records for several localities are at hand.’
In Esmerelda County, Nevada, and Mono County, California,
Jean M. Linsdale (1928) found canescens—
present in small numbers along the streams above the 8,000-foot contour
line. They were always near water and were usually found at the edges of
springy places where there were thickets of aspens and birches with dense
ground covers of rose, gooseberry, or alder. The birds were found near snow-
drifts where there was sufficient moisture and vegetation for their needs. Not
a single individual was seen of heard on the nearby, dry, mountain sides which
were covered with sage brushes and pifons. Tolmie warblers frequented the
underbrush in the same places as the fox sparrows. The green-tailed towhee,
often recorded as occurring in the same habitat as the fox sparrow, was numerous
in this region in all the drier situations but only a few individuals were noted
in surroundings favored by fox sparrows and those individuals were not limited
in their ranges so closely to the stream sides as were the fox sparrows.
Grinnell and Miller (1944) describe the summer habitat of fulva as
“large bushes and small conifers, and willow and aspen thickets,
usually near water courses or meadows. Ceanothus patches in
openings in the forest, streamside tangles, and artemisia brush near
meadows or where mixed with other denser cover are typical situations
occupied by this race. In each of these places, low, fairly dense,
protective cover and leaf litter on the ground are afforded. Water
or somewhat damp ground may also be a requirement.”
They state the race megarhynchus inhabits:
In summer, most typically, tracts of Ceanothus cordulatus and manzanita,
either in the form of large brush fields or in large clumps scattered in broken
forest. To less extent other low cover providing similar dense protecting foliage;
aspen thickets and streamside willow and alder tangles in the mountains may be
inhabited. The brush in which these birds live, owing to temperature conditions
in the zones occupied, provides at ground level, cool and somewhat moist places—
refuges during the day from the high temperature and insolation of the bush
tops. A requirement of all Fox Sparrows—leaf litter in which to forage—is
amply supplied, although it is drier and harsher than in the breeding ranges of
more northern forms. Nest locations are either above ground in the rugged,
thorny bushes or sunk in the ground at their bases. In singing, as from bush tops
or young conifers, the birds do not venture far from the shelter of the bushes and
in moving about over the nesting domain covered alleyways are used perhaps
more than flight lines over the brush.
1426 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Of the habitat brevicauda occupies in summer they say: “brushland
consisting of Ceanothus cordulatus, Prunus emarginata and man-
zanitas, often intermingled with young conifers, especially firs.
The infrequent meadowland in the range of this race may be oc-
cupied also if alder thickets or growths of false hellebore provide
protecting cover. The brushland may exist in large tracts or in
clumps in the open Canadian-zone forest. Burned-over forest land
in recovery stages with heavy growth of brush is particularly favora-
ble terrain.”
They say monoensis prefers “brush composed of manzanita and
ceanothus, and, commonly, streamside thickets of willows and wild
rose and low aspen scrub with associated forbs about springs and
wet meadows. Thus habitats characteristic for both P. 7. megarhyn-
chus and P. 7. canescens are occupied.”
The same authors note that stephensi occupies “in summer, chin-
quapin and ceanothus brush; less commonly brakes, willow thickets,
and gooseberry brushes about mountain streams and springs. AlI-
though the brushland provides the same essential protecting cover
and the somewhat moist ground-forage beat as in the ranges of more
northern races of Fox Sparrows breeding in California, it is on the
average drier and warmer. Presumably the leaf litter is prevailingly
harsher. Less often are moist seeps available, although they are
sought out by the birds when present. Nest sites and song posts are
available much as in the ranges of P. 7. megarhynchus and P. 7. brevi-
cauda.”
Nesting—Bendire (1889) writes of schistacea:
The Slate-colored Sparrow, according to my observations, prefers to nest in
willow thickets, next in dense wild rose bushes, and occasionally in a bunch of
tall rye grass, but always close to water. The nests are generally placed some
little distance from the ground, rarely at a greater height than three feet, and are
invariably well hidden. But a single instance came under my observation where
the nest was placed directly on the ground; in this case it was hidden by an over-
hanging bunch of some species of swamp grass.
The nests of this form are bulky, but exceedingly well constructed affairs.
The material composing the outer body is used at least in a very damp, if not in
a positively wet state. It is thoroughly welded together in this condition, forming
when dry a compact, solid structure which will retain its shape perfectly. They
are rather deep for the small size of the bird, and cup-shaped. The finer finishing
touches are attended to by the female, which fits the material used as the inner
lining of the nest carefully in its place. As a rule two or three days are consumed
in the construction of a nest, but I have positive evidence, in one instance at
least, that a pair of these birds built an entirely new nest, and did it well too,
between sunrise and sunset of the same day, and an egg was deposited in it that
evening.
A typical nest Bendire describes as “outwardly constructed of
various coarse plant fibers, willow bark, and marsh grass, and lined
FOX SPARROW: WESTERN MOUNTAIN 1427
with fine grass tops taken from a species of rye grass. The outside
of the nest is four and a half inches across by four inches deep; the
inner diameter is two and a half inches, the depth two inches. About
one-third of the nests examined by me (some fifty in number), were
lined inside with more or less horse-hair, and a couple, in addition,
with feathers.”
The nests of fulva he found in south-central Oregon Bendire (1889)
states ‘‘are placed in various situations, Kalmia thickets, service-berry
and willow bushes, as well as thick, scrubby evergreens, being pre-
ferred. They are always well hidden, and may be found from a few
inches to six feet from the ground; none were found by me directly
on the ground. Eggs may be looked for about June 12, and as late
as July 15. The usual number laid is three or four, and but one brood,
I think, is reared in a season.” He describes a nest as “composed ex-
ternally of coarse plant fibres * * * and a few horse-hairs. It is
not as compactly built as nests of Townsend’s or Slate-colored Spar-
rows. Its exterior is five inches wide by two and one half inches
deep; inner diameter, three inches; depth, one and a quarter inches.
It was evidently deeper originally, and has been much compressed
and flattened in packing.”
Of 14 nests of megarhyncha John W. Maillard (1921) found near
Lake Tahoe, California, 6 were on the ground. Three of those above
ground were in Ceanothus bushes, either near the edge of a thicket
or well within it. One nest was 2 feet up in a crotch formed by a 2-
inch branch and a willow. Another was 2 feet off the ground on a
mass of dead branches and debris under a willow clump. One was on
a dead aspen branch 3 feet above a small stream. He comments that
all the nests followed a well-established form of construction, which
he describes as follows:
In all instances the nest proper was composed of combinations of shreds of old
bark, small dead twigs, old chips and small chunks of wood and dead leaves. All
of this material, more or less decayed and very light in weight, was used in varying
proportions in the different nests, sometimes one or two of these constituents
being omitted. The wall of one nest contained several chips of wood, the largest
of which was five and a half inches long by one and a quarter wide, and very thin,
possibly a piece of berry basket. The lining of the nests was of finely shredded
bark, dead rootlets, old dry grasses and sometimes horsehair.
ae
Owing to the great shyness of this species but few opportunities for observing
the actual nest building presented themselves. In one instance a bird was watched
as it dragged a twig, at least eight inches in length, along the ground and up
through and over the mass of dead branches and debris upon which, at a height
of two feet from the ground, the nest was placed. Previously, the same bird had
been seen carrying a small twig to its nest by direct flight. In another instance,
where a nest was four feet and a half from the ground in a gooseberry tangle, the
bird picked up twigs but a few yards from the nesting site and carried them to it
by direct flight. These twigs varied greatly in length, the longest being estimated
1428 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
at ten inches, and several were dropped on the way. In a heroic effort to main-
tain a proper balance with a coveted twig while striving to reach its destination,
the bird’s body was almost perpendicular, its attitude and rapid wing movement
reminding one of a hummingbird at a long-necked flower.
The continual song of the male, from his favorite perch near the nest site, and
the fact that the sitting bird, while feeding nearby, is not replaced by its mate,
leads to the belief that the female alone attends to the duties of nest construction
and incubation. Sometimes, while near the nest, the male breaks into song, not
only when standing on the ground but when he is scratching or hopping about in
the brush as well.
In spite of the startling amount of general destruction of eggs, young and nests
of birds, presumably by chipmunks, predatory birds, snakes, ete., prevalent in
the Lake Tahoe region, no nests of this fox sparrow were molested before the eggs
were hatched. This was probably due to the facts (established by careful obser-
vation) that incubation commences with the laying of the first egg, and that the
sitting bird never goes far from the nest.
Wright M. Pierce (1921) says that eight nests of stephensi he found
in the San Bernardino Mountains
are all very similar * * *. In size they average, outside depth, 4.5 inches; inside
depth, 1.75; outside diameter, 6; inside, 3. Nests are composed of coarse sticks and
pine needles, with some fine twigs and weed bark, lined with grass, weed bark,
and, at times, mammalfur. The nests on the ground were usually less well made,
with more pine needles and leaves, rather than coarse sticks.
* * * The birds nest, so far as we have found, either on the ground or up in
buckthorn bushes. I believe they build more often on the ground, where the
nests are very hard to locate, especially, if they are placed under a thick mat of
tangled buckthorn. At times they seem to choose the most open sort of location.
They just seem to be where they are! My experience indicates that the birds
are very close sitters, and three seems to be the usual clutch of eggs.
Bendire (1889) writes that in schistacea: “Incubation, as nearly as
I was able to determine, lasts from twelve to fourteen days; both
sexes assist.”” Apparently nobody has ever measured the incubation
period in this species accurately, and considerable disagreement is
manifest in the literature on the roles the two parents play in various
aspects of the reproductive cycle. It seems unlikely that such basic
and ingrained behavior traits should vary between populations of the
same species. In the absence of a definitive study, it appears most
probable that nest building and incubation are almost entirely if not
entirely by the female alone, and that the male remains close by and
helps his mate feed the young after they hatch.
Young.—Linsdale (in Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930) made
the following observations at a nest of megarhyncha which, when
found on June 16,
* * * contained two young thought to be about three days old, helpless and
downy rather than feathery. The female showed much concern and came within
two meters of the observers. The male was indifferent and sang as soon as the
observers withdrew. On June 17 the happenings at this nest were watched for
most of the day. The female did most of the feeding of young, making trips at
FOX SPARROW: WESTERN MOUNTAIN 1429
intervals of from two to five minutes. Twice the male brought food for the
young. When the nest was in the sunshine the panting female shaded it with
spread wings. All the feces were eaten by the parent.
This female was watched caring for the young on June 21. It worked about
the person seated close by, continually picking up small objects and uttering a
faint seet. The wing ends were drooped and the tail was raised free of the ground;
often it was turned somewhat at an angle sideways from the axis of the body.
The male hopped about farther away, at a three-meter radius, and uttered a
much louder metallic klink—then broke into full song. All the food was gathered
within a radius of three meters of the nest.
Another nest containing nearly grown young birds was watched on June 21,
1925. The female foraged within eight meters of the nest, but the male went
farther, sometimes twice that distance, to get food. The male was seen to gather
insects and carry them to the female which took them in her bill and then carried
them to the young birds. Although some of the food was obtained from among
the leaves on the ground, most of it was picked off the growing vegetation. Twice
the female picked off bits of green leaves of miner’s lettuce (Montia) and fed them
to the young. The remainder of the food was made up of insects. It looked to
the observer as though the birds saw the insects best when they were between 15
and 30 centimeters distant.
A fox sparrow’s nest that was found June 19, 1925, contained two half-fledged
young which left when the nest was looked into. They were tolled out by the
frantic actions and voicings of the two parents, which flopped along the ground
under and through the bushes, giving their klinks in rapid succession. Other
sympathetic fox sparrows came near.
How long after hatching the young remain in the nest is unknown,
but as Grinnell (MS. in Linsdale, 1928) observes: ‘‘When young are
nearly ready to leave the nest they will jump out and begin hopping
away at even a slight disturbance. They go in different directions
and are sometimes led away by the parents independently. After
the birds have once jumped out of the nest they will not stay in it
even if they are replaced.”
How long the young remain with the parents after leaving the
nest is likewise unknown. Wright M. Pierce (1921) tells how, while
hunting for nests of stephensi, “We had not gone far until we kicked
out a rather young fox sparrow from the brush, and then another.
The parents were near at hand and played the broken-wing trick
to perfection in their attempts to coax us away, all the while uttering
their metallic ‘chip.’” Jewett et al. (1953) write that in Washington
“In the higher mountains, companies of 2 to 4 fox sparrows, usually
family groups of adults and immatures still together, were commonly
seen at least until the latter part of August, and often fully fledged
young birds were observed teasing for attention. At this time of
year the full song was no longer heard, and the birds remain silent,
or utter merely a chek or chirp call note.’
Voice.—The same authors comment of olivacea: ‘Few bird songs
possess the attractive clear ringing quality of that of the fox sparrow.
One noted June 5 at Cheney was 40 feet up in a dead alder singing
1430 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
with enthusiasm: too-wheet-whoo—tsweek-tsuck-tseeka tsew! The
wheet, tsweet and tseeka notes were high and emphatic, while the others
were pitched lower, the tsuck being an unstressed connective. An
excellent rendition of the song by William L. Dawson (1909) is
ooree, rickit, loopiteer! Few mountain birds, during July days, are
better known for the beauty, strength, and vivacity of their song
in the high mountains of the Mt. Baker country than the males.
of this species as they revel in the sunny landscape of the subalpine
parks, and it is not unusual to find 4 males singing each within sound
of one another’s voice, although widely distributed along the climbing
moraines (Shaw).”
On the other hand Bendire (1889) was not so highly impressed
by the singing of schistacea: ‘While the female is covering her eggs,
the male may frequently be heard giving vent to his nuptial song,
in the early morning and just before sundown. His lay, however,
is rather weak and of small compass, very much resembling that of
Melospiza fasciata [melodia] montana. He delivers it while perched
on some small twig, overlooking the thicket in which the nest is
placed and generally close to it. Their usual call note is a repeated
tzip tzrp.”
Aretas A. Saunders (1910) made the following surprising observa-
tions of a pair he watched in a willow thicket near Bozeman, Montana
in mid-April: ‘At first I believed, from their actions, that the birds were
mating, but later, when I notist that both birds sang alternately,
I decided that they must be rival males. The songs were very similar
in every way except that one was somewhat weaker than the other.
I finally secured the bird with the weaker song and was much sur-
prised when, on later examination, it proved to be a female.”
Enemies.—A. M. Ingersoll (1913) gives the following dismal
account of his experiences while collecting eggs near Cisco, Placer
County, Calif., in June and July, 1912: “Sixteen nests of Thick-
billed Fox Sparrow (Passerella 1. megarhyncha). ‘Two nests and sets of
eggs were taken by myself. Two nests were emptied of eggs by chil-
dren. One with two eggs was abandoned before incubation com-
menced. One with four eggs was destroyed by sheep feeding on
foliage of bush. Five nests with dead nestlings were examined
after the snow. Four nests were emptied by jays. One nest con-
taining two pipped eggs was discovered through the actions of a
jay that had its feast interrupted.” He attributes the “principal
havoc” to fox sparrow nesting success, and to that of many other
passerines there, to the activities of Steller’s jays and an unseasonable
fall of heavy snow that fell June 23.
Herbert Friedmann (1963) sums up the available information on
cowbird parasitism in the species as follows:
FOX SPARROW: WESTERN MOUNTAIN 1431
The fox sparrow is an infrequent victim of the brown-headed cowbird. Only
in one place has anyone considered it a common host; Saunders (1911, p. 40) wrote
that in Gallatin County, Montana, ‘“Mr. Thomas found the eggs and young quite
commonly in the nests of the Slate-colored Sparrow.’”’ Ridgway (1887, p. 501)
recorded a parasitized nest at Parley’s Park, Wasatch Mountains, Utah, on July
23, 1869. The late H. J. Bowles wrote me years ago that a friend of his collected
several sets of fox sparrow eggs with cowbird eggs near Spokane, Washington.
Bendire (1889, p.113) noted a cowbird’s egg in a fox sparrow’s nest at Palouse Falls,
southeastern Washington, on June 18, 1878. Street (Houston and Street, 1959,
p. 176) found another parasitized nest at Nipawin, Saskatchewan. H.B. Hurley
(in litt.) found a nest with 2 eggs of the sparrow and 1 of the cowbird, five miles
southeast of Sesters, Deschutes County, Oregon, on May 16, 1960. In the
collections of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History there is a para-
sitized set of eggs collected on June 9, 1922, at Mammoth Lakes, Mono County,
California.
These few records are all that I have noted. They refer to the northwestern
race of the cowbird, M.a. artemisiae, and to the following races of the fox sparrow:
zaboria in Saskatchewan; olivacea in Washington; schistacea in Gallatin County,
Montana; swarthi in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah; fulva in Oregon; and mono-
ensis in Mono County, California.
Winter.—Grinnell and Miller (1944) describe the California winter
habitats of these races as follows:
schistacea (and olivacea): “inland chaparral, prevailingly of some-
what arid character, as with other races that winter in the interior.’’
fulva: “chaparral, as with other winter visitant races.”
megarhyncha: “chaparral of semi-arid type is occupied.”’
brevicauda: “fairly dry chaparral, especially on ridges and on canyon
slopes near the coast.”
DISTRIBUTION
Slate-colored Fox Sparrow (P. i. schistacea)
Range.—Southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta
south to northern Baja California, southern Arizona, and western
Texas.
Breeding range.—The slate-colored fox sparrow breeds from south-
eastern British Columbia (Crowsnest Pass) and southwestern Alberta
(Waterton Lakes Park) south through the mountains of northern
Idaho (Glidden Lakes), north-central and eastern Oregon (Cascade
Mountains south to Warm Springs; Howard; Wallowa Mountains),
and western Montana (Judith River, Red Lodge), to north-central and
northeastern Nevada (Pine Forest Mountains; 10 miles northeast of
San Jacinto), southwestern Wyoming (Fort Bridger), and central
Colorado (Cochetopa Creek).
Winter range.—Winters from northern interior California (Paine
Creek), central Arizona (Hualpai Mountains, Natanes Plateau), and
northern New Mexico (Manzano Mountains, Las Vegas) south through
southern California (rarely to coastal districts; Alameda, San Nicolas
1432 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Island) to northern Baja California (Concepcién; 20 miles southwest
of Pilot Knob), southern Arizona (Ajo, Chiricahua Mountains), and
western Texas (El Paso).
Casual records.—Casual in migration to western Nebraska.
Egg dates.—Oregon, 7 records, June 10 to July 5.
Washington Fox Sparrow (P. i. olivacea)
Range.—Mountains from southern British Columbia to northern
Baja California.
Breeding range.-—The Washington fox sparrow breeds in the
mountains from southwestern and south-central British Columbia
(Mount McLean, Nelson) south through central and eastern Wash-
ington (10 miles north of Grand Dalles; Blue Mountains).
Winter range——Winters in interior California (Tehama County;
Piute Mountains) and northern Baja California (Sierra Juarez).
Egg dates.—Washington 9 records, May 1 to June 13.
Utah Fox Sparrow (P. i. swarthi)
Breeding range—The Utah fox sparrow breeds in mountains of
southeastern Idaho (Bannock and Bear Lake counties) and of north-
western and north-central Utah (Raft River Mountains; Deep Creek
Mountains; Wasatch Mountains south to Sanpete County).
Winter range —Unknown.
Inyo Fox Sparrow (P. i. canescens)
Range.—Central Nevada to northern Baja California and southern
Arizona.
Breeding range.—The Inyo fox sparrow breeds in central Nevada
(Shoshone, Toiyabe, and Monitor mountains) and extreme central
eastern California (White Mountains).
Winter range-—Winters in southern California (Santa Barbara,
San Antonio Canyon, Blythe), northern Baja California (Laguna
Hanson; 10 miles southeast of Alamo), and southern Arizona (Big
Sandy Creek, Oracle).
Warner Mountains Fox Sparrow (P. i. fulva)
Range.—Central Oregon to northern Baja California.
Breeding range.-—The Warner Mountains fox sparrow breeds from
central and southern Oregon on the east side of the Cascade Range
(Sisters, Keno, Steens Mountains) south to the Modoc Plateau of
of California (Butte Lake, Warner Mountains).
Winter range.—Winters in southwestern California (Santa Barbara,
FOX SPARROW: WESTERN MOUNTAIN 1433
Cucamonga Canyon, Volcan Mountains) and northern Baja Califor-
nia (Laguna Hanson).
Casual records—Casual in migration to northeastern Nevada
(Secret Pass).
Thick-billed Fox Sparrow (P. i. megarhyncha)
Range.—Southwestern Oregon to northwestern Baja California.
Breeding range.—The thick-billed fox sparrow breeds in the moun-
tains from southwestern Oregon (Onion Mountain, Robinson’s Butte)
south through central northern California (Siskiyou Mountains at
Del Norte County line; Mount Orr; head of Dog Creek) and the
Sierra Nevada of California (exclusive of the Mono Lake district)
to lat. 37° N. (Kearsarge Pass); locally to west-central Nevada in
the Tahoe district.
Winter range.—Winters in lowlands of central and southern Cali-
fornia (Tower House, Inskip Hill, Nicasio, Santa Cruz and Santa
Catalina islands, Witch Creek) and northwestern Baja California
(La Grulla).
Egg dates.—(The data refer to all California forms.) California: 189
records, May 21 to July 8; 93 records, June 1 to June 15.
Trinity Fox Sparrow (P. i. brevicauda)
Range.—Coast ranges, central and coastal California.
Breeding range.—The Trinity fox sparrow breeds in the northern
and inner coast ranges of California south of the Trinity River (Horse
Mountain and Hayfork Baldy south to Mount Sanhedrin and Snow
Mountain).
Winter range.—Winters in central and southern coastal California
(Howell Mountain, Nicasio, Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Cata-
lina Island).
Mono Fox Sparrow (P. i. monoensis)
Range.—Mono district of California and Mineral County, Nevada
to northwestern Baja California.
Breeding range.—The Mono fox sparrow breeds in the Mono dis-
trict on the east flank of the central Sierra Nevada in California
(Woodfords, Mammoth, Benton); locally in adjoining Mineral
County, Nevada (Walker River Range).
Winter range.—Winters in central interior and southern coastal
California (Coulterville; Mount Wilson; Santa Catalina and San
Clemente Islands) and northwestern Baja California (20 miles east
of Ensenada; La Grulla).
646-737—68—pt. 313
1434 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 8
Stephens’ Fox Sparrow (P. i. stephensi)
Range.—Southern California.
Breeding range.—The Stephens’ fox sparrow breeds in the southern
Sierra Nevada of California (from Kings River southward) and in the
high mountains of southern California (Mount Pinos, San Gabriel,
San Bernardino, and San Jacinto mountains).
Winter range.—Winters at lower elevations in southern California
(Santa Barbara, Hollywood, Claremont).
MELOSPIZA LINCOLNII LINCOLNITI (Audubon)
Lincoln’s Sparrow
PLATE 73
Contributed by J. Murray Srems anp Doris Huestis Sperrs
Hasits
Those who know the Lincoln’s sparrow no doubt think of it as the
little bird that is “afraid of its own shadow,” or perhaps as the sparrow
that sings like a house wren, or again perhaps, as the bird that looks
so like an immature swamp sparrow that experts often hesitate to
identify it. If you have not yet met the elusive Lincoln’s sparrow
this will serve as an introduction to some of its most noteworthy
characteristics.
Audubon (1834) tells how this species came by its name.
We had been in Labrador nearly three weeks before this Finch was discovered.
One morning while the sun was doing his best to enliven the gloomy aspect of the
country, I chanced to enter one of those singular small valleys here and there to be
seen. The beautiful verdure of the vegetation, the numerous flowers that grew
sprinkled over the ground, the half-smothered pipings of some frogs, and the
multitudes of mosquitoes and flics of various sorts, seemed to belong to a region
very different from any that I had previously explored. But if the view of this
favoured spot was pleasing to my eye, how much more to my ear were the sweet
notes of this bird as they came thrilling on my sense, surpassing in vigour those
of any American Finch with which I am acquainted, and forming a song which
seemed a compound of those of the Canary and Wood-Lark of Europe. I imme-
diately shouted to my companions, who were not far distant. They came, and
we all followed the songster as it flitted from one bush to another to evade our
pursuit. No sooner would it alight than it renewed its song; but we found more
wildness in this species than in any other inhabiting the same country, and it
was with difficulty that we at last procured it. Chance placed my young com-
panion, THOMAS LINCOLN, in a situation where he saw it alight within shot,
and with his usual unerring aim, he cut short its career. On seizing it, I found
it to be a species which I had not previously seen; and supposing it to be new, I
named it Vom’s Finch, in honour of our friend LINCOLN, who was a great
favourite among us.
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1485
By the time that Audubon came to write the original description of
this bird, which was indeed new to science—although he found speci-
mens already existed undescribed in the collection of William Cooper
of New York—he used the more formal name ‘“Lincoln’s Finch,
Fringilla Lineolnii.”” It has since become customary to call the
typical American Emberizinae “‘sparrows,” and we now know this
bird as Lincoln’s sparrow.
During the summers of 1955, 1956, and 1957 we investigated the
life history of Lincoln’s sparrow in the vicinity of Dorion, a scattered
community in Stirling Township, Thunder Bay District, about 50
miles northeast of Port Arthur, Ontario near the north shore of Lake
Superior. Incidental observations were made at various other points
along the north shore. Most of the literature dealing with this bird
has to do with its occurrence and behavior on migration and with
its song. A few accounts of nests and their contents have been
published, but there is no study of the activities of the birds during
the nesting cycle. Our studies were undertaken to fill in this gap
in their life history. A good deal yet remains to be learned, partic-
ularly of the birds’ relationships with other species and with the
later stages of the nesting cycle. We have no personal observations
of this species on its winter range. Reports of its winter activities
in Central America suggest that its behavior and apparent abundance
there are very different from our general concept of a secretive,
uncommon species.
Lincoln’s sparrow is found over a wide range, from its wintering
area in Mexico and Guatemala to the limit of trees in northern Canada
during the breeding season, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Throughout this range, it is largely a bird of shrublands. It occupies
the scrub growth after a forest has been cut over, also the natural
brush strips around the edges of bogs and along water courses, the
new growth following forest fires, and the ‘“‘permanent”’ scrub zones
of the western mountains,
An essential feature of Lincoln’s sparrow habitat appears to be the
presence of low bush growth, usually from 4 to 8 feet high, and with
openings in which tufts of grasses or sedges occur. It is often swampy
or definitely wet underfoot, though this is not always the case. Lester
L. Snyder told us that in the Abitibi region of northern Ontario he
frequently found Lincoln’s sparrow in dry, upland openings in the
forest. In the Nipigon region he found the species in raspberry
patches; farther south in the province, in wet places with swamp
sparrows. At Grandview in the Thunder Bay District of Ontario
the bird lives on generally dry and rocky hillsides with low shrub
growth of dogwood, alder, willow and birch, occasional taller aspens
1436 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
and birches, and with openings where clumps of grasses and sedges
grow around temporary rock pools.
We found Lincoln s sparrows in the Dorion region generally in
recently cutover areas full of brush piles and stumps, fallen logs and
new growth interspersed with grassy openings and rain pools. Marsh
marigolds were a conspicuous feature of many territories in early
June. Other plants frequently found were Labrador tea, sweet
coltsfoot (Petasites), wood anemone, and young wild cherry shrubs.
Small spruces, alders, willows, dogwoods, and saplings of birch and
aspen were features of most of the territories. Many were adjacent to
stands of larger trees of aspen, birch, and spruce, and the birds some-
sometimes retired into these forests when disturbed. Many terri-
tories included isolated large trees of these same species left by the
loggers because of imperfections, and which the bird occasionally used
as song perches.
Lincoln’s sparrows now appear to be invading the sort of manmade
‘forest edge’ found along roadsides and after cuttings in forest
country, but originally they must have depended for edge on fires and
water, the edges of lakes, streams, and bogs. Many of the recorded
nests have been in open sphagnum bogs in spruce forest.
Spring.—Lincoln’s sparrows move northward in spring to their
breeding territories from the wintering grounds. These lie as far
south as El Salvador, Guatemala, Baja California, and Florida, and
so the little birds move over most of the United States and much of
Canada as they journey northward for nesting. Of their occurrence
in New York, Ludlow Griscom (1923) writes:
While uncommon it is a regular transient in our area, but will never be seen,
except by a lucky “fluke,” unless specially looked for. In spring it is particularly
fond of water courses, the banks of which are grown with bushes, where it remains
down among the roots and disappears at the slightest noise. By going as rapidly
and noisily as possible through such a tract, a trim, small, grayish-brown Song
Sparrow will sometimes flash into view for a second as it dives headlong into the
bushes a few feet ahead. Making every possible effort to be quiet, the student
should next make a wide detour and return to the bank ahead of where the bird
wasseentoenter. In this way I have had the bird come to me within six feet. * * *
Lincoln’s Sparrow will occur, however, in dense shrubbery almost everywhere,
and I see it every spring in Central Park. It is exceptional to see more than one
or two a season, and then it will occur on the big waves only.
At Toronto, migrating white-crowned sparrows and Lincoln’s
sparrows usually arrive at the same time. As the former is more
conspicuous and noticed first, keen bird students in the area immedi-
ately become alert to the possibility of Lincoln’s lurking in the under-
brush. Considering the apparent rarity of the species, a surprising
number of these tiny sparrows are caught in banding traps in spring.
Thus the trap reveals a species ever-watchful eyes may have missed.
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1437
William Brewster (1936) made some interesting notes on the ap-
pearance of six different Lincoln’s sparrows in May 1899 at his October
Farm, near Concord, Mass. One bird was of particular interest
to him:
It appeared * * * on the 15th and remained until the forenoon of the 22nd,
spending its whole time within or on the outskirts of the thicket of bushes between
the smaller cabin and the canoe landing. In a bed of ferns on the edge of this
thicket, directly in front of the small cabin and some fifteen feet from the door,
we kept a quantity of millet seed scattered about over the ground. This was
visited by the Finch at frequent intervals and, no doubt, constituted his chief
food supply during his stay. It may have had something to do with the length
of his stay, also, but the weather was very cool during this period and a number
of other birds stayed in the same thicket for nearly the same length of time.
The Lincoln’s Finch was very shy at first and at all times exceedingly alert and
suspicious but he showed a nice and, on the whole, wise discrimination in his judg-
ment of different sights and sounds. A keen, intelligent little traveller, evidently,
quite alive to the fact that dangers threatened at all times, but too cool-headed
and experienced to be subject to the needless and foolish panics which seize upon
many of the smaller birds. He soon learned to disregard the movements and
noises which we made within the cabin, and the trains thundering by on the other
side of the river did not disturb him in the least but if our door was suddenly
thrown open or if a footstep was heard approaching along the river path, he at
once retreated into the thickets behind the ferns, dodging from bush to bush
and keeping behind anything that would serve as a screen until all was quiet
again, when he would presently reappear at the edge of the covert and, after a
short reconnaisance, begin feeding again.
But however busily engaged at the seed, no sight or sound escaped him. Ifa
Chipmunk rustled the dry leaves on the neighboring hillside, he would stand
erect and crane his neck, turning his head slowly from side to side to watch and
listen. When a Swift, of which there were many flying about, passed close over-
head with a sound of rushing wings, the Sparrow would crouch close to the ground
and remain motionless for a minute or more. But when nothing occurred to excite
his suspicions, he would feed busily and unconcernedly for minutes at a time.
Some of the seed had sifted down among the dry leaves and for this he scratched
precisely in the manner of the Fox Sparrow, making first a forward hop of about
two inches and then a vigorously backward jump and kick which scattered behind
him all the leaves that his feet had clutched. In this manner he would quickly
clear a considerable space and then devote himself to the uncovered seeds, which
he would pick up one by one and roll in his bill after the manner of most Sparrows.
He was invariably silent when at the seed bed, but within the recesses of his
favorite thicket he sang freely at all hours, especially in the morning or early fore-
noon or when the sun had just emerged from a cloud. He never sang from the
top of a bush like a Song Sparrow but usually from some perch only a yard or so
above the ground in the depths of the covert and not infrequently on the ground
itself as he rambled from place to place hopping slowly over the dry leaves.
In 1956 we arrived at Dorion before the Lincoln’s sparrows had
settled on their nesting territories. May 16, 17, and 18 were cool with
northwest winds and showers. Lincoln’s sparrows were seen on each
of these cool days at Mrs. Rita Taylor’s feeding station in Dorion.
There they, and various other species of sparrows, had been attracted
14388 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
by the scattering of rolled oats on the ground. On the nesting grounds
5 miles to the north, no Lincoln’s sparrows were seen or heard singing.
However, on May 19 the sky cleared, the wind shifted to the south, the
temperature rose, and three males were heard singing. May 20 and 21
continued warm and 9 of the 10 nesting territories under special
study were occupied by singing males.
Roland C. Clement, who has observed the species in the interior of
Quebec and Labrador during the breeding season writes us (in litt.):
“The birds are shy or wary, and though they sing well enough when
the frequent rains and wind abate, they are difficult to see. In
1957 I heard the first song in the Knob Lake region on May 31st.
In 1945 I found a few birds at Indian House Lake (lat. 56° N.),
where arrival was as late as June 19. This bird is much more common
in that Canadian Zone pocket which is the Goose Bay region in New-
foundland Labrador. The species arrived there on May 30, 1944,
and occupied alder runs or brushy brook borders near bogs.”
Courtship—At Dorion, Ontario, in 1957, we noted courtship be-
havior from May 28 to June 5, chiefly in mid-morning from 8:00 to
10:30 a.m. The birds were nest building.
In most cases the female appeared to take the initiative by crouch-
ing, fluttering her wings in the fashion of a baby bird begging for
food, and uttering a special, excited, high-pitched, rather hoarse ‘“‘dzee-
dzee-dzee” note, very similar to notes song sparrows and swamp
sparrows utter when inviting copulation. On June 9, 1956, a case was
observed when a male appeared to take the initiative. He flew from
a low stump to a small dogwood at the foot of a spruce, quivering
his wings and “tit”ing excitedly. Jaunching forth over a bit of
meadow, he planed gradually toward the ground and pounced on his
mate, who rose from the grass apparently in anticipation of the
pounce, just before he came to ground. In most cases the ‘“‘dzzee-
dzee-dzee” invitation of the female seemed sufficient to stimulate
the male, but if this failed she might resort to slow, labored, fluttering
flight inviting pursuit by her spouse. Pairs were seen to copulate
on the ground, on brushpiles, on a picnic table, on a sign. One of
our notes reads: “The mating took place about two feet off the
ground along an alder branch which was in tiny leaf.”
The male’s behavior is very much as Margaret M. Nice (1937)
describes for the song sparrow: Lincoln’s sparrow males “pounce”
on their mates in much the same manner, although in most cases
observed, they were encouraged to do so only after special vocal and
behavioral invitations by their mates. After copulating the male
quite frequently sang, sometimes while on the wing immediately
after flying up from the female, at other times from a nearby branch.
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1439
A typical mating was observed at Dorion on June 2, 1956. The
female was perched on a brushpile, quivering her wings and uttering
intense, high-pitched “‘dzee-dzee-dzee” notes. After about 5 minutes
of this the male flew down from a nearby spruce and pounced on her
from above. A short chase took them out of sight behind the brush-
pile where, presumably, they copulated. The male then flew back
into the spruce and sang. ‘The female mounted to the top of the
brushpile calling a slow “‘tit-tit-tit.”’, The male in the spruce fanned
his tail as if displaying to the female, then flew off.
A pair may mate several times during the course of a morning.
On May 29, 1957, a female Lincoln’s sparrow busily building her nest
was seen to copulate with her mate seven times between 8:00 a.m.
and 10:13 a.m. Once she had her bill full of long grasses and flew
directly to the nest with them after the act.
In 1956 a second courtship cycle took place between July 1 and
July 7. On July 1 a female Lincoln’s sparrow interrupted a heavy
schedule of feeding 8-day-old young still in the nest by inviting
copulation from her mate with begging flutterings. He obliged.
This was probably the initial step in a second nesting that season.
Territory—Margaret M. Nice (1937) reports five stages in the
establishment of territory by song sparrows. Our impressions after
watching Lincoln’s sparrows at Dorion for 2 months in the late spring
and early summer of 1956, were that the Lincoln’s sparrows did not
fight among themselves for territories and that song was the only
important territorial manifestation. We saw no threats of fighting
between “‘Tival” males during our many hours of observation that year.
On June 3, 1957, at least seven singing males were present on our
25-acre study area, which had no more than five in 1956. When we
arrived on the territory of L3, a Lincoln’s sparrow flew down toward
us from a height of about 25 feet from trees to the north. Another
flew in low, also from the north. Both entered a brushpile right
beside our parked car and chased each other in and out of the brushpile
for several minutes. From their appearance and behavior, we felt
both birds were females, both birds had their crests depressed, as is
usual for females, and one uttered the female characteristic ‘“zrrr’’
note. Finally one then the other left the brushpile and flew to the
forest edge east of us and disappeared. Our field notes read: “After
waiting some time for them to come back, I went over to the place
where they had disappeared to see if they could be found again.
A male was singing there at the southeast edge of his territory (L3).
Another male was singing about 100 feet to the southeast (L2).
The two sang thus for some time, then both flew out into the open
and met in mid air. They climbed vertically upward, breast to
breast, fighting on the wing to a height of about twenty feet; then one
1440 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
turned and flew to a tall spruce with the other in hot pursuit. The
chase, and presumably the fight, continued near the top of the big
spruce. L3’s mate called ‘zrrr’ from her territory, then flew to a
branch of the spruce below the combatants as if to see better what
was going on and cheer on her spouse. L2’s mate could be heard
scolding from her territory, ‘tit’ing from cover.”
This account shows plainly that Lincoln’s sparrows are not immune.
from territorial fighting when competition becomes sufficiently severe.
Seven pairs on 25 acres might not seem overly crowded, but one must
remember that much of the area was pre-empted by other species,
notably by man (this was a busy trout-rearing station) and by song
sparrows that compete strongly and very successfully against the
Lincoln’s sparrows. Swamp sparrows were also present in the more
marshy areas along the creek; whether they competed with the
Lincoln’s sparrows in this wetter part of the study area, we could not
determine.
The nesting habitat at Dorion was the edge area between the
forest and the buildings with their surrounding lawns and roads.
Here were scattered bushes and small trees and a few large poplars
and spruces. The area was “brushed” every few years to keep the
forest from taking over the property, and the cuttings formed a layer
on the ground into which at least one pair had sunk their nest. We
found another nest in the grass bordering the roadside ditch. Much
of the vegetation was about a foot high and included such plants
as anemones, various grasses and sedges, wild roses and raspberries,
small dogwood bushes and young evergreen trees, chiefly spruce and
balsam fir. Some willows and alders grew along the creek. The
actual species of plants are probably unimportant but their size and
disposition probably are important. There should be shrub growth
less than 8 feet high for concealment and from which the male can
sing, openings carpeted with grasses, heaths, or annuals less than
2 feet high in which they can forage, and a substratum of brush
cuttings, grass clumps, or sphagnum that the nest may be sunk into.
The actual size of the territory probably varies a good deal, as in
other species. Those in the Dorion study area appeared to be about
one acre in extent; some were a little larger and some a little smaller.
Several of these were used for more than one year, though we did not
do enough color-banding to be sure they were occupied by the same
individuals.
In 1956 and 1957 Lincoln’s sparrows occupied their territories in
the Dorion region as soon after their arrival as the weather warmed up,
as manifested by the presence of singing males. Nesting may not
begin for another 10 days to 2 weeks. On cool windy days during
this interval it was often difficult or impossible to find the owners of
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1441
the territories, either because they temporarily abandoned territories
or perhaps because they did not sing in such weather. We were not
able to stay through the summer in 1956 and 1957, but in 1955 the
Lincoln’s sparrows were present and feeding young on the trout
hatchery property until mid-September. It appears likely, therefore,
that the territories are occupied until the birds migrate in autumn.
Nesting. —Lewis Mel. Terrill (MS.) has found a number of nests
of the Lincoln’s sparrow in Quebec, most of them ‘in shallow depres-
sions on sphagnum mounds concealed by Ledwm bushes and resting
on the accumulation of fallen ZLedum leaves. The outstanding
materials composing the rather frail structures were leached sedges,
especially the filiform, wiry stems of such species as Carex trisperma
and C. leptalea, which commonly drape the sphagnum mounds in
the Lincoln’s sparrow’s habitat.”
He writes further (MS.):
In the St. Lawrence River Valley below Quebec this sparrow becomes decidedly
more common, especially in the Rivitre du Loup, Matane, and Gaspé Counties.
Preference is shown for the dryer, bushier portions of sphagnum bogs, particularly
the older bogs suitable for the production of peat rather than the wet sphagnum
of newer bogs. A typical nesting habitat is the extensive, rather dry savanne
known as Caribou Plains, near Corner of the Beach, Gaspé County, where three
were seen with food and about ten heard singing on July 7, 1941. Here they
frequented the fringe of the bog amongst the heaths (chiefly Ledum, Kalmia, and
Rhodora), with scattered shrubby conifers and a ground cover of Cloudberry
(Rubus Chamaemorus) though somewhat farther out in the open bog than their
principal nesting associates, the Yellow Palm warbler and the Yellow-throat.
At Metis, Matane County, the Lincoln’s Sparrow also nests in boggy clearings
where the old stumps are partly hidden in the new growth; also among low alder
fringing streams. An unusual habitat was near the top of Mount Logan (Shick-
shock Mts.), Gaspé, where four were heard singing amongst scrubby conifers at
an altitude of about 3000 feet on July 6, 1937. Several Black-poll warblers
appeared to be their only companions.
In our experience, the nest of Lincoln’s sparrow is very difficult to
find. Although we made a special effort in the Thunder Bay District
of Ontario in 1956, we failed to find a nest with eggs. By the time
incubation was underway, we had settled down to watch one pair
whose activities could be conveniently observed from our parked car.
With black flies, “‘no-see-ums,’”’ and mosquitoes active and plentiful,
a parked and closed car seemed the only livable observation point in
the country. After several days we had the nest nearly pinpointed,
but, alas, not definitely located. We determined its approximate
position by making minute-by-minute notes for more than 7 hours on
June 23 and June 24. On the latter day we pointed out the place
where we thought the nest should be to Dr. and Mrs. A. E. Allin of
Fort William. All four of us set out to comb the area on hands and
1442 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
knees. We flushed the bird from the indicated spot but found no
nest.
After supper on June 24 Neil Atkinson came puffing into our house,
having run the mile from the nest site, to announce that he had
succeeded in locating the nest. Immediately we went back with him,
and there the nest was, right where we had looked, but set well down
into the ground under a pile of last year’s brush cuttings. It looked
like a little black hole.
The nest contained three young about a day old and one infertile
ege. It was situated 16 feet from the access road into the trout
rearing station and 8 feet from the forest edge. The main cover
plants were grasses, wild rose, anemones, raspberry, cut off shrubs
of dogwood, willow, alder, a little balsam, and brush one or two feet
high. Brush cuttings from other years formed an interlacing mat
below this new growth, which grew profusely to a height of 1 or 2 feet.
The nest measured 3% inches in outside diameter, about 24% inches in
inside diameter and about 1% inches deep outside. It was made of
dried grasses. As early as June 21 we had searched for this nest but
were driven back to the car by mosquitoes. The female at this time
was silent while we searched but scolded us when we left off searching,
so she was no help. After the young left the nest on June 2, we col-
lected the nest and infertile egg and later presented them to the Royal
Ontario Museum.
The following extracts are from the field notes of J. Murray Speirs:
On May 27, 1957, as I entered the property of the Dorion Trout Rearing
Station about 8:00 a.m. E.S.T., two little sparrows flushed from the roadside just
west of the Abitibi road and flew toward the alders at the forest edge north of the
entrance road to the hatchery. They uttered little ‘tit’ing notes characteristic of
Lincoln’s sparrows and one paused to eye me long enough for me to verify the
identification. I thought “This must be Mr. and Mrs. A, the elusive little pair
that occupied this territory in 1956 and raised a family so furtively that we saw
nothing of the nesting until one day the young were seen being fed.”” We sus-
pected nesting right by this same corner in 1956 and made a few searches for the
nest, but found nothing.
On May 29, 1957, however, fortune smiled on us. We had finished the morning
watch in the hatchery property and were about to leave when a movement
caught my eye and we waited. It was a Lincoln’s sparrow, sure enough, and
IT HAD GRASS IN ITS BILL. So we waited.
Mrs. A, or to be more formal, L7 29-1957, flew with her long, dried grasses
trailing at each side like the tail of a comet, to the narrow vegetative border
between the road and the roadside ditch. She worked along the ditch quickly
toward us about eight or ten feet. She stopped briefly by a little clump of
assorted bushes. This clump consisted of one sprig of alder with new green leaves
about an inch across, several shoots of willow, and a small gooseberry bush, all
about a foot high. After her pause here she flew off, without the grasses, directly
away from the clump. This was at 7:40 a.m. Three more trips followed in
quick succession, the last at 7:45 a.m. Each time she flew to the roadside border
of the ditch and worked along the ditch, usually several feet toward the nest.
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1443
Sometimes she lit west of the nest site, sometimes east of it. When leaving she
flew directly from the nest site or from a foot or so to the east of it. Just after
her fourth trip, several cars carrying men to work at the hatchery passed by
within inches of her nest and put a temporary stop to her nest building activities.
At 7:58 a.m. and 8:02 a.m. she made two more trips with grasses to the nest-site,
remaining some time after the second trip.
As she left the nest at 8:07 a.m., the male, who had been waiting in a cedar by
the forest’s edge, flew east about thirty feet and intercepted her as she reached
the edge. He pounced on her in typical Melospizan style. There was a short
skirmish, after which he mounted singing to a bough a few feet overhead while
she remained on the ground, saying shurr-shurr, shurr, shurr, shurr (DHS inter-
pretation) or ZRRRR, ZRRRR, ZRRRR, ZRRRR, ZRRRR (JMS interpreta-
tion). Both male and female of this pair have quite a pronounced centre spot.
The male keeps his crest raised much of the time and has pronounced orangy-buff
malar stripes. At 8:21 a.m. she made another trip to the nest with bill full of
grass, stopping en route to invite copulation on a sloping alder branch about two
feet off the ground. The male made three attempts to mount her and mating
appeared to be successful on the second and perhaps thrd attempts. As she left
the nest after delivering this load, he pounced from a vantage point about ten
feet up in a spruce at the forest edge, intercepting her as she flew just above the
ground before she reached the woods. More matings, with soft singing on his
part and zrrring on her part followed for several minutes, until we left at 8:25
upon the approach of two school boys, Scott and Neil Atkinson. Yesterday Scott
announced that he thought there must be a “ground sparrow” nest near this
corner, where they wait for the school bus. He made a cursory search but stopped
when other children appeared for the bus so as not to draw attention to the
possibility.
We returned at 9:30 a.m. She brought nesting material at 9:48 and again at
9:59 a.m. We left at 10:40 a.m. One of the pair was seen atop a stump in the
territory with two short, thick straws, very unlike the long, flexible pieces she had
taken to the nest. After holding them listlessly they were dropped, one at a
time. I suspect this was the male bird showing some token interest in the build-
ing. Interest in mating continued at a high pitch during this observation period:
the female zrrring frequently and the male pouncing and singing quietly, chiefly
following these pounces. On the 9:59 trip she flew directly to the nest, an excep-
tion to her general rule, in spite of the fact that we were parked directly across
the road not more than 15 feet from the nest. The female apparently did all the
nest building though the male was ever on hand.
We did not search for the nest until we were sure it would be com-
pleted. We found it with no difficulty on May 31 when it was
finished but still empty. It was in a grass clump between the road
and the roadside ditch, so close to the road that we could bave looked
right into it from our parked car had it not been concealed by the
over-arching grasses. This nest was about 30 feet from the forest
edge. The cover between the road and the forest was very similar
to that in which the 1956 nest had been located; grasses, annuals,
cut-off shrubs, and small trees. It was somewhat wetter (the ditch
was usually partly full of water) and this was reflected in a greater
abundance of alder. The first egg was laid on June 1 and the others
1444 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
on June 2, 3, and 4. Further details of this nest are given in later
sections.
Eggs.—Lincoln’s sparrow lays from 3 to 6 eggs with 4 or 5 com-
prising the usual set. They are ovate with some tendency to elongate
ovate and are slightly glossy. The ground of freshly laid eggs is
‘pale Niagara green,” but this fades upon exposure to a greenish
white. The markings are of reddish browns such as ‘‘Verona brown,”
“cinnamon brown,” ‘‘ Prout’s brown,” or ‘‘Argus brown.’”’ These are
usually heavy and may be in the form of fine speckles and spots or
large clouded blotches. Often the ground is entirely obscured and
appears to be a light brown. Some eggs may have undermarkings of
“pale neutral gray.’? They are practically indistinguishable from
those of the song sparrow, but in a series they will average slightly
smaller. The measurements of 130 of all three races average 19.4,
by 14.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 21.6
by 14.9, 20.0 by 16.0, 17.2 by 13.5, and 18.0 by 13.2 millimeter. The
measurements of 50 eggs of M. 1. lincolnii average 19.7 by 14.6 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 21.6 by 14.9,
20.0 by 16.0, and 17.2 by 13.5 millimeters.
Incubation —The chief purpose of our studies at Dorion during
1956 and 1957 was to obtain information on the incubation and
fledging of Lincoln’s sparrow, about which practically nothing had
been published prior to that time.
Edward A. Preble (1908) wrote: During their trip to the Mac-
kenzie my brother and Cary noted it at Hay River, June 29, and
the following day found a nest containing five heavily incubated eggs.
The male bird was shot just after being flushed from the eggs, showing
that it assists in incubation.”
Nice (1943) cites six instances of male song sparrows seen visiting
the nest during the incubation period, but gives no record of actual
incubation by the male. She states that ‘only females regularly
incubate with * * * American Sparrows.” In our studies at Dorion
we never saw a male Lincoln’s sparrow incubating.
In a nest we found on May 31, 1957, by the side of the entrance
road into the Dorion Trout-Rearing Station, the first, second and
third eggs were laid on June 1, 2, and 3 respectively. We marked
each egg as we discovered it in the nest using a grass blade dipped in
India ink. The final (fourth) egg was laid after 7:35 p.m. on June 3
and before 7:20 a.m. on June 4. An attentivity recorder in the nest
indicated that the female was on the nest during the night between
8:15 p.m. on June 3 and 2:22 a.m. on June 4, and again between 4:11
a.m. and 6:02 a.m. on June 4. On June 17 at 7:05 a.m. the nest con-
tained three young and the unhatched fourth egg. By 12:35 p.m.
the fourth egg had hatched. This established the incubation period of
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1445
the fourth egg as between 13 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes and 13 days, 16
hours, 20 minutes, and most probably about 13 days and 6 hours,
from about 5 a.m. June 4 to about 11 a.m. June 17.
The attentivity rhythm at this nest was determined with a therm-
istor bridge recorder (Speirs and Andoff, 1958) which showed that
on June 5 the female spent more time off than on the nest. Four
attentive periods averaged 34 minutes in length (13, 45, 46, and 33
minutes) while four inattentive periods averaged 62 minutes (83,
28, 12, and 127 minutes), this in spite of the fact that it was a cool
day with some light rain. This was the second day of incubation and
the attentivity rhythm apparently was not yet fully established.
On June 8, the fifth day of incubation, and a clear, mild day, the 10
attentive periods averaged 20.4 minutes ranging from 17 to 40 minutes,
while 11 inattentive periods averaged 6.9 minutes ranging from 2 to 15
minutes; from 9:32 a.m. to 2:12 p.m. the incubating bird spent 75
percent of its time on the nest and 25 percent off. On the morning of
June 11, the eighth day of incubation, attentive periods of 25, 54, and
19 minutes were broken by inattentive periods of 3 minutes and 1
minute. The increased attentivity on this day may have been in-
fluenced by the overcast weather though temperatures remained about
the same, or may have been an expression of the intensification of the
incubation habit. Nice (1937) found a similar shortening of the
inattentive periods in the song sparrow as incubation progressed.
We have no evidence of the male Lincoln’s sparrow calling its mate
off the nest at intervals during incubation as M. M. Nice (1943) writes
that song sparrow males do. The Lincoln’s sparrow males apparently
sing very little during the incubation period; in this also they differ
from the song sparrow. In fact, we did not see nor hear our particular
Lincoln’s sparrow male after the day the fourth egg was laid until the
young hatched. The male bird at our 1956 nest did some singing
during the incubation period, chiefly in the very early morning.
When the female was flushed from the nest on June 7, 1957, instead
of flying, she ran out along the ditch. Again on June 9 she did not
flush until the last minute and then ran along the ditch “like a little
mouse” for a yard or two, then flew very low, just clearing the ground
cover, to the forest edge north of the nest. She did not scold or utter
any sound when flushed, and she did not leave the nest until the grass
over it was parted to show it to a visiting naturalist. On June 12
while changing the chart on the nest recorder the observer twice
jumped the ditch within a few feet of the nest, and the bird did not
leave the nest.
Young.—Notes were made on the development of the 1956 Dorion
young five times during their nest life. On June 24, when, pre-
sumably, the nestlings were a day old, they had an egg tooth on the
1446 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
upper mandible which had disappeared by the next day. The eyes
were tightly closed on June 24 and 25, mere slits on June 27, open on
June 28, and wide open on June 29. On June 24 only a dark line
indicated the future whereabouts of the primary flight feathers.
By June 27 the longest sheaths of the primaries measured 8% milli-
meters. By June 29 these had grown to 15 millimeters.
The young in our 1957 nest at Dorion hatched on June 16 and June’
17. On June 18, when 1 and 2 days old, the four together weighed
14.7 grams (average 3.7 grams apiece). One was noticeably larger
than the others. At this age they were naked except for dark grey,
almost black down on top of the head, along the middle of the back,
on the wings (no signs of quills yet) and on the thighs. They had a
sharp ridge on top of the culmen but no egg tooth. When they opened
their mouths they showed a reddish mouth lining and whitish gape.
On June 19, when 2 and 3 days old, the young together weighed
23.1 grams (average 5.8 grams each). In the process, one excreted a
fecal sac that weighed 0.2 grams. The young were weighed late in
the evening.
On June 21, when 4 and 5 days old, the four young together weighed
40.2 grams (average 10.0 grams). This was at 8:00 p.m. One young
had its eyes partly open. Their pin feathers were by this time very
black and conspicuous, the primary quills estimated to be about 10
millimeters long. All feather tracts now were conspicuous: primaries,
secondaries, tertials, dorsal and capital tracts, ventral, crural and
even little pin feathers on the ‘drumsticks.”” Their skin was a deep
tan color. The young in the nest appeared very black in contrast to
young song sparrows in a nearby nest that looked mottled grey. The
mouth lining of the young Lincoln’s was a brilliant cherry red, the
edges of the mouth creamy white.
On June 22, when the nestlings were 5 and 6 days old, we weighed
and color-banded the young individually at 8:00 p.m. They weighed
13.3 grams, 13.2 grams, 12.1 grams and 11.5 grams, averaging 12.5
erams. The eyes of the two larger ones were wide open, the smallest
just showed a slit, while the other had its eyes partly open. Their
primary shafts were estimated to be 15 mm. long. The ventral
tracts showed a buffy-tan color, while the dorsal tracts were grey
black.
On June 23, when 6 and 7 days old, we weighed the young again in
the evening. They weighed 15.0 grams, 14.4 grams, 12.9 grams and
13.2 grams (average 13.9 grams). A male and female Kenneth C.
Parkes (1954) collected June 25, 1953, near Madawaska, N.Y.,
weighed 16.5 and 15.1 grams, respectively. Our adult female weighed
17.3 grams when we banded her at 9:05 a.m. on June 19.
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1447
On June 23 the eyes of all were wide open. Their mouth linings
were now a very bright crimson, the cutting edge of the mandibles
yellowish. Pin feathers covered most of the skin and were chiefly
blackish. For fear of causing the fledglings to leave prematurely,
we did not handle them again. On June 25, when we looked into
the nest carefully at 5:30 p.m., they stretched their necks and gaped
to be fed. The gape now appeared bright yellow instead of creamy
white as earlier (June 21, above).
The female did practically all of the feeding while the young were
in the nest according to our 1956 and 1957 observations. We were
never positive that either male actually delivered any food to the
young, although both were seen with food in their bills, and the 1957
male made several false starts as though to go to the nest. Perhaps he
was unnerved by our proximity, for he never quite made it while we
were watching. In both cases the female flew to and from the nest
with little hesitation and both broods left the nest successfully. That
the males do sometimes assist in brooding young is attested by the
observations of Maurice G. Street (in litt.) and Lawrence H. Walkin-
shaw (in litt.). We believe that the male of our 1957 pair looked
after two of the young after they left the nest, and that the female
looked after the other two, but their secretive habits made this too
difficult to ascertain. The color-banded female was noted near the
nest as were some young, while the male (as determined by his sing-
ing) spent most of his time about 100 yards west of the nest where the
two color-banded young were seen in mid July.
As nothing appears to have been written about the feeding rhythm
of Lincoln’s sparrow, we spent a good deal of time studying it in 1956.
Although we did not actually see the 1956 nest until Neil Atkinson
found it on June 24, we knew its approximate position several days
previously. On June 23 at 10:22 a.m. we saw the female fly from
beyond the creek to a spruce just across the road from her nest. She
had in her bill a tiny white moth and a half-inch green caterpillar.
These she took to the nest—the first feeding that we noticed. At
11:10 she flew east from the nest into the forest edge and at 11:40 we
saw her return with a green caterpillar in her bill. During a watch
of 1 hour and 55 minutes in midafternoon, we saw her make three
more feedings. This was an overcast day with showers in the morning
and rain in the afternoon.
It was raining on the morning of June 24, but her rate of feeding
had already speeded up. In the early morning we saw her make 3
feedings in an hour and 5 minutes, and 3 more in the course of 50
minutes later in the morning. By midafternoon it had cleared and
turned warmer and we saw her make three more visits during a watch
of 1 hour and 15 minutes.
1448 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
On June 25 between 4:37 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. she made 8 visits,
averaging 22 minutes between visits to the nest. She made 7 visits
between 11:00 a.m. and 12:10 p.m., averaging 11 minutes between
visits. The intervals between feedings became gradually shorter day
by day until by July 1 we noted 23 visits between 6:48 a.m. and 9:00
a.m., at average intervals of only 6 minutes.
On July 2 between 6:40 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. we saw 11 visits at an’
average interval of 7 minutes. At 2:35 p.m. the nest was empty.
Twice we saw the father with food on this day but we did not see him
take it to the nest. No relationship was discernible between the time
of day and the rate of feeding. On some days the mother made more
frequent visits to the nest near midday than early in the morning, as
on June 25, and on other days the reverse was true. On July 13 and
again on July 14 when the young were 12 days out of the nest we saw
the mother still carrying food (green larvae) to them.
One reason for the long intervals between feedings in the early nest
life of the young was the necessity for the mother to spend a good
deal of time brooding because of the wet, cold weather. Also the
young had smaller food requirements at that time. As we could not
actually see her on the nest because of the dense growth of grasses,
wild flowers, and low shrubs that surrounded it, we could not make
any accurate determination of the amount of time spent brooding
the nestlings. It was not determined, either, how many young were
fed at each visit. These aspects of the life history remain to be de-
termined.
The 1956 mother Lincoln’s had a standard routine in her feeding
trips. She would leave the nest, with or without a fecal sac, and fly
to a spruce at the forest edge east of the nest. If she were carrying a
fecal sac, she would leave it on a horizontal branch of this spruce, fly
to a dead balsam south of the nest, then across the road to a meadow
near the river where she foraged. Then she would fly to a spruce
where the male usually sang across the road from the nest, then to a
raspberry patch between the spruce and the road, then very low across
the road to the nest. On June 25 these trips averaged 15 minutes,
varying from 5 to 29 minutes. She varied this routine somewhat in
the later stages of nest life, foraging fairly often in the foliage of the
spruces and balsams at the forest edge and sometimes on the forest
floor.
The 1957 mother also had a definite route that she usually followed
in her comings and goings. This route included a slanting alder limb
on which she deposited the fecal sacs in a neat row.
The young Lincoln’s sparrows left the 1956 nest on July 2 and the
1957 nest on June 26. While we have no definite proof that two
broods are raised at Dorion, we have circumstantial evidence of it
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1449
in a second courtship cycle in early July and a September record of
an immature bird.
Of a nest she found containing three newly hatched young on July 5,
1946, near Sandwich Bay, Labrador, Virginia Orr (1948) writes:
“The parent allowed me to approach within two feet slipping off the
nest and running back into denser growth. * * * the bird never
flew away directly, but ran along the partially covered tunnel for
several feet before taking wing. It used the same route when bring-
ing food to the young. * * * The fledglings left the nest in a flight-
less condition on the twelfth day after discovery.”
In our 1956 nest, which was not found until June 24, the young
left the nest on July 2 between 8:00 a.m. and 2:35 p.m. If, as we
believe, the young hatched on June 23 when we first noted the female
carrying food, then these young left on the ninth day after hatching.
In our 1957 nest the first young hatched on June 16 between 10:00
a.m. and 4:25 p.m. the next two between 8:55 p.m. on June 16 and
7:10 a.m. on June 17, and the final young between 7:10 a.m. and 12:35
p-m. on June 17. All four were in the nest when it was checked at
5:30 p.m. on June 25; all had left when Neil Atkinson checked it at
6:00 p.m. on June 26. Thus they left the nest on the ninth or tenth
day after hatching.
In 1956, we heard the first begging calls from the young on July 14,
12 days after leaving the nest and about three weeks after hatching.
We color banded the young in our 1957 nest on June 23. On July 14
we saw the blue-banded youngster about 100 yards west of the nest,
and on July 15, the red-banded one in about the same place. An
adult Lincoln’s sparrow which we took to be the male of the pair
appeared still to be accompanying these two young birds, which
were then 27 to 28 days old and 19 to 20 days out of the nest. Mau-
rice G. Street of Nipawin, Saskatchewan wrote us that he found a
nest of Lincoln’s sparrows that contained three eggs on June 10, 1946,
that both the male (regularly) and the femalé (occasionally) visited
his feeding station and “both parents were noted feeding young
at my station in late July.”” As the three eggs could scarcely have
hatched any later than June 23, this would imply a period of depend-
ence probably in excess of the 28 days that Nice (1943) gives as the
“age of independence” for Emberizines.
Lawrence H. Walkinshaw gives us in a letter some interesting data
on a Lincoln’s sparrow’s nest with two eggs, William Dyer found on
June 22, 1956. The nest still contained two eggs on June 25 and had
two young on June 28. The young left the nest when they were
banded on July 4 when they could not have been more than nine days
old. The disturbance of banding may have caused them to leave
the nest prematurely. ‘Both adults fed the young at the nest.”
646-737—68—pt. 3——14
1450 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 8
Plumages.—The natal down of the newly hatched young at Dorion
appeared to be very dark grey, almost black. It was about half an
inch long and covered the body rather scantily on top of the head,
along the middle of the back, on the wings and thighs. The general
impression upon looking into a nest of newly hatched young of this
species is like looking into a black hole. The down persists for some
time after the juvenal plumage is acquired, particularly on the top |
of the head. In specimens examined at the Royal Ontario Museum,
this down appeared brownish against a black background but almost
black against a light background.
Richard R. Graber (1955) describes the juvenal plumage which is
acquired by a complete postnatal molt as follows: ‘Forehead rich
brown with rather fine black streaks. Median stripe buffy, laterally
rich brown, streaked with blackish. Superciliary region gray, finely
streaked with blackish. Nape finely mottled, shades of brown, buff,
eray, and blackish. Back streaked buffy gray, light brown, and
blackish. Rump slightly darker, streaking more obscure. Upper
tail coverts and rectrices brownish, black along the shaft. Remiges
dark gray; primaries light edged; secondaries, tertials, and coverts
edged with rusty. Median and greater coverts tipped narrowly with
buff. Tertials blackish with buff tips. Lores grayish. Auriculars
rich rusty brown, margined with blackish; sub-auriculars buff. Chin
and throat white, finely spotted and streaked with blackish. Chest,
sides, and flanks buff, finely streaked with blackish. Belly and
crissum whitish, unmarked. Leg feathers light brown.”
A juvenal Lincoln’s sparrow 12 days out of the nest on July 14,
1956, still had a stubby, partially grown tail; the breast streaks were
broader and continued lower down on the breast than in the adults.
The dark lines above and below the ear coverts were also broader
and more distinct than in adult plumage, the lower line having a
blotchy appearance. In the juvenal plumage they are very similar
to song sparrows and swamp sparrows in the same plumage. (See
Field marks.)
According to Dwight (1900) the first winter plumage is ‘acquired
by a partial postjuvenal moult * * * which involves the body
plumage and the wing coverts but not the rest of the wings nor the
tail.’ In eastern Canada this postjuvenal molt takes place during
August. The latest juvenal plumage Lincoln’s sparrow in the Royal
Ontario Museum collections was taken on August 9.
Dwight continues: The first nuptial plumage is ‘acquired by
wear * * * from the first winter dress.’”’ The adult winter plumage
is “acquired by a complete postnuptial moult in August.”’ The adult
nuptial plumage is “acquired by wear as in the young bird. The
LINCOLN’S SPARKOW 1451
sexes are practically indistinguishable in all plumages, and the moults
are the same in both sexes.”
Although indistinguishable by plumage, the sexes may be dis-
tinguished during the breeding season by behavioral differences (see
Behavior). The female of the 1956 pair at Dorion had a brownish
central-breast spot, while the male’s breast spot was black. This was
undoubtedly an individual variation: some adults of both sexes
have breast spots, others have none.
Food—The most thorough account of the food of this species in
the east is in Sylvester D. Judd (1901) from which we quote:
Only 31 stomachs of this species have been examined. These were collected
during the months of February, April, May, September, and October, mainly in
Massachusetts and New York. The food during these months, as indicated by
the stomachs, consists of animal matter, 42 percent, and of vegetable matter, 58
percent. The animal matter is made up of 2 percent spiders and millipeds and
40 percent insects. Useful insects, largely Hymenoptera, with some predacious
beetles form 4 percent of the food, and injurious insects, 12 percent. Neutral
insects, including beetles, ants, flies, and some bugs, amount to a fourth of the
food. More ants (principally Myrmicidae) and fewer grasshoppers are destroyed
than by the song sparrow. The vegetable matter is divided as follows: grain, 2
percent; seeds of ragweed and various species of Polygonum, 13 percent; grass
seed, 27 percent, and miscellaneous seeds, principally weeds, 16 percent.
McAtee (1911) records the “Lincoln Finch” among those species
that eat the clover-root curculio Sitones, a beetle that does ‘‘a large
amount of obscure damage” to clover.
The most frequently noted food items taken to the young of our
1956 nest were green caterpillars (probably geometrid larvae),
greyish larvae (possibly noctuids), small whitish moths (possibly
leaf-miners), yellowish larvae (possibly beetle larvae), small green
grasshoppers, and brownish larvae (possibly spruce budworm).
Lincoln’s sparrows frequent feeding stations during migration and
are often taken in banding traps. At Dorion at least two frequented
the feeding station of Rita Taylor daily during the latter half of May
but deserted it at the beginning of June. When feeding the birds
scratch with both feet at once to uncover concealed food, in the
manner of most small sparrows.
On June 7, 1956 we saw a Lincoln’s sparrow jump from the ground
under a little spruce tree, fly almost vertically upward two or three
feet, snap up a flying insect and, returning to the ground with it,
carry it under the spruce tree to dispose of it.
Voice-—Audubon (1834) has this to say of the song of Lincoln’s
sparrow: ‘‘But if the view of this favoured spot was pleasing to my
eye, how much more to my ear were the sweet notes of this bird as
they came thrilling on my sense, surpassing in vigour those of any
American Finch with which I am acquainted, and forming a song
1452 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
which seemed a compound of those of the Canary and Wood-lark
of Europe. The habits of this sweet songster resemble those of the
Song Sparrow. Like it, mounted on the topmost twig of the tallest
shrub or tree it can find, it chants for hours.”
IF. H. Allen heard the Lincoln’s sparrow sing at West Roxbury,
Mass., on May 138, 1915, and sent the following notes to Mr. Bent:
One singing near the house this morning. Heard it first when I got out, about ~
6.30. It was in the Norway spruces northwest of the house and kept itself
hidden for over half an hour, frequently singing, sometimes with a ventriloquial
effect sounding far away. Never having heard the song before, I did not recog-
nize it and I could not satisfy myself at first as to what bird it came from. When
I first heard it I thought of the northern water-thrush, but I soon perceived that
it was not that. Then I thought successively of chat, catbird, house wren, gold-
finch, and white-winged crossbill. It sounded most like an abbreviated and low-
pitched strain from a goldfinch, but the secretive habit of the bird seemed to
prove that it could not be that. It was about as long as the indigo bunting’s
song, perhaps a little longer, but more varied and of different quality. At or near
the end there was a short, sweet bubbling or rippling trill suggestive of the house
wren, but high-pitched, I should say. The song had two forms, one of which,
the more emphatic of the two, was given more frequently than the other. There
were periods of silence, and during one of these I gave the bird up for the time and
went into the house. Then it began again and I went on the upper piazza to
look forit. Presently it flitted into a pear tree and sang there, and I saw it was
a Lincoln’s sparrow. A beautiful and interesting song.
William Brewster (1936) describes four different songs, and their
variations, of one Lincoln’s sparrow as follows:
1. A simple, level, woodeny trill usually indistinguishable from the summer
song of the Juncos, but at times with a resonant, lyrical quality approaching that
of the Yellow-rump’s song; both forms given at short but distinct intervals.
2. The same trills with the intervals completely filled with short, soft, liquid
notes, the whole forming a medley ezxactly like that uttered by the Junco in early
spring with the Junco tswp or twp coming in frequently among the short, con-
necting notes. This song should perhaps be regarded as a variation of No. 1,
but I did not once hear this bird change from one to the other. That both songs
were literal copies of those of the Junco can admit of no doubt.
3. A rapid warble, at times flowing smoothly and evenly and in general effect
exceedingly like the song of the Purple Finch; at others brighter and more glancing,
the notes rolling one over another and suggesting those of the Ruby-crowned
Kinglet; again, with a rich, throaty quality and in form as well as tone very
closely like the song of the House Wren; still again guttural and somewhat broken
or stuttering and very suggestive of the song of the Long-billed Marsh Wren.
Although the first and last of these songs were very unlike, I have classified them
under one head because the bird often gave them all during one singing period
and, moreover, changed from one to another by insensible gradations.
4. Song in slow, measured bars or cadences, separated by brief intervals, swell-
ing and sinking, some of the notes trilled or shaken, the whole given after the man-
ner of the songs of the Hermit Thrush and Bachman’s Finch and almost equally
spiritual in quality.
Aretas A. eee (1935) transliterates two songs of ue Lincoln’s
sparrow as: ‘00-00-00-00-00 eeyayeeyayceyayeesescesosee”’ and ‘‘ootle
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1453
ootle ootle weetle weetle eeteeteetyadytoo.”” He illustrates these with his
distinctive pictographs and continues: ‘‘The song of Lincoln’s Sparrow
is entirely distinctive, and not particularly like that of a Song Sparrow
or other bird. It consists in part of notes sung with a true musician’s
trill, varying up and down a half tone in pitch, with liquid /-like
consonants between the notes. Notes that are not of the trill type
are inclined to be sibilant. The voice is sweet and clearly musical,
and the song often suggests the House Wren or the Purple Finch.
It is decidedly more pleasing than a House Wren’s song, however.”
In a personal note to Mr. Bent, Saunders adds the following more
detailed analysis: ‘““Songs consist of 13 to 16 notes each, though
the character of the song is such that one cannot be too sure of sepa-
rating the notes and counting them exactly. Songs vary from 2.4
to 2.8 seconds in length, and from C#’’’ to C’’”’ in pitch. The pitch
interval is from 3% to 5 tones.”
Roland C. Clement wrote us of his Lincoln’s sparrow observations
in the Goose Bay region of Newfoundland Labrador in 1944: “On
August 16 I ‘squeaked up’ eight birds in a tall stand of streamside
alders, finding them very curious. ‘The song,’ I wrote in my journal,
‘is soft but sweet and varied.’ My own crude literal rendition of
it was ‘phreu-u-deer-e-e, teuu teu tree,’ the two overscored notes
being almost bell-like in richness of tone.”
Almost all accounts of this species stress its song. This is owing
no doubt to the apparent belief by Lincoln’s sparrows that little birds
should be heard but not seen. The Lincoln’s sparrows we have
observed singing have done little to bolster our faith in the advertising
function of song perches. Usually the singer at Dorion, Ont., was
well hidden in the cover of tall grasses or low shrubs in the marsh
bordering the stream along which our observations were made.
Occasionally one was found, after a considerable search, singing
from a perch part way up a sheltering evergreen. When we did find
one singing from an overhead wire or dead tree top or other conspicous
perch, it was cause for special comment in our notes, Audubon not-
withstanding. In the choice of its singing perch it resembles the
swamp sparrow, but differs from its other congeneric species, the
song sparrow.
We transcribed the song of a Lincoln’s sparrow heard at Dorion
May 15, 1955, in our field notes as “‘churr-churr-churr-wee-wee-wee-
wah; quality like house wren or purple finch.”’ This appears to be
the most typical of northern Ontario songs, although we have heard
several variations. W. W. H. Gunn was good enough to provide
us with tape recordings of a variety of the songs of the Lincoln’s
sparrow, from which we selected the song most like this typical one.
From this with the cooperation of Bruce Falls and the Royal Canadian
1454 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Air Force, we had an audiospectrograph made. This gives a visual
picture of the song with time as the horizontal axis and frequency
of the notes on the vertical scale.
The audiospectograph showed that there were six ‘‘churrs,’”’ seven
“wees” and two final ‘‘wahs,” rather than the three, three, and one we
thought we heard, and also a longish ‘‘taa” note between the churrs
and wees that we missed. The audiospectograph further showed that |
all the notes were far from simple but had introductory grace notes
and various harmonics. The song was about two seconds in length,
about as long as it takes to say “churr-churr-churr-taa-wee-wee-wee-
wah.” This transliteration gives us the best picture of what the
Lincoln’s sparrow says. We must remember that the reaction time
of small birds is about twice as fast as ours, so it gets in two notes
‘while we register one. On May 23, 1956, one bird sang a song which
steadily rose in pitch, transliterated as ‘‘churr-churr-churr-wah-wah-
wah-wee?” Another variation heard at Dorion June 12, 1956, we
transliterated as ‘“cheer-cheer-cheer-wah-wah-titi-wah-tsidlee-wah.”’
In 1957 we added mourning warbler to the list of birds whose songs
were similar to that of Lincoln’s sparrow, though more in quality
than in pattern in this case.
Sometimes Lincoln’s sparrow sings on the wing. Oa May 25, 1956,
at Grandview we saw one launch forth from a perch about 10 feet up
a little birch and sing as it flew on fluttering wings some 12 feet above
the ground, in an arc of about 50 feet. The flight song was introduced
by a series of high, excited “tic” notes, and we transliterated it as
“tic-tic-tic-churr-churr-churr-wee-wee-wee-wah.”” This bird had just
returned from a chase involving a neighboring Lincoln’s sparrow on
the border of the adjacent territory.
Another flight song we heard at Dorion appeared to be caused by
our shaking some branches of a brushpile in which we suspected the
bird might have a nest. Still another flight song apparently was
stimulated by courtship excitement; on June 9, 1956, after pouncing
on the female and mating with her in the grass, the male flew toward
us on quivering wings in slightly rising flight for about 50 feet, singing
his normal song as he flew.
We made several counts of song frequency at Dorion and found
three or four songs per minute usual during an active singing period,
very rarely five songs per minute. Frequencies less than three per
minute were usually correlated with change in singing position, which
is not infrequent. Birds often sang from the ground while foraging.
Song perches above the ground have been noted in low evergreens,
tops of stumps, once on a branch about 20 feet up in a dead Jack pine,
once on an overhead power wire (two unusually conspicuous perches),
and most commonly in alders, willows, and birches from 4 to 8 feet
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1455
high. As a full song lasts from two to three seconds, the birds are
silent about 90 per cent of the time, even during an active singing
period.
Singing shows marked seasonal and daily variations in amount.
Birds are seldom heard singing during migration, and we have no rec-
ord of their singing in winter. Even when they first arrive in breed-
ing territory, they may be silent for several days if the weather stays
cloudy and cold. At Dorion we noted that there was little singing
on cold or rainy or windy mornings but a good deal on sunny, calm,
warm mornings.
At Dorion, the birds sang at all times of day, but we never heard
them after dark. J. Satterly, however, writes us in a letter: ‘“This
species begins to sing very early in the morning long before sunrise,
probably as early as 2 a.m.”’ His observations were made in Michaud
Township, Cochrane District, Ont., in 1946. T. M. Shortt told us
in conversation that at Fraserdale, Cochrane District, Ont., all the
Lincoln’s sparrows burst into song as the sky clouded over. Then
as the sun came out all the singing ceased, to commence again as
clouds darkened the sky. Lester L. Snyder confirmed this
observation.
We found that singing practically ceased during the incubation
period except for a few songs early in the morning, then increased
again greatly when the young were about to leave the nest.
When singing ceased we generally found the birds by tracking
down their rather faint, scolding “tit —tit—tit,” notes often uttered
from a low perch in spruce saplings, or in alders, or grassy under-
growth by both male and female. It somewhat resembles the chip-
ping sparrow’s scold notes but lacks the ‘‘s’” sound of the chipping
sparrow’s “‘tsick.”
We have mentioned in other sections the special ‘dzeee-dzeee”’
note the female utters with flutterimg wings and squatting position
when inviting copulation. One conversational greeting when a pair
met under a small sheltering spruce we transliterated as “‘zu-zu-zu-zu’”’
(u as in tut, not as in toot). This apparently was an excitement note
of lesser intensity than the “‘zeee”’ note inviting mating.
Behavior.—We removed the 1957 nestlings from day to day to
weigh them and make notes on their plumage development. When
handled on June 18 when 1 and 2 days old they gaped as if to be fed.
On June 21 at 4 and 5 days of age they uttered a complaining ‘‘zeeee”’
when taken from the nest. The following day they really squealed
when picked up. On June 23, now 6 and 7days old, when the mother
arrived at the nest to feed them they uttered a high-pitched ‘“‘zizz’zizz,”’
and for the first time they made feeble efforts to scramble out of the
dish in which we weighed them. On June 25 at 8 and 9 days they
1456 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
were well feathered and stretched their necks up for food when we
parted the grass above the nest at 5:30 p.m. to see if they were still
there. They left the nest on the following day. On June 27, when
the fledglings were 10 and 11 days old and one day out of the nest,
both parents were feeding them, each apparently feeding two young.
We heard one of the young the father was looking after utter a high-
pitched ‘‘zeeee’’ when fed.
Most observers who have written about Lincoln’s sparrow have
emphasized its shy, secretive, mousy, elusive behavior during migra-
tion and on the breeding ground. For instance, Audubon (1834)
states “we found more wildness in this species than in any other
inhabiting the same country ”’ and again “It moves swiftly off when it
discovers an enemy; and, if forced to take wing, flies low and rapidly
to some considerable distance, jerking its tail as it proceeds, and
throwing itself at the foot of the thickest bush it meets.”’ Roberts
(1932) calls it: ‘‘one of the shyest and most secretive of our
Sparrows * * *. It passes by rather quickly in the spring, and, al-
though usually common, keeps so well concealed in the thickest
undergrowth and matted weeds and grass that only the keenest
observers can discover it. It is at this season a silent bird and scurries
away over the ground or along fallen tree-trunks with the speed and
agility of a mouse, which adds to the difficulty in locating it. Taver-
ner says, ‘On migration * * * Lincoln’s is one of the shyest and most
elusive of birds. It skulks in the brush and has reduced concealment
to a fine art’ (Birds of Western Canada, 1926).”
On June 6, 1956, we were observing a pair at Dorion, in thin cover
which consisted mainly of grass pastured the previous summer and
just starting new growth, some low raspberry bushes just coming
into leaf, and a small group of three or four spruces not over 3 feet
high. We watched steadily from 6:12 a.m. to 6:37 a.m., when the
male pounced on the female in the raspberry canes and returned to
the spruce. We saw nothing stir from that time until we became
restless at the lack of activity at 7:05 a.m. We then searched both
the raspberry canes and the spruces, and could flush neither bird
yet neither had been seen to leave. We had many similar demon-
strations of their almost magical ability to disappear. This facility
is due in part, no doubt, to their habit of “mousing off” through the
grass instead of flying. Their behavior in their winter quarters,
however, appears to differ from that familiar to observers in Canada
and the United States. Alexander Wetmore (1944) writes:
On their wintering grounds these sparrows seem completely at home, and here
in Mexico I was able to fully appreciate the statements of E. A. Preble that
this species is the song sparrow of the far north, * * * at Tres Zapotes in less than
two months I actually learned more of their mannerisms than in 35 years of pre-
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1457
vious observations. Here instead of being shy skulkers that never left the dense
shelter of weeds and shrubbery, their habit in migration, they came out like song
sparrows to feed around the borders of the little clearing that we had made about
our camp. At any time of the day if all was peaceful I had only to raise my
eyes to see one or two feeding quietly on the ground, sometimes only 15 feet
away. They pecked steadily at the earth, often scratching in typical finch
fashion by jumping forward and then back, dragging the forward claws on the
earth on the return, and then feeding again in the soil disturbed by this action.
Others remained under the thin screen of leaves of the bordering shrubbery,
and sometimes I found them running along on the earth in the protecting shelter
of cornfields. When alarmed they retreated instantly to cover, where sometimes
I heard them scolding sharply, the notes being suggestive of those of the swamp
sparrow. I saw one driving petulantly at a little blue-black grassquit (Volatinia
jacarina atronitens) that came too near. At dusk sometimes several came down
from a weed grown field back of camp to roost in or near dense clumps of bushes.
The daily appearance of this bird is to me one of the many pleasant memorics
of my work in this interesting locality.
So far as we have been able to determine, the Lincoln’s sparrow
hops and never, or rarely, walks. It seldom ventures far from cover,
into which it retreats with amazing speed at the least sign of dis-
turbance, crouching low and hopping so fast as to appear a mere
streak of brown.
The nervous side-to-side tail-twitching so characteristic of agitated
song sparrows is not customary for Lincoln’s sparrows, which instead
tend to crouch with neck outstretched and crest raised, muttering
“tit—tit,’”’ followed by one of their celebrated exits.
The flight behavior of this species, at least near the nest, appears
to be characterized by a fluttering directness rather than the bouncy
flight of some fringillids. The females noted at Dorion during their
foraging expeditions merely skimmed the tops of the low vegetation.
Compared with the tail-pumping action of a song sparrow in flight,
the Lincoln’s sparrow’s normal flight seems much more purposeful
and direct.
On June 6, 1956, we watched a rather bedraggled, wet female
perched in a little spruce energetically preening herself, concentrating
on the upper breast with its characteristic buffy band. As this was
a fine sunny morning with little dew, she had no doubt just come from
a bath in the nearby creek edge. The male was seen preening in the
same tree on the following morning, again concentrating on its upper
breast as well as the base of the tail behind the wings. Our field notes
for June 7, 1956, say: “Scratches behind both ears with both feet.”
Our notes for June 27, 1956, comment on the “very fast preening” of
a parent that had just fed its young in the nest. “Not only does it
use its beak in preening, but the feet come into play to scratch areas
not easily reached with its bill.”
The behavior of the female changes noticeably in the course of the
breeding season. When flushed from a nest with eggs she usually
1458 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
utters no note while the observers are near the nest, but may begin
to scold as they leave. When we flushed the female from the nest
on June 18, 1957, when the young were just 1 and 2 days old, she ran
through the grass about half way to the forest edge, fluttering part
of the way as if she had a broken wing, but was too concealed by the
grass to be seen well. She then flew the rest of the way to the forest
edge where she emitted the first of several ‘tit’? notes. The male -
answered with a quiet “tit.”” This was our only observation of injury
feigning by Lincoln’s sparrow.
This nesting female always came to the nest on foot, after mousing
along the ditch, but she flew directly from the nest after feeding. She
displayed great agitation when we handled the young for weighing and
banding, “tit’”’ing loudly from the forest edge nearby.
On June 29, 1956, the mother was observed shielding the 5-day-old
nestlings from the strong sun, at 12:25 p.m.
After the young had left the nest the parental solicitude continued
to increase for a few days. On June 28, 1957, when the young were
two days out of the nest, the mother scolded within 15 feet of the
observer, and in plain sight, from a bare branch of a shrub by the
roadside. The quality of the scold note had changed from the very
weak ‘tit’? heard early in the season, to the loud “‘tit,”’ and after the
young left the nest it approached the quality of a scolding chipmunk’s
“cork-pulling” note—“‘tot.”’
The behavior of the male also changes with the nesting season. He
is very inconspicuous during most of the incubation period, generally
singing only in the early morning and very spasmodically later in the
day. He takes no part in incubation so far as we could determine.
When the young hatched we not infrequently saw the male near the
nest with food but in both of the 1956 and 1957 nestings, the father
was very hesitant actually to go to the nest. After the young were
fledged, however, the father became a good provider and appeared to
play as active a part as the mother in rearing the young.
Field marks.—Peterson (1947) writes:
The Lincoln’s Sparrow is a skulker, “‘afraid of its own shadow,” and often hard
to glimpse. Like Song Sparrow, with shorter tail; streakings on under parts
much finer and often not aggregated into a central spot; best identified by broad
band of creamy buff across breast.
Similar species.—The buffy band and fine breast-streakings distinguish it from
most Sparrows except the immature Swamp and Song Sparrows. It is grayer-
backed than either, with a more contrastingly striped crown A narrow eye-ring
is also quite characteristic. ‘The immature Swamp Sparrow in spring migration
is continually misidentified as the Lincoln’s Sparrow, but its breast is duller with
dull blurry streaks (Lincoln’s fine and sharp). In the South the juvenile Pine
Woods Sparrow can easily be mistaken for Lincoln’s.
Most of the salient field marks are mentioned in the above account:
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1459
The buffy breast band which also continues down the sides, the narrow
and black streaking which is found not only on the breast but on the
back and on top of the head, the short tail and the pronounced eye-
ring which gives Lincoln’s sparrow a characteristically wide-eyed
astonished expression enhanced by its tendency to stare at the observer
with neck stretched and crest raised, semi-crouched, as if to dash off
at the slightest movement.
The really difficult plumage in which to determine this species with
accuracy is the juvenal plumage, as Peterson and others have pointed
out, for this plumage very closely resembles that of the juvenal song
and swamp sparrows. Peterson, in the account quoted, wrongly
states: ‘The immature Swamp Sparrow in spring migration * * *”
is misidentified as Lincoln’s. This should read ‘in autumn migra-
tion.” James L. Baillie kindly checked the immature swamp sparrows
in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum and found that the
latest date on which an immature swamp sparrow showed a streaked
breast was September 10. After the end of September there should
be little cause for confusing swamp with Lincoln’s sparrows.
In late summer and early autumn, however, it is really very difficult
to distinguish the juvenals in the field. Wendell Taber wrote us: I
am exceedingly skeptical about sight records of Lincoln Sparrows in
autumn. I remember, vividly, a sparrow I just could not identify
on the shore of a pond in Ipswich many years ago. I went and got
my father-in-law, Dr. C. W. Townsend, from his house 200 yards
distant. HE couldn’t identify the bird. JI kept an eye on the bird
until Dr. T. could get a gun. The bird was a Swamp Sparrow. But,
even in the hand, Dr. T. couldn’t identify it until he had spent a good
deal of time reading.”
The resemblance of juvenal song and swamp sparrows to Lincoln’s
is vividly illustrated in Allan Brooks’ painting (Plate 72) in Forbush
(1929) and his sketch of a juvenal Lincoln’s sparrow on page 98 where
Forbush writes: ‘Young: Often indistinguishable in the field from
young Song Sparrow, unless by narrowness of dark streaks on either
side of throat.”
The crown pattern seems to be a good way for bird banders to
distinguish the juvenals of swamp, song, and Lincoln’s sparrows. The
crown is mostly black, like a black cap, in swamp sparrows. It is
brown with no black streaks in song sparrows. In the Lincoln’s
sparrow the crown is distinctly striped with about six fine black
streaks on a brown background with a gray stripe in the center.
Enemies.—Predatory mammals, chiefly red squirrels, and birds,
notably pigeon hawk, sparrow hawk, broad-winged hawk, gray jay,
crow, and raven, were observed on or flying over the territories of
our nests at Dorion, but the sparrows all survived successfully. The
1460 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
secretive habits of the adults and silence of the young no doubt help
them avoid predation. They do not always escape, however, as
Frank W. Braund and John W. Aldrich (1914) mention ‘“‘young being
eaten by sharp-shinned hawk” from a nest in the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan.
Apparently cowbird parasitism is comparatively rare. Herbert
Friedmann (1963) writes:
This sparrow has been recorded as a cowbird victim only a small number of
times. S. 8S. Stansell, A. D. Henderson, and T. EK. Randall informed me inde-
pendently of parasitized nests, six in number, which they had found in Alberta.
Dr. Ian McTaggert Cowan wrote me of a parasitized nest found at Elk Island
Park, Alberta, the notes on which are in the files of the University of British
Columbia. The late J. H. Bowles wrote me that he had in his collection a para-
sitized set of eggs taken at Kalevala, Manitoba, on June 6, 1920. G. Bancroft
informed me of set found in Monroe County in northern New York on June 1,
1903. Street (Houston and Street, 1959, p. 195) found a nest at Nipawin, Sas-
katchewan, on June 3, containing only 1 egg of the sparrow; two days later it
held 2 sparrow eggs and 2 cowbird eggs; and two days later, again, it held 3
cowbird eggs, no sparrow eggs, and the shell of another cowbird egg outside but
near the nest. The New York Record refers to the eastern race of the Cowbird,
M.a.ater; the others, to M.a.artemisiae. All refer to the typical race of the
sparrow.
At Dorion the song sparrow appeared to be the Lincoln’s sparrow’s
chief competitor. A song sparrow frequently sang from the same
small spruce tree the male of our 1956 nesting pair favored as a
singing perch. ‘The Lincoln’s sparrow never disputed possession of
this tree but always beat a hasty and unobtrusive retreat. On
various occasions song sparrows were seen chasing Lincoln’s sparrows.
The two species frequently had overlapping territories and, so far as
could be determined, had identical territorial requirements. Possibly
song sparrow competition is a factor determining the southern border
of the nesting range of Lincoln’s sparrow. Some territories occupied
by Lincoln’s early in the season were found later in undisputed
possession of song sparrows. The smaller sparrows were able to
remain in the same area in the face of song sparrow aggression only
by dint of persistent passive resistance: they always fled and re-
turned later by stealth. ‘The meek shall inherit the earth.”
The Lincoln’s sparrows at Dorion frequently hunted for food in
the territory of the other congeneric species there, the swamp sparrow,
but no conflicts were observed between the two. Chipping sparrows
nested within the territory of our 1956 pair but did not conflict, as
they nested at a greater height and foraged largely high up in tall
spruces. White-throated sparrows were observed to chase even the
song sparrows when their ranges overlapped, though the white-
throats tended to confine most of their activities to more heavily
forested areas.
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1461
Roy C. Anderson (1959) reports finding the air sacs of a Lincoln’s
sparrow infested with the nematode Diplotriaena bargusinica. He
believes that in some cases this may be an important disease factor.
L. R. Penner (1939) reports a fluke, Tamerlania melospizae, from the
ureter of a Lincoln’s sparrow found dead at Minneapolis May 1, 1938.
Joseph C. Bequaert (1954) lists the species as host to louse flies
(Hippoboscidae) of the following species: Ornithomyia fringillina and
Ornithoica vicina. G. Robert Coatney and Evaline West (1938)
write that the blood parasite Haemoproteus was found in a Lincoln’s
sparrow collected near Peru, Nebr., in 1937: ‘“‘but there were too few
to allow for detailed study.”
Fall—We were never able to remain at Dorion until the Lincoln’s
sparrows left for their autumn migration. When we departed Sept.
6, 1955, the birds were still active on their summer territories. Rita
Taylor, a resident of Dorion, wrote us: ‘We have had Lincoln’s
sparrows feeding here quite often this fall, three at one time at the
kitchen window. The last one was Sept. 19.”
The peak of the autumn migration in the Toronto region is generally
in the third week of September, when they may be found in marshy
places and in weedy fields, often in company with white-throated and
white-crowned sparrows. We used to flush them from the former
Ashbridge’s Bay marsh on the Toronto waterfront. They would
keep well in cover, usually but some would yield to curiosity long
enough to perch in some low bush, peek out at the observers with
craned necks, raised crest, and wide-eyed wonderment, then drop
down out of sight or dash away ahead to repeat the performance.
The latest Toronto record is Nov. 19, 1932 (Speirs, zn litt.).
Bird banders probably see more Lincoln’s sparrows on migration
than most bird watchers. Ruth Brown, of Toronto, Ont., took them
on Sept. 22, 23, and 30 in 1956 at her city banding station. Two
banding recoveries are of interest to fall migration. One banded at
Wantagh, Long Island, N.Y. May 8, 1935, was recovered Oct. 1, 1935.
in Gaspé County, Quebec. Another banded at Treesbank, Manitoba,
Aug. 29, 1937, was recovered at Canarem, Iowa, Dec. 16, 1937.
Roberts (1932) has an interesting account of the fall migration
through Minnesota:
In the fall it is rather easier to find for then it is very abundant and keeps
company with the other migrating Sparrows, but it is still silent and much more
timid than its companions. Mr. Kendall finds it common on the Mesabi Iron
Range in the fall and speaks of its quiet ways and resemblance to the Song Spar-
row, especially when the spot on the breast is well marked. Dr. Hvoslef refers
frequently in his notes to its abundance at Lanesboro, in the valley of the Root
River, occasionally for a couple of weeks rivaling in numbers the White-throat.
It is often abundant in the vicinity of the Twin Cities in late September and early
October, frequenting hedgerows, weed-patches, borders of woods, tamarack
1462 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 8
swamps, and similar dense coverts. Dr. Guilford found many at Lac qui Parle
Lake, Chippewa County, early in October, feeding on the mud-flats just outside
of the grass where the lake had dried; when flushed they took refuge in the grass
farther back. From September 25 to October 3, 1907, the writer found it abun-
dant at Heron Lake, Jackson County, frequenting thick, tangled weeds and grass
on low places and also keeping company with Harris’s Sparrows and White-
throats in high brushy and weedy places and plum thickets. It was common in
corn-fields and old grass-grown gardens. It was sprightly and quick in its actions, .
never still, twitching and jerking all the time, and timidly inquisitive. When
flushed in the open it flew low in the same halting manner and with the same
pumping of the tail as the Song Sparrow. When excited it erected the feathers
of the crown to form a noticeable topknot. No sounds were heard from it except
an occasion weak tsup.
William A. Squires (1952) gives the latest record for New Brunswick
as a specimen in the American Museum taken on the Tobique River
Sept. 28, 1894. For Maine Ralph S. Palmer (1949) writes: “As birds
have been seen or collected in late August at places where they do not
breed, there is some wandering or migration by then. A definite
southward movement begins by the second week in September, with
most birds seen from September 24 to October 13. * * * Late dates
are: * * * October 17, 1918, on Monhegan (Wentworth in Jenney,
1919: 29).”’ Griscom and Snyder (1955) give autumn dates for Mas-
sachusetts as ‘September 12 (specimen)—October (November 1).”
Norman A. Wood (1951) says that in Michigan: ‘The fall migration,
for which the records are more numerous than for the spring, occurs
mainly between the last of August and early October.” The latest
record for the Upper Peninsula is a report by Oscar M. Bryens (1939)
near McMillan in Luce County, on October 17, 1937. The latest
record for the Lower Peninsula appears to be one banded by E. M.
Brigham, Jr. on October 17, 1938 (Walkinshaw, 1939). In central
Pennsylvania Merrill Wood (1958) describes the Lincoln’s sparrow as
“fall transient from early-September to late-October.”
Frances Westman (1960) records 7 Lincoln’s sparrows among the
936 birds killed during four late September nights at the Barrie,
Ontario, television tower. This indicates that Lincoln’s sparrow is a
night migrant.
Winter.—Griscom (1932) writes of the Lincoln’s sparrow in Guate-
mala as ‘A not uncommon winter visitant, which has been taken as
late as April 8. Alfred W. Anthony reports that he found it chiefly
in the pine woods above 3000 feet.”
Wetmore (1943) writes that Lincoln’s sparrows are common winter
residents in southern Veracruz, Mexico. He collected a small series
in grassy clearings near the village of Tres Zapotes Mar. 8, 18, and
30 and Apr. 3 and 13, 1939, and on Jan. 23, 1940; also by the riverside
at Titacotalpam on Feb. 5, 1940, and in grassy pastures on old dunes
at El Conejo on Feb. 12, 1940. About the migration through Vera-
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1463
cruz he writes: “On March 30 there was sudden increase in their
number, evidence of migration from farther south, as on that morning
half a dozen came skipping about on the ground in our clearing.
They were passing in increased numbers through the early days in
April and were still present on April 15, when I left for return home.”
Dale A. Zimmerman (1957) describes his experience with Lincoln’s
sparrow in Tamaulipas, Mexico: “In 1955, at Pano Ayuctle, we
found Lincoln Sparrows familiar door-yard birds that were easily
studied at close range as they fed on the lawn and about the buildings.
Two individuals that frequented a much-used path leading from the
house, seldom moved more than a few feet out of the way when people
walked by. They were as fearless as House Sparrows of city parks.
The contrast between this behavior and that of the species during
migration, and particularly on its breeding grounds, was striking.”’
Very rarely one of these sparrows remains north during the winter.
On Jan. 3, 1960 Mrs. Else Rohner identified a Lincoln’s sparrow at
her feeding station near Rochester, New York. It remained into
April and was seen by a number of qualified observers from the
Rochester and Buffalo areas. Mrs. Rohner reported (fide Allen
Kemnitzer) that the bird was fairly responsive to the placing of seed
in the feeder, that it held its own with other feeding birds and that it
was not overly shy. Its behavior appeared to be quite typical of a
Lincoln’s sparrow on its wintering grounds.
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Western Alaska, central Yukon, Mackenzie, northern
Ontario, northern Quebec, central Labrador, and Newfoundland south
to southern Mexico, El Salvador, the Gulf Coast, and central Florida.
Breeding range.—The eastern Lincoln’s sparrow breeds from western
and interior Alaska (upper Kobuk River, Iliamna Lake; Cordova
Bay, intergrades with M. 1. gracilis), central Yukon (Forty Mile),
western and southern Mackenzie (Fort Good Hope, Fort Providence),
northern Manitoba (Churchill), northern Ontario (Fort Severn),
northern Quebec (Great Whale River, Fort Chimo), central Labrador
(Hopedale), and Newfoundland (St. Anthony) south through interior
British Columbia (Atlin, Chilcotin Lake) to the mountains of central
and northeastern Washington (Mount Rainier, Windy Peak), northern
Idaho (Potlatch River), northwestern Montana (Flathead Lake),
southern and central Alberta (Waterton Lake Park, Battle River
region), central Saskatchewan (Big River), southern Manitoba
(Margaret), northern Minnesota (Leech Lake, Duluth), northern
Wisconsin (Madeline Island, Oconto), central Michigan (Missaukee
County), southern Ontario (casually to Pottageville and Wainfleet
Marsh), western New York (Monroe County 15 miles northeast
1464 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
of Wilmurt), central and eastern Maine, and Nova Scotia
(Advocate Harbour).
Winter range.—Winters from northern California (Chico, Sebasto-
pol), southern Nevada (Searchlight), northern Arizona (Flagstaff),
northern New Mexico (Shiprock), northern Oklahoma (Copan),
eastern Kansas, central Missouri (Kansas City), south-central Ken-
tucky (Bowling Green), and northern Georgia (Kirkwood; Chatham >
County) south to southern Baja California (Victoria Mountains),
El Salvador (Los Esesmiles), Quintana Roo (Camp Mengel), southern
Louisiana (Cameron), southern Mississippi (Gulfport), Alabama,
and central Florida (Orlando); casually north to Washington (Foster
Island), northern Illinois (Beach), southern Ontario (Kingston),
Pennsylvania (Jeffersonville), and North Carolina (Raleigh), and
south to Canal Zone, southern Florida (Goulds), and Bermuda.
Accidental in Greenland (Nanortalik) and Jamaica (Blue
Mountains).
Migration.—The data deal with the species as a whole. Early dates
of spring arrival are: Florida—Tallahassee, April 26. Alabama—
Huntsville, May 2. South Carolina—Aiken County, April 24.
Virginia—Lynchburg, April 4; Blacksburg, April 5. District of
Columbia—April 21 (average of 10 years, May 5). Maryland—
Laurel, May 3. Pennsylvania—Beaver, May 6; State College, May 7.
New Jersey—Princeton, May 8. New York—New York City,
April 11; Ontario County, April 28; Orient, April 29. Connecticut—
East Hartford, April 24. Massachusetts—Cambridge, May 7. New
Hampshire—New Hampton, May 15 (median of 5 years, May 20).
Maine—Bangor and Lake Umbagog, May 15. Quebec—Montreal
area, May 6. New Brunswick—Grand Manan, May 2. Nova
Scotia—Antigonish, May 19. Newfoundland—Tompkins, May 19.
Arkansas—Little Rock, April 10. Tennessee—Nashville, April 25;
Knox County, May 12. Missouri—St. Louis, April 1 (median of 13
years, April 20). IJllinois—Urbana, April 1 (median of 19 years,
May 3); Chicago, April 19 (average of 16 years, April 30). Indiana—
Wayne County, April 28. Ohio—Oberlin, April 14 (median of 12
years, May 9); central Ohio, April 16 (median of 40 years, May 5).
Michigan—Battle Creek, April 22; Detroit area, May 4 (mean of 10
years, May 7). Ontario—Meadowvale, April14. Iowa—Sioux City,
April 12. Wisconsin—Oconto County, April 12. Minnesota—
Minneapolis-St. Paul, April 19 (average of 6 years, April 26). Okla-
homa—Norman, April 2. Kansas—northeastern Kansas, April 14
(median of 7 years, April 18). Nebraska—Holstein, April 18; Red
Cloud, April 20 (average of 11 years, May 1). South Dakota—
Sioux Falls, April 17 (average of 7 years, April 27); Mellette, April 20.
North Dakota—Lower Souris Refuge, April 14; Cass County, April 27
LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1465
(average, May 1). Manitoba—Treesbank, April 25 (average of 12
years, May 9). Saskatchewan—EKastend, May 1. Mackenzie—Hay
River, May 12. New Mexico—Los Alamos, March 20. Colorado—
Fort Lyon, April 2. Utah—Salt Lake City, March 21. Wyoming—
Laramie, April 8 (average of 9 years, May 1). Idaho—Lewiston,
April 1 (median of northern Idaho, April 13). Montana—Libby,
April 28; Miles City, May 4. Alberta—Carvel, April 29. Nevada—
Mercury, March 18. Oregon—Malheur National Wildlife Refuge,
April 14. Washington—Bellingham Bay, April 23. British Co-
lumbia—Okanagan, April 18. Alaska—Nulato, May 16.
Late dates of spring departure are: Florida—Lower Keys, May 14.
Alabama—Florence, May 11. Georgia—Athens, May 13. North
Carolina—Morganton, May 14. Virginia—Lexington, May 18;
Blacksburg, May 16. District of Columbia—May 30 (average of 10
years, May 20). Maryland—Brookeville, June 1; Prince Georges
County, May 30. Pennsylvania—Crawford County, May 24. New
York—New York City area, June 7. Connecticut—Hartford, May
30. Massachusetts—Belmont, May 26. New Hampshire—New
Hampton, June 1; Concord, May 23. Maine—Portland, May 12.
New Brunswick—Grand Manan, May 26. Louisiana—Baton Rouge,
April14. Mississippi—Deer Island, May 7. Arkansas—Little Rock,
May 16. 'Tennessee—Nashville, May 28 (median of 13 years, May
17). Kentucky—Bardstown, May 16. Missouri—St. Louis, May 30
(median of 13 years, May 14). Illinois—Chicago, June 1 (average of
16 years, May 27); Urbana, May 28 (median of 19 years, May 15).
Indiana—Wayne County, May 22. Ohio—central Ohio, May 28
(median of 40 years, May 18); Oberlin, May 23 (median of 12 years,
May 14). Michigan—Detroit area, May 24 (mean of 10 years,
May 22). Ontario—London, May 19. Iowa—Sioux City, May 20.
Wisconsin—Sheboygan, May 29. Minnesota—Minneapolis-St. Paul,
May 22 (average of 6 years, May 19). Texas—Sinton, May 16
(median of 5 years, May 4); Amarillo, May 12. Oklahoma—Nor-
man, May 12. Kansas—northeastern Kansas, May 19 (median of 9
years, May 6). Nebraska—Holstein, May 17. South Dakota—
Sioux Falls, May 23 (average of 6 years, May 20). North Dakota—
Cass County, May 30 (average, May 24). New Mexico—Los
Alamos, May 27. Arizona—Cibola, April 7. Utah—Uinta Basin,
April 15. Idaho—Moscow, May 15 (median for northern Idaho,
May 1). Montana—Libby and Columbia Falls, May 15. Cali-
fornia—Mount Hamilton, May 8. Nevada—Esmeralda County,
May 9. Oregon—Ashland, May6. Washington—Okanogan, May 6.
Early dates of fall arrival are: Washington—Mount Adams,
August 27; Everson, September 5. Oregon—Portland, September 9.
Nevada—Hidden Forest, September 17. California—Berkeley, Sep-
646-737—68—pt. 3——15
1466 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
tember 8. Montana—Dawson County, August 27; Libby, August 28.
TIdaho—Lewiston, August 29 (median for northern Idaho, Septem-
ber 1). Utah—Standrod, August 25. Arizona—Chiricahua Moun-
tains, August 24. New Mexico—Los Alamos, September 2 (median
of 6 years, September 11). North Dakota—Cass County, August 22
(average, August 26); Jamestown, August 25. South Dakota—Sioux
Falls, August 27. Nebraska—Holstein, September 5. Kansas—_
northeastern Kansas, September 5 (median of 6 years, October 1).
Oklahoma—Copan, September 29. 'Texas—Austin, September 11;
Sinton, September 17 (median of 9 years, October 8). Minnesota—
Minneapolis-St. Paul, August 17 (average of 5 years, September 1).
Wisconsin—Waukesha County, September 3. Jowa—Sioux City,
August 31. Ontario—Toronto, September 18. Michigan—Detroit
area, September 7 (mean of 10 years, September 20). Ohio—Buck-
eye Lake, September 4 (median of 40 years for central Ohio, Septem-
ber 23). Indiana—Wayne County, September 18. Illinois—Chicago,
September 1 (average of 16 years, September 10). Missouri—St.
Louis, September 18 (median of 12 years, September 28). Kentucky—
Bowling Green, September 20. Tennessee—Nashville, September 29;
Knox County, October 5. Arkansas—Fayetteville, October 8; Little
Rock, October 14. Mississippi—Deer Island, November 1. Loui-
siana—Baton Rouge, October 11. Maine—Portland, September 25.
New Hampshire—New Hampton, September 2 (median of 18 years,
September 19). Massachusetts—Belmont, September 9. Connecti-
cut—Stanford, September 2; East Windsor Hill, September 9. New
York—Orient, September 9; Tiana, September 11. New Jersey—
Princeton, September 21. Pennsylvania—State College, September 5;
Beaver, September 30. Maryland—Laurel, September 12. District
of Columbia—September 30. Virginia—Blacksburg, September 18;
Lexington, September 21. North Carolina—North Fork Valley,
September 17. Georgia—Athens, October 6. Alabama—Dauphin
Island, October 14; Livingston, October 17. Florida—Leon County,
October 9; Lower Keys, October 18.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska—Cook Inlet, September 28.
Yukon—Macmillan River, August 24. British Columbia—Chilli-
wack, October 21. Washington—Tacoma, November 11. Oregon—
Portland, November 26. Nevada—lIndian Springs, October 21. Al-
berta—Camrose, October 7. Montana—Libby, October 2. Idaho—
Lewiston, October 16 (median for northern Jdaho, October 2). Wyo-
ming—Laramie, October 20 (average of 9 years, October 3). Utah—
Deep Creek, October 5. Colorado—Colorado Springs, November 2.
New Mexico—Los Alamos, October 18 (median of 5 years, October 2).
Mackenzie—Fort Simpson, September 6. Saskatchewan—Eastend,
September 22. Manitoba—Treesbank, October 27 (average of 11
MONTANE LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1467
years, October 17). North Dakota—Cass County, October 21
(average, October 5). South Dakota—Sioux Falls, October 21.
Nebraska—Holstein, November 4. Kansas—northeastern Kansas,
October 27. Oklahoma—Payne County, November 8. Minnesota—
Minneapolis-St. Paul, October 28 (average of 6 years, October 19).
Wisconsin—Milwaukee, November 6. Iowa—Sioux City, October 26.
Ontario—Toronto, October 11. Michigan—Detroit area, October 27
(mean of 10 years, October 12); Battle Creek, October 17. Ohio—
Buckeye Lake, November 3 (median of 40 years for central Ohio,
October 23). Indiana—Wayne County, October 23 (median of 5
years, October 19). Illinois—Chicago, October 28 (average of 16
years, October 16). Missouri—St. Louis, November 10 (median of
12 years, October 28). Kentucky—Bowling Green, November 26.
Tennessee—Nashville, October 29 (median of 10 years, October 11);
Knox County, October 23. Arkansas—Little Rock, November 25.
Newfoundland—Stephenville Crossing, September 20. New Bruns-
wick—Tobique River, September 28. Quebec—Montreal area, Octo-
ber 6. Maine—Lake Umbagog, October 16. New Hampshire—New
Hampton, October 17 (median of 18 years, October 17). Massachu-
setts—Belmont, November 1. Connecticut—East Windsor Hill,
October 24. New York—Long Island, December 4. New Jersey—
Princeton, October 25; Cape May, October 12. Pennsylvania—State
College, October 26; Allegheny County, October 23. Maryland—
Baltimore County, October 30; Laurel, October 30 (median of 4,
October 12). District of Columbia—October 21 (average of 3 years,
October 18). Virginia—Lexington, November 22; Blacksburg, Octo-
ber 26. South Carolina—Columbia, November 7.
Egg dates.—Alaska: 2 records, June 21 and June 27.
Alberta: 46 records, May 27 to June 28; 27 records, June 6 to
June 14.
Mackenzie: 4 records, June 13 to June 25.
New Brunswick: 7 records, June 8 to June 15.
Ontario: 11 records, June 4 to July 11; 6 records, June 9 to June 17.
Quebec: 30 records, June 3 to June 29; 18 records, June 12 to
June 21.
MELOSPIZA LINCOLNII ALTICOLA (Miller and McCabe)
Montane Lincoln’s Sparrow
Contributed by Ottver L. Austin, Jr.
Hasits
The 1957 A.O.U. Check-List assigns to this race the Lincoln’s spar-
rows breeding in the mountains from Oregon and Montana southward
1468 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
to northern New Mexico, central Arizona, and southern California.
This is essentially the distribution its describers, Miller and McCabe
(1935) attribute to it. They epitomize the population as a variable
‘‘mosaic,”’ for which they were reluctant to designate a type because
“there is no such thing as a specimen typical of the race.” They
claim the subspecies averages slightly larger than nominate northern
and eastern lincolnw, and “includes chiefly birds with moderately —
ruddy or brown backs, rarely ruddy or gray-brown backs. The
greatest number are brown-backed. Varying percentages of brown
backed birds are of the dull brown type with reduced light feather
margins. Birds with moderately broad and narrow stripes are
included, but the latter type predominates.”
It must be admitted that the systematic status of alticola still
remains open to some question, for no two recent writers who have
studied the western Lincoln’s sparrows agree with each other, or with
the Check-List for that matter, on its characteristics and distribution.
Jewett et al. (1953) assign to it the birds breeding in the mountains
of Washington state, which they claim are “more grayish and slightly
larger” than nominate lincolnii. Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959)
include in it all the Lincoln’s sparrows of mainland Alaska and Mac-
kenzie, which they find ‘‘entirely lack the rich browns that characterize
the eastern race.’’ Finally Phillips et al. (1964) relegate alticola
to the synonymy of Lincolnii with the tart parenthetical comment:
“Several earnest ornithologists have foundered on McCabe’s color
descriptions or have left museum work in despair.”
At best the population to which the Check-List assigns this name
is a poorly marked and highly variable one. Sharp geographical
boundaries cannot be drawn between many of its segments, and
throughout its range are many individuals that cannot be identified
subspecifically with certainty on morphological grounds alone.
Its summer habitat in California Grinnell and Miller (1944) describe
as ‘mountain meadows of boggy type, grown to fairly tall grass,
Veratrum, and sedges, and fringed or intermixed with willow thickets.
Wet ground and wet dead grass invariably are present. The ground
usually is flooded shallowly by melting snow or by springs or overflow
from streams at the time nest sites are chosen.’’
In these surroundings the species becomes somewhat less shy.
W. L. Dawson (1923) notes:
And forty years of acquaintance with the Lincoln Song Sparrow in winter and
on migrations will scarcely yield one more than fleeting glimpses, baffling dis-
appearances, or strained moments of maddening unnaturalness.
Quite different is the story of the Lincoln sparrow in his summer home, an
emerald meadow in the Sierras, or a lush-bound cienaga in one of the southern
ranges. There he bursts upon you in a torrent of music, a flood which leaves
you fairly gasping. This little, slinking, bird-afraid-of-his-shadow gets all at
MONTANE LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1469
once the courage of mighty convictions, when he has the mountain to back him;
and though he still skulks and evades, it is henceforth rather as a modest hero
shunning the plaudits of an unrestrained admiration.”
Nesting —Charles R. Keyes (1905) was one of the first to record a
nest of this form. He found one in the central Sierras “with three
half-fledged young * * * in a small and very wet meadow near Susie
Lake, just off the Mt. Tallac trail, on July 2. It was placed in a
bunch of dead grass and composed of the same material and a few
hairs. Both parents approached me closely while at the nest.”
Wright M. Pierce (1916) writes from the San Bernardino Mountains
of California, “(On June 21 in a small meadow near Bluff Lake I found
a nest containing five eggs of this bird, incubation just started. The
nest was placed on the ground at the base of a small bunch of hellebore,
and was composed mostly of grass, with a little hair and one feather
for a lining.”
In the mountains of southwestern Montana, Aretas A. Saunders
(1910) writes in the experimental spelling of that day
* * * T flusht a Lincoln Sparrow (Melospiza lincolni) from its nest, situated at
the base of a clump of willows and containing three eggs. At our next camp,
about six miles south of Pipestone Basin, I found two more nests of this bird, one
with four and one with five eggs. The nests are much like those of the Song
Sparrow but a little smaller, and constructed almost entirely of grass with little
or no hair in the lining. The way in which this bird flushes from her nest is very
distinctive and quite unlike any other sparrow with which I am acquainted. She
slips quietly from her nest and runs off thru the grass without a note or a flutter
of any sort, her movements more like those of a mouse than a bird. In fact two
of the three birds I flusht I supposed at first were mice, and had I not lookt at
them a second time would have gone away without seeing their nests.
In his recent studies of subalpine fringillids in Colorado, Neil F.
Hadley (MS.) writes:
Nineteen nests of the Lincoln’s Sparrow were found. These nests were re-
stricted to very wet, marshy areas between 9,500 and 11,000 feet. The availability
of this particular habitat, plus the excellent concealment of the nest were important
factors in reducing the number of nests found. The number of eggs per nest
varied from 4 to 5 and averaged 4.4. The length of incubation for eggs in nests
for which it was possible to follow the complete history of a brood was 12 to 13
days, with a similar amount of time spent in the nest after hatching. It was not
determined whether the Lincoln’s Sparrow attempted a second brood if the first
was unsuccessful or if more than one brood was reared during the season.
Jewett et al. (1953) write:
Few nests have ever been found in the [Washington] state. Dawson (1908d:
483) reports a breeding colony of some 20 individuals in the swamp at Longmire
Springs, Mt. Rainier. On July 1, 1908, the birds seemed to be about evenly
divided between care of young out of the nest and preparations for a second
nesting. Peck located a nest July 25, 1917, in a little alder bush in a swampy
place along Surveyors Creek, close to Signal Peak Ranger Station. The nest was
not quite 12 inches from the ground, being concealed by sedges. It was built of
1470 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
rather fine grasses and contained 5 eggs in an advanced stage of incubation. As
the observer approached, the parent flew silently from the nest and did not
reappear during the 10 minutes he spent in the neighborhood.
Eggs.—The measurements of 40 eggs average 19.1 by 14.5 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 20.6 by 15.2,
20.1 by 15.5, 17.8 by 13.7, and 18.0 by 13.2 millimeters.
Young.—No account of the breeding biology of this form has ever
been published, but most aspects of it probably differ little if at all
from those of the nominate race. A. A. Saunders (1910) continues
his experiences with the species in Montana:
Up to the time the young birds left the nest I never heard an alarm note of
any sort from the Lincoln Sparrows, but after that time, which took place about
June 25, one could not enter the willow thickets without being scolded from one
end to the other by these birds. We had a litter of young coyotes in camp, and
one Sunday they broke loose from their pen and led us quite a chase into a near-by
willow swamp, before they were finally captured. As soon as they entered the
swamp the Lincoln Sparrows, evidently recognizing a natural enemy, started
scolding in a manner that I have seldom heard equalled in any bird. While
helping to corner one of the coyotes, I notist a young Lincoln Sparrow running
ahed of me thru the grass and soon captured it. In general appearance and in
the manner in which it ran thru the grass this bird resembled, until actually
caught, a newly hatcht game-bird rather than a young sparrow. It was unable
to fly, but was very active at running and hiding in the tall grass. I took it to
camp and posed it on the end of a tent peg for its picture, after which I releast it
again in the swamp.
Food.—As Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) point out, “Little is
known about their food * * *. Nevertheless, it can be assumed to
consist of seeds similar to those utilized by other sparrows. It probably
also takes its share of such insects as are available during the summer
months.” The latter observation is corroborated by Grinnell (1908)
who states that while camped in the San Bernardino Mountains in
late June “fully a dozen adults were seen, some carrying bills full of
insects and others singing a wheezy, incoherent song from the tips of
dead willow stalks. They were very secretive and kept pretty much
out of sight in the rank Veratrum patches and willow thickets.”
Voice-—R. T. Peterson (1941) states “Song, sweet and gurgling;
suggests both House Wren and Purple Finch; starts with low passages,
rises abruptly, drops.”’ Dawson (1923) gives the following more
detailed account of his impressions of it in California:
The song of the Lincoln Sparrow is of a distinctly musical order, being gushing,
vivacious and wren-like in quality, rather than lisping and wooden, as are so many
of our sparrow songs. Indeed, the bird shows a much stronger relationship in
song to the Purple Finch than it does to its immediate congeners, the Song
Sparrows. The principal strain is gurgling, rolling, and spontaneous, and the
bird has ever the trick of adding two or three inconsequential notes at the end of
his ditty, quite in approved Purple Finch fashion. Linkup, tinkup perly werly
willie willie weeee (dim.) says one; Riggle, jiggle, eet eet eer oor, another. Che willy
MONTANE LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1471
willy willy che quill; Lee lee lee quilly willy, willy, and other such, come with full
force and freshness at a hundred yards to the listeners * * *,
Jewett et al. (1953) thus describe it in Washington: ‘The song of
the Lincoln sparrow, which may be heard in summer on favorable
alpine meadows, is rendered with unique and attractive quality, and
when first heard greatly piques the curiosity. On attempting to find
the bird the concert stops abruptly, and the singer drops into the
brush out of sight. * * * As the summer advances the song of the
Lincoln loses much of its piquancy and charm, and is less often heard,
A chek call note, with something of junco and of warbler quality about
it, but different from either, is more in evidence.”
Fall.—Jewett et al. (1953) continue:
The restlessness so universal with birds in the fall seems to infect the Lincoln
with the rest, and migrating individuals are frequently encountered. It is less
closely bound at this season by its predilections for meadow and swamp, and we
have found it common in September in the flag and tule thickets of the lowlands
and the mountain ash brush and dwarfed conifers close to timber line in the moun-
tains. It is likely to be encountered, during migration, in almost any brushy or
grassy situation not too far from water, although it sedulously avoids the woods.
It often attaches itself to roving bands of white-crowned or golden-crowned
sparrows or juncos.
Winter.—Grinnell and Miller (1944) state this race migrates to the
the California lowlands in September and winters in the same type of
habitat as M. l. lincolnii, which they characterize as: ‘“Low-growing
bushes and clumps of annuals interspersed with grass, especially on
damp ground or near water. Ditch banks, brushy borders of sloughs,
tangles of driftwood, and sedge clumps are typical situations. The
birds adhere closely to cover and make the fullest use of its protection
when alarmed, only momentarily exposing themselves in flight low
over the ground between cover. In foraging they work inconspicuously
and solitarily through the grass about the bases of bushes or within
brush tangles.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Oregon and Montana south to southern Mexico, Guate-
mala, and El Salvador.
Breeding range.—The Montane Lincoln’s sparrow breeds in moun-
tains from north-central and eastern Oregon (Breitenbush Lake,
Wallowa Mountains), central Idaho (Payette Lake), southwestern
and south-central Montana (18 miles northwest of Dillon, Shriver),
and north-central Wyoming (Big Horn Mountains) south to Cali-
fornia (west to the inner northern coast ranges, South Yolla Bolly
Mountain; south to the San Jacinto Mountains), west-central Nevada
(Galena Creek), southwestern Utah (Cedar Breaks), east-central
Arizona (White Mountains), and northern New Mexico (Pecos Baldy).
1472 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Winter range—Winters from central California (Hayward,
Modesto), southern Nevada (Boulder City), southern Arizona
(Phoenix, Patagonia), Chihuahua (Chihuahua), and southern Texas
(Kerrville) south to southern Baja California (E] Sauce), Guatemala
(Finca La Primavera), and El Salvador (Los Esesmiles). In migra-
tion in western Kansas.
Egg dates.—California: 29 records, May 24 to June 30; 22 records
June 13 to June 25.
Colorado: 21 records, June 12 to July 14; 11 records June 20 to
June 26.
Oregon: 6 records, June 13 to June 25.
MELOSPIZA LINCOLNII GRACILIS (Kittlitz)
Northwestern (Forbush’s) Lincoln’s Sparrow
Contributed by Ottver L. Austin, Jr.
HaBITs
The Lincoln’s sparrows breeding on the Pacific coast and islands
from southeastern Alaska to Vancouver Island average slightly smaller
in wing and tail measurements than the other two subspecies. P. A.
Taverner (1926) calls gracilis “a faintly defined race, slightly more
olivaceous on back and with the dark streaks heavier and more
numerous.”
J. Grinnell (1910) reports that Miss Alexander found the birds at
the head of Cordova Bay ‘‘occupying the upper end of the tide flat,
where they found cover in the low, stiff, willow-like brush that skirted
the sloughs.”” In the Sitka region George Willett (1914) says: ‘“‘It is
apparently a fairly common summer visitant during some years, and
much less plentiful during others. In the summer of 1912 I found it
common in the grass around Swan Lake and in marshes at the head of
Silver Bay. Young birds just out of the nest were noted in the former
locality July 28. During 1913 I visited both of these localities several
times but failed to find the species at all, nor did I note it anywhere
else in the region.”
H.S. Swarth (1922) describes gracilis as probably occurring through-
out the upper Stikine Valley but, “judging from our experience, in
small numbers and at widely scattered points.”” When he reached
Sergief Island August 18th many birds were present, and ‘‘they
greatly increased in numbers within the next few days. At the upper
margin of the marshes, that section which is but rarely inundated by
the tides, there is much willow brush, increasing in density and size
of the trees as the salt water is left behind. The lower edge of this
strip, where the willow brush was about waist high and rather scat-
NORTHWESTERN LINCOLN’S SPARROW 1473
tered, and with thick grass beneath, was the preferred habitat * * *
and here the birds literally swarmed. I was accustomed to think of
this species as being rather solitary in its habits, but here, whether or
not the birds were in constantly associated flocks, their choice of sur-
roundings brought hundreds of them closely together.’”’ He counted
15 birds in view at one time. The species was still present in reduced
numbers September 7th.
Grinnell (1909) states “On Chichagof Island it was not uncom-
mon along the edge of the timber near the river at Hooniah, June 21
to 27, where it was breeding. Littlejohn found a nest there June 26,
in the moss on the side of a fallen, half-buried log just above high-
water mark. It was well concealed by overhanging vegetation.
The nest was located by watching the female parent feed the five
young which were thought to be about six days old. She was very
shy about approaching the nest.”” The same author (1910) describes
a nest Miss Alexander found at the head of Cordova Bay June 10 as:
well concealed in a rather straggling clump of the stiff brush characterizing the
local habitat of the species. It was located at the base of a low-lying branch that
almost completely covered it. The nest (no. 39) presents a firm structure, ex-
ternally 67 mm. deep by 100 in width. This does not, however, probably include
whatever peripheral loosely laid material there may have been. The cup-shaped
cavity is 38 mm. deep by 53 wide. Externally the nest consists of layers of brown
willow leaves of the previous season. Within this and making up the rim, is a
basket-work of rather coarse, weathered grayish stems and blades of grass.
Finally the nest-lining is of fine, round, yellowed grasses.
The measurements of 40 eggs average 19.4 by 14.2 millimeters; the
eggs showing the four extremes measure 20.8 by 14.7, 19.8 by 16.64,
17.8 by 13.7, and 18.0 by 13.2 millimeters.
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Southeastern Alaska to central California.
Breeding range.-—The northwestern Lincoln’s sparrow breeds in
the coastal district of southeastern Alaska (Yakutat Bay, Juneau)
and central British Columbia (Doch-da-on, intergrades with M. 1.
lincolnii; Queen Charlotte Islands, Porcher Island); rarely on Van-
couver Island (in mountains).
Winter range-—Winters chiefly in central California (Lakeport,
Colusa, Morro Bay, Walker Basin); rarely south to southern Cali-
fornia (Tia Juana River), northern Baja California (El Valle de la
Trinidad), southwestern Arizona (The Needles), central Sonora
(Maicoba), and Coahuila (Sierra del Carmen).
1474 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 8
MELOSPIZA GEORGIANA ERICRYPTA Oberholser
Northern Swamp Sparrow
PLATE 74
Contributed by Davin KENNETH WETHERBEE
HABITS
“Tn this moderately well marked race,” (Godfrey, 1949) “breeding
adults differ from Melospiza georgiana georgiana in their paler upper
parts, the browns of back and rump averaging grayer, the pale
dorsal feather edgings whiter and apparently broader. Autumn
specimens of ericrypta are distinguishable by their paler dorsal and
rump coloration, and by the paler feather edgings of the back which
provide more contrast with the black dorsal streaking than in
georgiana, which average darker and duller above. In juvenal plumage
the differences are somewhat less obvious but ericrypta averages
paler.” Wetmore (1940) finds that Oberholser’s (1938) statement
that the western birds are smaller is not confirmed by measurements.
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Southern Mackenzie, northern Ontario, central Quebec,
and Newfoundland south to central Mexico, the Gulf coast, and
northeastern Florida.
Breeding range.-—The northern swamp sparrow breeds from south-
western and central southern Mackenzie (Fort Norman, Hill Island
Lake), northern Saskatchewan (Lake Athabaska), northern Manitoba
(Churchill), northern Ontario (Fort Severn, Attawapiskat Post),
central Quebec (Paul Bay, Mingan Island), and Newfoundland
(Pistolet Bay, St. John’s) south to northeastern British Columbia
(Nulki Lake, Tates Creek), central Alberta (Red Deer), southern
Saskatchewan (Indian Head), southern Manitoba (Margaret, Indian
Bay), northeastern North Dakota (Fargo), northern Minnesota,
western and central Ontario (Big Fork, Chapleau), and south-central
Quebec (Lake St. John, Gaspé Peninsula).
Winter range-—Winters south to Jalisco (Ocotlén), Tamaulipas
(Altamira), eastern Texas (Beaumont), southern Louisiana (Buras),
southern Mississippi (Cat Island), southern Georgia (Grady County,
Folkston), and northeastern Florida (Gainesville, Palatka). North-
ern limits in winter imperfectly known; recorded from Tennessee
(Nashville), South Carolina (Anderson County), Virginia (Manassas,
Alexandria, Mount Vernon), and Massachusetts (Wayland) ; casually
to northwestern Oregon (Tillamook), California (Morro Bay; San
Diego County; Riverside, Salton Sea), central Nevada (Ruby Lake),
and southern Arizona (Tucson).
SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1475
Egg dates.—Ontario: 28 records, May 19 to July 25; 14 records,
May 30 to June 9.
Quebec: 26 records, May 9 to June 26; 18 records, May 20 to June 2.
MELOSPIZA GEORGIANA GEORGIANA (Latham)
Southern Swamp Sparrow
Contributed by Davin KennETH WETHERBEE
Hasits
Because the specimen he described came from Georgia, John Latham
named this species Fringilla georgiana in 1790. Known earlier by
William Bartram as the ‘‘reed sparrow,” it was first called the swamp
sparrow by Alexander Wilson when he redescribed it as Fringilla
palustris (swampy) in 1811. Recognizing its close taxonomic rela-
tionship to the song and Lincoln’s sparrows, Spencer Fullerton Baird
placed all three species in his new genus Melospiza (song finch) in 1858.
Because of the similarity of their juvenal plumages, Richard Graber
(pers. comm.) would unite Melospiza and Passerelle, as J. M. Linsdale
(1928) and others have recommended on morphological and behavioral
grounds. Graber considers georgiana, on the basis of plumage charac-
teristics, to be evolutionarily the “most advanced”? member of the
combined genera. Though this group is famous for geographical
variation in color and size, only three subspecies of the swamp sparrow
are recognized by the current (1957) A.O.U. Check-List: the nominate
southern race, georgiana, a lighter northern race, ericrypta, and a darker
coastal race, nigrescens. ‘The habits of all three are treated together
here.
In comparison to its much-studied congener, the song sparrow, the
swamp sparrow is rather poorly known, a simple consequence of the
ankle- to waist-deep morass that is its usual habitat. As E. H.
Forbush (1929) aptly expresses it:
The Swamp Sparrow is not a public character. He will never be popular or
notorious. He is too retiring to be much in the public eye, and too fond of the
impassable bog and morass to have much human company; and so he comes and
goes unheralded and to most people unknown. He is the dark little bird that
fusses about in the mud when spring floods have overflowed the wood roads, or
slips through the grasses on marsh-lined shores of slow-flowing, muddy rivers.
Any watery, muddy, bushy, grassy place where rank marsh grasses, sedges and
reeds grow—any such bog or slough where a man will need long rubber boots to
get about—is good enough for Swamp Sparrows. In such places they build their
nests. But in migration they may appear almost anywhere, though seldom
distinctly seen and recognized by ordinary observers, because of their retiring
habits. When they are looked for, they sneak about, mostly under cover, and
hardly show themselves sufficiently for identification, but if the observer
1476 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
apparently takes no interest in their whereabouts and sits quietly down, curiosity
may overcome their suspicions and bring them into view.
Spring.—The ‘“‘swamp song sparrows” are first heard in the breeding
range in March, and they reach a numerical peak in New England in
mid-May. At this time they can be found in many swamps where
there will be none during the nesting season. The sparse northern
wintering population is probably migratory; a bird banded at Athol, '
Mass. in January remained at the banding station until April when it
disappeared (Bagg and Eliot, 1937). One banded at Lisle, IIl.,
May 1, 1931, was found dead a year and a day later in Clarion, Mich.
P. L. Hatch (1892) states, perhaps without critical evidence, that
the females arrive a few days later than the males in spring.
LeRoy C. Stegeman (1955) notes that swamp sparrows are lighter
in weight in the spring than they are in the fall. This condition, the
reverse of that in its near relative, the song sparrow, he attributes to
the fact that the swamp sparrow is more insectivorous and less
eranivorous than the song sparrow.
Nesting—The swamp sparrow breeds in fresh water marshes,
swamps, bogs, and wet meadows, and about the low swampy shores of
lakes and streams, more rarely in coastal brackish meadows. Usually
only a few pairs occupy a given locality, but occasionally it seems
to nest semi-colonially where conditions are suitable. Chandler S.
Robbins (1949) reports a breeding density of 21 per 100 acres (2 in
9% acres) of ‘open hemlock-spruce bog” in Maryland. J. W. Aldrich
(1943) determined that in northeastern Ohio it shares seasonal
predominance with the redwinged blackbird and Virginia rail in the
Decodon-Typha Associes; with the short-billed marsh wren, redwinged
blackbird, and Virginia rail in the Juncus-Scirpus Associes; with the
song sparrow, yellowthroat, and yellow warbler in the Nemopanthus-
Alnus Associes; with the song sparrow, American goldfinch, robin,
yellow warbler, yellowthroat, redwinged blackbird, kingbird, and
Traill’s flycatcher in the Cephalanthus-Alnus associes; and with the
song sparrow and yellowthroat in the Chamaedaphne-calyculata
Consocies. G. M. Allen (1925) states more simply that in most
New England swamps “The Swamp Sparrows are found in the inner
grassy ring; Song Sparrows and Yellowthroats in the bushy border.”
George M. Sutton writes me that he believes, from observations at
the George Reserve in Michigan that this species requires mixed
vegetation, a more complete overhead shelter than a pure stand of
Chamacdaphne affords, and that adequate nest-sites are not provided
by a pure stand of cat-tails.
Practically nothing is known of territorial behavior in this species,
nor has its courtship been described. The male generally sings from
a conspicuous position on an alder or willow or cat-tail, and often
SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1477
adopts this perch as its habitual singing place. While singing the
bird spreads its tail noticeably. G. M. Sutton writes me that he
once observed a male chasing a female with a dry grass-blade in her
bill.
Sutton (1928) based the following generalized description on some
66 nests he found in the Pymatuning Swamp area of Pennsylvania:
Nests were almost never placed on the ground, but were built between the
cat-tail stalks, or upon the bent-down clumps of stalks and leaves, and were
often completely hidden from above by the broad, dead leaf-blades. Entrances
to the nests were almost always from the side, and rarely from above. The
material of the lining varied but little. It was always of fine grasses, and not
varied with plant-fiber, roots, or hair, as might have been expected. The material
forming the foundations of the nests was often coarse and bulky, and some of the
structures were huge, sprawling affairs. Nests were often built directly above
the water, where the depth varied from six to twenty-four inches, and were usually
built about a foot or more above the surface.
In the less alkaline swamps I have found many nests built in green
sedge tussocks of Carex. The broad bushy flood-plain along the
meandering Quabog River in central Massachusetts, where literally
thousands of swamp sparrows breed, is the only place I have found
them nesting consistently in bushes, and usually at heights reached
only by standing in a boat.
Though the foundation is occasionally huge and sprawling, the nest
proper is usually smaller than that of the song sparrow, being on the
average 4.0 inches in outside diameter, with the inside cup 2.4 inches
across and 1.5 inches deep. All those I have found have had the
foundation and the thick outer cup built entirely of tightly woven
coarse dead marsh “grasses,” and the inner cup of fine round grass
stems, often still showing green. Isaac EK. Hess (1910) states that
each of four nests he found in Illinois ‘‘had an appendage or handle
constructed of grass stems protruding from one side about three
inches.” I also have noticed this characteristic loose tag on many
nests. The entrance to the nest is characteristically from the side.
The parents circled a Chardoneret banding trap I placed over a nest
of fledglings in frustration for an hour until I rigged an inclined stick
from a nearby perch that led them to the top entrance.
P. L. Hatch (1892) writes that the nest is ‘jointly built’? by the
pair, but this is probably an uncritical observation. Most of the
evidence suggests that, as in most of the closely related sparrows,
nest building in the swamp sparrow is entirely or almost entirely by
the female.
Eggs.—(The data refer to the species as a whole.) The swamp
sparrow lays from 3 to 6, usually 4 or 5 ovate and slightly glossy eggs.
The ground color of freshly laid eggs is usually ‘‘pale Niagara green,”’
but this pales out to a greenish-white upon exposure. They are
1478 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
spotted, blotched, clouded, and frequently marked with scrawls of
reddish browns such as ‘Verona brown,” ‘‘Prout’s brown,” ‘Brussels
brown,” or “Argus brown,” with undermarkings of ‘pale neutral
gray.’ They vary considerably, but are generally boldly marked,
and practically indistinguishable from those of the song sparrow,
except in a series it is noticeable that the blotchings and cloudings are
heavier; also they are frequently marked with clouded scrawls and |
they average slightly smaller. The measurements of 50 eggs average
19.4 by 14.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
21.8 by 5.1, 20.0 by 16.4, 17.8 by 15.0, and 19.3 by 13.1 millimeters.
In one clutch that I incubated artificially, the eggs floated when
tested 10 days before hatching. ‘The complete clutch of four eggs
weighed 8.25 grams, and the individual eggs from 1.85 to 2.15 grams.
I found them more difficult to candle than the eggs of many song birds.
The three young that hatched averaged 1.46 grams apiece at hatching.
Two clutches are laid each year and sometimes more, particularly
when early clutches are destroyed by flooding or by predators.
Young.—Incubation is apparently by the female alone, at least I
have never seen the male incubate. I have, however, often seen the
male feed the slightly smaller and duller female on the nest while she
brooded. Her mouth lining appeared to be the same orange color as
that of her 4-day-old young.
How well the length of the incubation period has been measured is
questionable. Lynds Jones (1892) gives it as 13 days, Ora W. Knight
(1908) as 12 to 15 days, T. S. Roberts (1936) as 12 to 13 days. The
three of a clutch of four eggs that hatched successfully in my incu-
bator hatched over an interim period of 12 plus or minus 8 hours; the
fourth egg did not hatch.
During early incubation the female slips off the nest quietly and
unobtrusively while the intruder is still some distance away. Later
she waits to be flushed and scolds the intruder busily and boldly. At
one nest in advanced incubation that was tipped badly by the differ-
entially growing substrate, the female returned to incubate immedi-
ately after I righted it; indeed she seemed as oblivious to my presence
in my crude blind as she was to the green frog croaking beside her.
Her attentive periods varied from 6 to 15 minutes, her inattentive
periods from 11 to 34 minutes. On hot days she spent much of her
attentive time sitting high as though to shade the eggs, although no
direct sunshine reached the nest. Her departure was sometimes in
response to calls of the male, and sometimes without apparent ex-
ternal provocation, though there was usually vocal communication
between the pair whenever she left or returned. Her return to the
nest was often noisy.
SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1479
Nothing has been written of nest sanitation, which probably does not
differ from that in the song sparrow. G. M. Sutton writes me that
he found bits of shell in a nest after the young had fledged, suggesting
that the shells may sometimes be crushed rather than carried away by
one of the adults.
The chicks hatch with their eyes closed and are very helpless.
They make no sound as they gape for food. The inside of the mouth
is pink with a very pale yellowish border. The pinkish skin is so
transparent the viscera and blood vessels show clearly through the
abdomen wall. The tiny egg tooth is about 1 millimeter from the
tip of the bill. The upper mandible is pigmented sooty gray ante-
riorly; the toenails are horn color. The flight feather tracts show
pigmentation where the feathers will appear. As the young grow
older their mouth lining becomes much brighter orange with a yellow
border than in the newly-hatched fledglings.
E. H. Forbush (1929) states:
The young ordinarily remain in the nest about 12 or 13 days, if undisturbed.
Swamp Sparrows nest near water so frequently that the callow young in their
first attempts at flight are likely to fall into it and struggling as they do on the
surface, they sometimes fall a prey to large frogs, fish or turtles. The following
from one of my note books shows how one little bird bravely struggled to safety:
Concord, August 28, 1907. This morning early as I stood on the river bank, a
bird flying toward me fell and struck the water about half way across the stream.
Immediately it fluttered swiftly along on the calm surface of the water for about a
rod, and then, apparently exhausted and unable to raise itself from the water, it
lay there for a few seconds, head under and tail a little raised. I looked to see
some fish seize it, but no! Suddenly by a vigorous struggle it raised its body
clear of the water and fluttered almost ashore, alighting on the pickerel weed at
the water’s edge. A few minutes later, having regained its breath and courage,
it flew up into the bushes, and I saw that it was one of a brood of young Swamp
Sparrows in juvenal plumage, which were flitting along the shore.
G. M. Sutton (1935) presumes that the young leave the nest ‘‘on
or about their ninth day.’”’ I have found them still in the nest on
the 7th day but gone on the 11th day.
Plumages and molts——The natal down is blackish brown. Seven
specimens had neossoptiles one-half inch long with the following
average distribution: coronal region 9, occipital 4, mid-dorsal 6,
upper pelvic 1, lower pelvic 6, femoral 8, scapular 5, greater secondary
coverts 7, ventral abdominal (these were white) 3. Sporadic pterylal
loci were the posterior orbital region, the distal middle secondary
coverts, and the proximal secondaries.
To speak of a postnatal molt is a misnomer, as no passerine bird
actually ‘“molts” its natal down. The loss of neossoptiles is by abra-
sion, a process which, although inevitable, is an accidental external
phenomenon of a different order than physiological molt. Some loss
1480 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
of neossoptiles is postponed until the first sensu strictro molt, when
the juvenal plumage is replaced.
Dwight (1900) describes the juvenal plumage as follows: ‘Above,
cinnamon-brown, dull chestnut on the crown, streaked with black.
No obvious median crown stripe. Superciliary line olive-gray duskily
spotted. Wings and tail black, edged largely with chestnut, the
wing coverts and tertiaries paler. Below, dull yellowish white washed °
with deep buff on sides of chin, across jugulum, on sides, flanks and
crissum and narrowly streaked with black except on the chin and
mid-abdomen. Bill and feet pinkish buff, the former becoming dusky,
the latter sepia-brown.” This plumage is similar to that of the song
sparrow, but darker expecially on the crown, more washed with buff
below, and more narrowly streaked with deeper black on the throat.
Richard R. Graber (1955) notes that birds of this genus retain the
juvenal plumage “for a rather long period by comparison with most
migratory passerines.”
The first winter plumage is acquired by a partial postjuvenal molt
that starts the end of August and involves the body pumage and wing
coverts, but not the flight feathers; G. M. Sutton (1935) says possibly
the tail. Dwight (1900) describes this garb as:
“Above, similar to the previous plumage, the back and the lateral
crown stripes showing more chestnut; a grayish nuchal band. Below,
unlike previous plumage, grayish white, cinereous on throat obscurely
streaked with a darker gray, washed on the flanks and often on the
breast with olivaceous wood-brown obscurely streaked or spotted with
clove-brown. Rictal and submalar streaks black bordering a grayish
or yellow tinged chin. Superciliary line clear olive-gray or yellow
tinged; postocular streak black; auriculars bistre.”’
E. G. Rowland (1928) made many observations on fall birds prob-
ably in their first but some possibly in their second winter plumage,
that showed abonormal amounts of yellow coloring (xanthochroma-
tism). He summarizes the literature on this peculiar color phase,
which was first figured by Baird, Brewer and Ridgway (1874) who
named it Passerculus caboti after the collector, Dr. Samuel Cabot, Jr.
E. G. Rowland (1925) and L. B. Bishop (1889) also describe melanistic
individuals, and J. H. Sage (1913) and A. T. Wayne (1922) describe
partial albinos. J. Dwight (1900) continues:
‘First Nuptial Plumage acquired by a partial prenuptial moult
which involves chiefly the crown, chin and throat, but not the wings
nor the tail. The amount of renewal varies according to individual,
and may be quite extensive; a few feathers of most of the body tracts
are usually renewed. Early April specimens from the south show the
prenuptial moult in progress. The chestnut cap with black forhead,
white chin, and clear cinereous gray of the throat, sides of head and
SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1481
neck are assumed, and a nearly complete renewal is indicated in some
cases judging by the freshness of the feather borders.”’ Many adults
of both sexes lack the reddish brown cap in the spring and have the
entire top of the head striped with black and reddish brown with a
median gray stripe as in winter plumage. This may represent a
first-year nuptial plumage.
The adult winter plumage according to Dwight is “acquired by a
complete postnuptial moult in August and September. Practically
indistinguishable in many cases from first winter, but usually with
more chestnut on the crown, the superciliary line and sides of neck a
clearer darker gray, the chin not yellow tinged but white and a grayer
cast of plumage everywhere perceptible.”
Mean body weights are given in grams as 17.61 (Wetherbee, 1934),
15.88 (Stewart, 1937), and 18.5+2.49 (Hartman, 1946). G. B. Becker
and J. W. Stack (1944) give the average temperature of two birds as
110.2°
Food.—The swamp sparrow is the most highly insectivorous species
in its genus. This is reflected in the reduced size of its skull and bill
and bulk of jaw muscle in comparison to those of the seed-cracking
song sparrow (Beecher, 1951). Banders note its absence from grain-
baited traps during the nesting season (Commons, 1938). Martin,
Zim, and Nelson (1951) show its diet to be 55 percent insects in winter,
88 percent in spring and early summer. ‘Beetles, ants and other
Hymentoptera, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and crickets appeared most
commonly as items in the insect part of the diet.” In late summer and
fall the diet becomes 84 percent to 97 percent granivorous, with
seeds of sedges, smartweed, panicgrass, and vervain heading the list.
Sylvester D. Judd (1901) writes: ‘[It] takes more seeds of polygonums
than most birds, and eats largely of the seeds of the sedges and aquatic
panicums that abound in its swampy habitat. The giant ragweed
(Ambrosia trifida) is also well represented in its stomach contents.”
Thomas Nuttall (1840) noted it ate ‘‘the smaller coleopterous kinds”
of insects, as did I in my examination of nestling stomachs. ‘The
ready recognizableness and relative indestructibility of the chitinous
remains of Carabid and Curculionid beetles perhaps biases uncritical
examinations. Forbush (1929) credits this species with ‘control
over the increase of such marsh insects as the army worm.” C. C.
Abbott (1895) describes the birds picking at dead drying herring,
and A. H. Howell (1932) mentions their coming to bread crumbs at
one of his camps in Florida.
Voice.—F. H. Forbush (1929) describes the swamp sparrows voice
as: “Call note a chink, chip or cheep, with a metallic ring; song
weet-weet-weet-weet-weet, etc., a little like that of Chipping Sparrow,
but less dry, louder, a trifle more musical and more varied; also a
646-737—68—pt. 3——16
1482 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
limited variety of twittering notes.” F. Schuyler Mathews (1904)
calls the song a monotonic chip repeated in rapid succession with
“a, very perceptible accelerando.”” Aretas A. Saunders (1935) says
“Some songs are double; that is, notes are sung on two pitches at
once, the higher notes being slow and sweet in quality, and the lower
notes faster and somewhat guttural. There are generally three
notes of the lower part to one of the upper. The two notes are
harmonious and usually about a third apart in pitch.” He states
further (in Roberts, 1936) “If one listens carefully to a number of
these birds on their breeding grounds he will soon be likely to find
one that sings, ‘‘tolit lit lit lit” etc., and with it a lower “tururur
tururur tururur” about two or two and a half tones below the upper
notes. From a distance the higher note is usually the only one
audible, whereas near the bird only the low one can be heard, and at
a medium distance both are heard at once.” This peculiar anatomy
of the swamp sparrow song lends itself to ventriloquial effects.
The male sings in spring from a few special prominent perches on
its territory, with tail expanded and evidence of great effort apparent
over all its body. T. S. Roberts (1936) claims: ‘Occasionally the
Swamp Sparrow indulges in a flight song, when it rises a few feet in
the air and utters a brief, ecstatic jumble of notes surprisingly unlike
the usual simple, broken trill.’ However E. P. Bicknell (1884)
classes the species among those “with which aerial song-flight appears
to be only occasional or exceptional.”
The song of this species is one of the first to come from the swamps
on summer mornings, and it is often heard past midnight. Indeed
M. G. Brooks (1930) notes that ‘On moonlit nights this bird sings
as freely as in the daytime.” G. M. Sutton writes me: “On June 24,
1946, I heard the first Swamp Sparrow song of the day (a full ringing
song) at 3:40 a.m., the second at 3:45, and so many immediately
thereafter that I felt sure the whole population must have been awake
by 3:50, despite the darkness. While spending the night of July
9-10, 1946, awake in a blind at a Whip-poor-will nest, I heard the
latest Swamp Sparrow song of the evening at 9:05 o’clock, fully five
minutes later than the last song of the veery. * * * In late summer
the songs were all delivered from well down in the cat-tails or shrub-
bery rather than from prominent song-perches.”’
E. P. Bicknell (1885) gives the following account of late summer
and fall singing in the Riverdale, New York City area:
The song of the Swamp Sparrow comes up from the swamps and marshes until
early August, then it becomes less frequent. Usually it ceases about the middle
of the month, sometimes a little before, but not unfrequently it continues later,
and I have heard songs even so late as early September. About a month of
silence now ensues; then the species comes again into voice. My record gives
dates for the recommencement of singing from September 11 (?) and 18, to 28.
The time of final cessation is carried into October—15th and 17th are latest
SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1483
dates; but often the song is not heard after the first part of the month. In this
supplementary season of song, singing is by no means general, and is usually
confined to the early morning hours. But the birds seem more ambitious in their
vocalism than earlier in the year. In the spring and summer the song is a simple
monotone; in the autum this is often varied, and extended with accessory notes.
A few preliminary chips, merging into a fine trill, introduce the run of notes which
constitutes the usual song, which now terminates with a few slower, somewhat
liquid tones. This seems to be the fullest attainment of the birds, and is often
only partially or imperfectly rendered.
Behavior. —T. S. Roberts (1936) points out the swamp sparrow “‘is
more secretive in its habits than the Song Sparrow and is loath to
leave the concealment of its retreats. It climbs up and down the
coarse stems of the reeds and bushy shoots in a nimble, mouse-like
manner and, when alarmed, descends into the dense marsh grass,
runs rapidly away, and disappears for good and all. It rarely flies
from the nest but slips quietly off and silently creeps away, keeping
well under cover.’”’ The abrasive action of the coarse marsh grasses
and sedges in which it lives keep the birds’ tail feathers continually
worn.
It does much of its feeding by wading in shallow water like a sand-
piper and picking insects and seeds from the surface. These activities
are doubtless facilitated by its femur and tibiotarsus being proportion-
ately longer than those of the song sparrow. Though E. T. Seton
(1890) thought they showed great fear of getting wet, A. Allison
(1904) describes them ‘‘splashing through the water like little musk-
rats.” S. D. Judd (1901) relates that a captive bird “showed an
aversion to picking up seeds from its seed cup, preferring to take them
from the surface of its drinking vessel.’
Except when migrating the swamp sparrow rarely flies more than
a few dozen yards at a time, and rarely rises more than a few feet
above the grass tops. In flight it pumps its tail rapidly up and down
in a characteristic manner. Yet E. L. Poole (1938) shows that its
wing-loading (ratio of wing area to body weight) of 4.30 square
centimeters per gram is appreciably greater than the 3.94 square
centimeters per gram in the larger congeneric song sparrow, which
should make it an appreciably better flier.
Their behavior toward other species is little known. During fall
migration they are often found flocking with other sparrows in dry
fields. Yet on the wintering grounds in coastal Mississippi J. D.
Corrington (1922) reports they ‘did not associate with other birds.”
William Brewster (1937) relates that a Lincoln’s sparrow often drove
swamp sparrows from a feeding plot in May.
While they do not trap as readily as some of their more granivorous
relatives, swamp sparrows are not overly shy about repeating at bands
ing stations. Over a 2-year period Marie A. Commons (1938) reports
banding 104 individuals, 40 of which repeated a total of 162 times.
1484 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
They enter traps with ground entrances more readily than those with
top entrances.
Field marks.—Adult birds are readily separable from other sparrows
in the field by their dark, chunky aspect, their reddish cap and wings,
clear gray breast, and white throat. Other aids to identification are
the hard call notes that have the quality of cut-glass percussion, and
the bird’s characteristic manner of pumping the tail in flight. Juvenile,
birds in summer are easily confused with young song sparrows and
young Lincoln’s sparrows, for all have similar fine breast streakings,
but as R. T. Peterson (1947) points out, the juvenal swamp sparrow
is ‘usually darker on the back and redder on the wings.”’ In the hand
the swamp sparrow’s smaller and more curving bill is diagnostic, as is its
smaller size and, according to Olive P. Wetherbee (pers. com.), its softer
texture to the touch.
Enemies.—The main decimating factor of swamp sparrow popula-
tions on the breeding grounds are those related to changing water-
levels, both natural and man-induced. While the creation of mill
ponds and other bodies of water by artificial damming during the 19th
century probably increased the range and density of the swamp
sparrow within and beyond the glaciated areas of North America,
the draining of morasses for housing developments is currently re-
ducing its habitat markedly.
As the swamp sparrow usually nests just above the water level, a
rise of only a few inches in that level can drown out every nest over
wide areas. KE. H. Eaton (1910) records that the birds had their nests
thus flooded out in New York twice in 1906. I observed the same
thing in Connecticut in 1956. Each year the birds take two or three
of these 20-day gambles, that the waters will not rise until their young
are fledged.
Herbert Friedmann (1963) states:
The swamp sparrow is generally an uncommon victim of the brown-headed
cowbird. * * * Although the cowbird frequents marshes during migration, it
tends to leave marsh nests alone. At Ithaca, New York, where both the swamp
sparrow and the cowbird are common, there were no records of parasitism on the
species.
* * * Tn Michigan, Berger (1951, p. 28) reported an unusual degree of parasit-
ism on the swamp sparrow: he observed five nests, four of which had been vic-
timized by the cowbird.
Although the swamp sparrow appears to be a rather uncommon victim of the
brown-headed cowbird in most areas where the two exist together, it has been
found to be a frequent and submissive host in southern Quebec. Here L. M.
Terrill (1961, p. 10), between 1897 and 1956, found 322 nests of the swamp sparrow,
of which 34, or roughly 10 percent, contained eggs of the cowbird. He wrote
that the swamp sparrows in his area nested chiefly in sedgy tussocks among small
willows in shallow water. Apparently this environment was more acceptable to
the cowbirds than are the usual marshy areas.
SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1485
The banding files show banded birds reported killed by: cats, dogs,
hawks and owls, shrikes, rodents, cars, and weather conditions.
Migratory calamities such as the 1906 fall storm over Lake Huron
(Lincoln, 1950) that killed many swamp sparrows must take their
toll fairly regularly. E.G. Rowland (1925) described two individuals
that succumbed to a “‘pea-green diarrhoea” (botulism?).
The Communicable Disease Center at Atlanta, Georgia, reports that
the swamp sparrow has been found to carry antibodies of one or more
of the American arthropod-borne encephalitides. The species has
been found to be host to the following ectoparasites: four species of
bird louse (Mallophaga): Degeeriella vulgate, Menacanthus chryso-
phaeum, Philopterus subflavescens, and Ricinus sp.; three species of
bird fly (Hippoboscidae): Ornithorea confluenta, Ornithomyia anchi-
neuria, and Ornithomyia fringillina; and one tick, Haemaphysalis
leporis-palustris.
Fall.—As Cruikshank (1942) notes, the swamp sparrow on migration
“recularly leaves the marshlands and occurs in all types of habitat
with the exception of deep woodlands.’”’ The crest of the autumn
migration occurs throughout the northern states usually during the
first week of October (Brewster, 1937 and Mason, 1938). The high
percentage of immature birds in the population at this time attests
the species’ high annual reproductive capacity. From his banding
studies at Belchertown, Mass., E. G. Rowland (1925, 1928) concluded
that local breeding birds disperse locally before September 19th, and
most depart by September 23. Autumnal migrants average about
a week’s stopover, as determined by repeat captures, and some
individuals remained 2 weeks before moving on.
A swamp sparrow banded at Shirley, Mass., Oct. 4, 1937 was shot
the following January at Plant City, Fla. One banded at Branch-
post, N.Y., Oct. 7, 1926, was found dead at Renfrew, Ont., May 2,
1928. Numerous returns to the same banding stations during succes-
sive spring and fall migrations suggest the birds retrace the same
migration routes each year in both directions.
Winter.—The species is a common winter resident in the Gulf States.
In Georgia, T. D. Burleigh (1958) notes: ‘Its preference for the
vicinity of open marshes and streams, however, limits its distribution,
for rarely, if ever, will it be found in thickets or underbrush far from
water. Cattail marshes are favored spots, and here its numbers
during the winter months are limited only by the size of the area
covered by the cattails. Bottomland fields overgrown with broom
sedge likewise have their winter quota of Swamp Sparrows, provided
a stream is close by and the ground is damp.’’ In Florida, A. H.
Howell (1932) writes: ‘“SSwamp Sparrows are by no means confined
to swamps in the winter season, but are found most frequently in
fields overgrown with brush and briers, and particularly in patches of
1486 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
broom sedge where the ground is moist. The birds are silent at this
season and quite inconspicuous as they feed on the ground, threading
their way through the brush like mice.” In Louisiana, S. C. Arthur
(1931) says “it is found not only in swamps but in old fields, over-
grown with brush and briars, and particularly in wet patches of
broom sedge. It leaves the salt-water tidal marshes, of course to the
seaside sparrows.”
The uncommon but regular occurrence of a few swamp sparrows
within the northern breeding range in winter may (Abbott, 1895)
or may not (Bagg and Eliot) indicate that these individuals are
nonmigratory. In Cambridge, Mass., William Brewster (1906)
writes:
During the earlier years of my field experience Swamp Sparrows were not known
to occur in midwinter near Cambridge, but on January 11, 1883, Mr. Charles
R. Lamb met with a flock of seven birds in some dense maple woods on the western
side of Pout Pond. Not long after this the cattail flags began to increase and
spread in the Fresh Pond Swamps; since they became widely dispersed over
the marshes lying to the north and west of the Glacialis, Swamp Sparrows have
been constantly present there in winter. The birds vary considerately in numbers
with different years, but one may be reasonably sure of starting at least three
or four during a morning walk in December, January, or February, and under
exceptionally favorable conditions as many as a dozen or fifteen may be seen.
Cruikshank (1942) says: “After the first killing frost in early
November the Swamp Sparrow is purely casual in the highlands of
the interior, but in the spring-fed marshes around New York City
many regularly linger until Christmas, and some always remain to
brave the winter.”
While no correlation is apparent between the number of such over-
wintering birds and weather conditions, their survival probably
depends largely on the comparative mildness of the season, or on
their finding a suitable refuge with enough food and protection.
Many individuals have repeated through the winter at banding
stations on Cape Cod and Long Island. E. A. Mearns (1879) records
a bird in the Hudson River Valley that remained through the severe
winter of 1874-75 ‘‘* * * about a roadside drain, which, owing to a
continual inflow of water, was not often frozen. The water was
supplied through a small passing beneath the road, in which the bird
doubtless found a desirable and effectual retreat in severe weather,
as I several times started it from within the opening of this passage-
way, where the water was quite shallow.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Eastern South Dakota, northern Wisconsin, northern
Michigan, southern Quebec, and Nova Scotia to southern Texas, the
Gulf coast, and southern Florida.
SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1487
Breeding range.—The southern swamp sparrow breeds from eastern
South Dakota (Yankton), central Minnesota, northern Wisconsin
(Herbster, Outer Island), northern Michigan (Isle Royale), southern
Ontario (Biscotasing, Eganville), southern Quebec (Kamouraska),
northern New Brunswick (Miscou Island), Prince Edward Island,
and Nova Scotia (Sydney) south to eastern Nebraska (Neligh),
northern Missouri (St. Charles County), northern Illinois (Philo),
northern Indiana (Crawfordsville, Richmond), south-central Ohio
(Circleville), south-central West Virginia (Fayette and Greenbrier
counties), western Maryland (Accident; Allegany County), south-
eastern Pennsylvania (intergrades with M. g. nigrescens; Delaware
County), and southern New Jersey (intergrades; Salem, Cape May).
Winter range.—Winters from eastern Nebraska, central Iowa (Sioux
City), southern Wisconsin (Madison), southern Michigan (Grand
Haven, Ann Arbor), southern Ontario (Toronto), central New York
(Rochester, Schenectady), and Massachusetts (Danvers) south to
southern Texas (Del Rio), southern Louisiana (New Orleans), southern
Mississippi (Gulfport), southern Alabama (Petit Bois Island, Orange
Beach), and southern Florida (Aucilla River, Cape Sable); casually
north to New Brunswick (Sackville).
Casual records.—Accidental in California (Niland) and Bermuda.
Migration.—(The data treat of the species as a whole.) Early dates
of spring arrival are: Virginia—Blacksburg, March 21. West Virginia
—Avalon, April 8. District of Columbia—March 9 (averages of
29 years, March 31). Maryland—Laurel, March 16. Pennsylvania
—Meadville, March 23; State College, March 28 (average, April 15).
New Jersey—Cape May, March 14. New York—Nassau County,
March 23; Tompkins County, March 29. Connecticut—Portland,
March 14. Rhode Island—Providence, March 10. New Hampshire
—Concord, April 12; New Hampton, April 14 (median April 20).
Maine—Bangor, March 20. Quebec—Montreal area, April 13
(median of 7 years, April 20). New Brunswick—St. John, April
6. Kentucky—Bowling Green, April 5. IJlinois—Urbana, February
23 (median of 20 years, March 19); Chicago, February 26 (average
of 16 years, March 27); Rantoul, March 5. Ohio—Buckeye Lake,
March 17 (median of 40 years for central Ohio, April1). Michigan—
Battle Creek, March 23 (median of 34 years, April 6). Ontario—
London, March 29. Iowa—Sioux City, April 12 (median of 38 years,
May 1). Wisconsin—Madison, April 14. Minnesota—Minneapolis-
St. Paul, March 12 (average of 27 years for southern Minnesota,
April 6). Oklahoma—Okmulgee and Tulsa counties, March 20.
Nebraska—Neligh, March 24. South Dakota—Sioux Falls, April 23.
North Dakota—Cass County, April 13 (average, April 19). Manitoba
—Margaret, April 9; Treesbank, April 9 (average of 11 years, May 1).
1488 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Saskatchewan—Davidson, April 23. Alberta—fenevis, April 21,
British Columbia—Tupper Creek, May 15.
Late dates of spring departure are: Florida—'Tiiiihassee, May 15;
Daytona Beach, May 9. Alabama—Florence and irmingham, May
11. Georgia—Athens, May 20. South Carolins—Jharleston, May
19 (median of 9 years, April 24). North Carolina—Asheville, May 21;
Raleigh, May 19 (average of 11 years, May 11). Virginia—Rich-
mond, May 17. District of Columbia—May 27 (serage of 42 years,
May 11). Maryland—Laurel, May 26 (median of) years, May 21),
Pennsylvania—Blair County, May 20. New desey—Cape May,
May 14. Connecticut—New Haven, May 23. Massachusetts—
Martha’s Vineyard, May 14 (median of 5 years, eri! 18). Louisi-
ana—Baton Rouge, May 5. Mississippi—Bay »% Louis, May 4.
Arkansas—Arkansas County, April 29. Tennesse--Knox County,
May 7; Nashville, May 5 (median of 8 years, Aprif?). Kentueky—
Bardstown, May 12. Missouri—St. Louis, May 3 (median of 13
years, May 6). Illinois—Chicago, May 31 (averagwf 16 years, May
27); Port Byron, May 24. Indiana—Wayne County May 19 (median
of 13 years, May 11). Ohio—central Ohio, May'0 (median of 40
years, May 16). Iowa—Sioux City, May 20. Viseonsin—Racine
May 24. Texas—Cove, May 5; Sinton, April 28. Kansas—north-
eastern Kansas, May 9 (median of 21 years, April 5). South Dakota—
Vermilion, May 6. North Dakota—Cass County,\lay 25 (average,
May 22). California—Salton Sea, May 9.
Early dates of fall arrival are: British Colurpin—Vanderhoof,
September 2. California—Daly City, October 21. \Jtah—Washing-
ton, October 23. Colorado—Mosca, October 2;>2n Luis Valley,
October 23. Arizona—Bill Williams Delta, Noveiber 28. North
Dakota—Jamestown, August 18; Cass County, Septeiber 11 (average,
September 15). South Dakota—Sioux Falls, Septerpor 24; Yankton,
October 10. Kansas—northeastern Kansas, Septerber 24 (median
of 21 years, October 1). Texas—Cove, October 13 Sinton, October
30. Wisconsin—Meridian, September 1. JIowa—tvux City, Sep-
tember 25 (median of 38 years, October 5). Olue—central Ohio,
September 1 (median of 40 years, September 20). | adiana—Wayne
County, September 23 (median of 9 years, Septembes0). Tlinois—
Glen Ellyn, September 2; Chicago, September 14 (aveage of 16 years,
September 22). Missouri—St. Louis, September 25 (median of 13
years, October 2). Kentucky—Bowling Green, Ooiber 15. Ten-
nessee—Knox County, September 26. Arkansas—I'yetteville, Octo-
ber 12. Mississippi—Rosedale, October 22 (mean of } ‘years, October
24). Louisiana—Baton Rouge, October 10. New Hampshire—
New Hampton, October 30. Massachusetts—Mazta’s Vineyard,
August 28 (median of 5 years, September 15). Conecticut—New
SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1489
Haven, Septermer 16. New York—Tiana Beach, October 13.
New Jersey—Cpe May, September 21. Pennsylvania—State Col-
lege, Septemberl9. Maryland—Anne Arundel County, August 24;
Laurel, September 18 (median of 6 years, September 24). District of
Columbia—Augst 21 (average of 20 years, October 8). Virginia—
Lexington, Sepember 23. North Carolina—Asheville, October 2;
Raleigh, Octobe 10 (average of 11 years, October 21). South Caro-
lina—Charlesto; September 28 (median of 6 years, October 17).
Georgia—Athens, October 2. Alabama—Fairfield, September 29;
Livingston anc Mobile Bay, October 6. Florida—Tallahassee,
September 18; ‘hipley, October 4.
Late dates o fall departure are: British Columbia—Indianpoint
Lake, October». California—near Riverside, November 13; near
Keeler, Novemer 1. Alberta—Glenevis, September 29. Saskatche-
wan—Yorkton, October 3. Manitoba—Treesbank, October 20
(average of 1Syears, October 4). North Dakota—Cass County,
October 28 (verage, October 18). South Dakota—Aberdeen,
November 5. ‘ebraska—Ravenna, October 28. Oklahoma—Nor-
man, Novembe:23. Minnesota—Minneapolis-St. Paul, October 26
(average of 8 yers, October 23). Wisconsin—Delavan, November 3.
Iowa—Sioux Cy, October 26. Ontario—Toronto, October 24.
Michigan—Bate Creek, November 21 (median of 31 years, October
26). Ohio—cetral Ohio, November 13 (median of 40 years, No-
vember 4). Jinois—Chicago, December 6 (average of 16 years,
October 31). "ennessee—Pulaski, November 4; Nashville, October
17 (median of 1 years, October 5). Prince Edward Island—Murray
Harbour, Octoer 26. New Brunswick—St. John, November 7.
Quebec—Montezal, October 29 (median of 7 years, October 13).
Maine—Lake ‘mbagog, October 31. New Hampshire—Concord,
November 4. thode Island—Westerly, November 11. Connecti-
cut—Portland, Jovember 28. New York—Central Park, November
23; Monroe Gunty, November 10. New Jersey—Cape May,
November 26. Vennsylvania—State College, November 28. Mary-
land—Laurel, ‘ovember 30. District of Columbia—-December 3
(average of 1- years, November 7). West Virginia—Bluefield,
October 25. \V-ginia—Blacksburg, November 12.
Egg dates.—linois: 25 records, May 9 to June 29, 16 records,
May 26 to Jund0.
Maine: 17 reords, May 21 to July 1; 10 records, June 8 to June 15.
Massachuseti: 36 records, May 9 to July 18; 18 records, May 20
to June 3.
Michigan: 8 ecords, May 1 to June 25.
Minnesota: 1 records, May 18 to June 17.
New Brunswsk: 5 records, May 27 to June 17.
1490 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 8
Pennsylvania: 26 records, May 20 to June 20.
Wisconsin: 22 records, May 17 to June 20; 16 records, May 23
to May 20.
MELOSPIZA GEORGIANA NIGRESCENS Bond and Stewart
Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow
Contributed by Davin KENNETH WETHERBEE
Hasits
This subspecies is similar to the nominate race but in breeding
plumage according to G. M. Bond and R. E. Stewart (1951) the
black streaking of the upper parts is distinctly heavier, especially on
the nape and dorsal region; feather edgings of the upper parts, much
erayer, less rufescent and buffy; tail and bill average darker; flanks,
noticeably less buffy. In November specimens, the brown of their
upper parts is somewhat richer and darker, and the light edgings of
their dorsal feathers are considerably less distinct. This race is
similar also to the pale form, M. g. erccrypta Oberholser but in both
breeding and winter plumage, feather edgings of the upper parts are
considerably narrower, not so whitish. General coloration of dorsal
region is even darker than when compared with M. g. georgiana.
Measurements based on a very small sample indicate that nigrescens
may be slightly larger than the nominate race.
This race breeds in the Nanticoke River marshes, Wicomico
County, across the river from Vienna, Md., and possibly also in other
brackish tidal marshes where vegetation is suitable along the east
shore of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Delaware.
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Southern New Jersey to eastern Maryland.
Breeding range——The coastal plain swamp sparrow breeds in tidal
marshes of the Nanticoke River in southeastern Maryland and
adjacent southwestern Delaware, and also around Delaware Bay
(Delaware City and Bombay Hook, Delaware; Hancocks Bridge,
Port Norris, and Delmont, New Jersey).
Winter range-—Winters in the breeding range; also recorded on the
Maryland coast (Ocean City), in east-central Virginia (Shirley), and
once in the mountains of west-central Virginia (Lexington).
Egg dates—Maryland: 7 records, June 5 to June 22; 5 records,
June 10 to June 15.
SONG SPARROW 1491
MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wilson)
Song Sparrow
PLATE 75
Contributed by Vat NoLan Jr.
On any list of North American birds selected for their general
familiarity, the song sparrow would have few peers. Although
relatively small and not very conspicuously marked, this species
combines a readiness to dwell near humans and a persistent and
attractive song with a breeding range extending from Mexico to the
outer Aleutians and from the islands off the Atlantic coast to those
off the coast of the Pacific. Further, the territories of the males
are small and the suitable habitats extensive, with the result that
the song sparrow is abundant in most of its range. Add to the fore-
going the fact that these sparrows are readily trapped, and it is not
surprising that some populations have been studied in meticulous
detail.
Not only is the song sparrow one of our best-known birds; it is
also our most variable, with 31 subspecies recognized as occurring
within the territory covered by the A.O.U. Check-List (1957) and 3
additional subspecies in Mexico (Friedmann, et al., 1957). Robert
Ridgway (1901) writes, ““No other bird of the Nearctic Region has
proven so sensitive to influences of physical environment,’ and
Alden H. Miller (1956) cites the song sparrow as ‘“‘one of the best
examples of substantial racial diversification”? among terrestrial verte-
brates on this continent. Most of the subspecies occur west of the
Rocky Mountains and in Alaska. Thus 9 races are found exclusively
in California, to which may be added in California 8 other races that
are not confined to that state. As a result of this plasticity, the song
sparrow figures prominently in literature dealing with the origin of
species and with ecologic gradients. The frontispiece in Joseph
Grinnell and A. H. Miller’s (1944) work on California birds will repay
examination for its portrayal of variations in eight of the races of that
state. Ira N. Gabrielson and F. C. Lincoln (1951) put the extent of
the intra-specific variation in the following way: “it is probably true
that if all the resident Song Sparrows between Kodiak Island and the
Imperial Valley in California were suddenly destroyed, there are few
observers who would believe that there was any close relationship
between the large dusky Aleutian birds and the small pale form about
the Salton Sea.”
It will assist the reader if he is aware of the following decisions as
to the manner of presenting this life history of the song sparrow:
(1) Most subspecies are treated separately in order to permit the
use of the detailed information that is available for some populations
1492 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
and to maintain the integrity of three contributed accounts, Margaret
M. Nice’s summary of her seminal study of ewphonia, Richard F.
Johnston’s report of his investigation of samuelis, and Robert W.
Dickerman’s account of fallax.
(2) When two or more geographically proximate and ecologically
similar subspecies are believed not to differ in the essentials of their
life histories, they are sometimes grouped and information about them
is pooled or is otherwise generalized, as indicated.
(3) When published studies have treated some aspect of the species
as a whole rather than of subspecies, e.g., its food habits or its moles-
tation by the cowbird, these results are presented under the first
subspecific history, 1.e., of the nominate race M. m. melodia, which
also includes data that cannot be referred to subspecies and material
that appears to be of general applicability.
Thus, the life history of M. m. melodia is to a degree broadly de-
scriptive of the species. Mrs. Nice’s treatment of ewphonia, on the
other hand, contains a wealth of detail about a small population of a
widely distributed migratory race. Dr. Johnston’s life history of
samuelis treats in similar detail a rather specialized, sedentary race
with a very limited range. For a general view of the song sparrow
and its ‘wonderful adaptability’ (Taverner, 1934), therefore, the
reader might wish to consult the life histories of the races just men-
tioned, as well as the accounts of the races grouped as ‘‘Alaskan song
sparrows” and ‘Pacific insular song sparrows.’ Finally, M. m.
rivularis might be referred to as an example of the several subspecies
inhabiting the deserts of the United States and Mexico.
MELOSPIZA MELODIA MELODIA (Wilson)
Eastern Song Sparrow
PLATE 75
Contributed by Vat NoLan Jr.
HABITS
The breeding song sparrow of eastern Canada and of the United
States west to the Appalachians displays the typical preference of
this species for moist ground and for a low, irregular, dense plant
configuration considerably exposed to the sun. ‘No land bird seems
more fond of water,” writes E. H. Forbush (1929). Everywhere it
is ‘primarily a bird of the lower lands * * *” (Knight, 1908), along
the banks of streams, the brushy shores of ponds, and in shrubby wet
meadows or cattail swamps. Even on the central Atlantic coast,
where the race atlantica replaces the present subspecies on the beaches,
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1493
melodia seems to be the song sparrow found back in the thickets
(Stone, 1937), and Dexter (1944) has reported a nest of this race in
a salt marsh on a tidal inlet at Gloucester, Mass. But these lowland
situations are only a first preference, for the bird is tolerant of a wide
range of conditions. It is often found in brushy fence rows and along
country roads; and it sometimes breeds even in rocky wooded clear-
ings in Maine, in small wooded openings only a few rods in diameter
in New York (Eaton, 1914), and in second-growth woodland in
Pennsylvania (Todd, °1940). Gardens and yards offer the song
sparrow sunny, bushy, moist cover, and the bird is a common nesting
species in suburbs and small towns. On Mount Mitchell, North
Carolina, the highest point in the eastern half of the United States,
Burleigh (1941) observed individuals of the race ewphonia as high as
6,300 feet above sea level during the summer.
Spring.—Although a few song sparrows winter far north, most
withdraw from that part of the range in Canada and northern New
England. M. M. Nice (1933) has cited the evidence, from banding
records, that some individuals of this subspecies are resident ‘‘in
regions where most of their kind are migratory.’”’ Hervey Brackbill
(1953) has found that the breeding population of Maryland contains
both migratory and sedentary individuals. In the Hudson River
valley and around New York City the species is a common winter
resident. The arrival of migrants, and the return to their breeding
territories of birds that have wintered, normally begins in the latter
half of February in the southern part of the range, while the first
spring arrivals appear in Maine in mid- and late March and in Canada
in March and early April. In Maine migration continues into early
May (Palmer, 1949).
Carl H. Helms (1959) weighed song sparrows captured in Massa-
chusetts just before and just after a large night migration in April.
Birds weighed before the flight averaged 1.41 grams heavier than
those that arrived as the result of the movement. These post-flight
individuals were noticeably less fat.
The song sparrow sings even on cold clear mornings of late winter,
and its voice is a characteristic sound of early spring. Aretas A.
Saunders (1947) reports singing in Connecticut when the temperature
was —2°F.
Territory.—Territory appears to be established principally or
entirely by the male. E.H. Forbush (1929) has described behavior
that probably includes elements both of territorial defense and of
courtship or pair formation: “There is considerable rivalry among
the males, but their contests appear to be mainly competitions in
song and flight. They chase the females and each other about through
the air with fluttering wings, often sailing and singing. Their pursuit
1494. U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
seems not to be in earnest, as, notwithstanding the rapid movement
of their wings, their progress is slow. Now and then a bird pauses
in his flight to sing, supported for an instant on his widespread pinions.
Flight-songs also carry them up into the air. Occasionally a battle
ensues between two rival males, and sometimes they even roll and
tumble in the dust with locked bills and beating wings.” In the sec-
tion on courtship is a description of behavior that probably has
territorial functions as well. The song sparrow’s persistent songs,
six to eight per minute at dawn in spring (Forbush, 1929), are, of
course, associated with the maintenance of territory.
The size of the individual territory in favorable habitat is less than
an acre. Robert E. Stewart and Chandler S. Robbins (1958) give
an interesting series of data on the population density of breeding
song sparrows in Maryland. (Population densities provide a basis
for estimating only maximum territory size, for it does not follow that
all the area censused actually fell within the boundaries claimed by
the males.) In 19.2 acres of “ ‘shrubby field with stream-bordered
trees’ ’? were 21 territorial males; in 9.5 acres of ‘‘ ‘open hemlock-
spruce bog’ (brush-meadow stage * * *)’? were 3 males; and in 20.5
acres of ‘ ‘moderately sprayed apple orchard with infrequently
mowed ground cover * * * ” were 4.5 territorial males.
Courtship.—Witmer Stone (1937) writes as follows of his observa-
tions on Cape May: “In late March and April the air seems simply
filled with Song Sparrow song and at this time we see male birds
flying from bush to bush with neck stretched out, head and tail held
high, and wings vibrating rapidly. This seems to be a part of the
courtship display and as soon as the bird alights it bursts into song.
On March 21, 1925, and April 2, 1914, I have noted this performance
and the birds were evidently paired * * *.”” This behavior probably
was associated also with territory defense. To the account from
Forbush quoted in connection with territory may be added the same
author’s statement that song sparrows “‘spend much time in the pleas-
ant pastime of courtship. The females seem to be modest and coy.”
The duration of the periods of pair formation and between pair
formation and nesting seem not to have been recorded. A comparison
of the dates given for the height of the return of spring migrants and
for the beginning of general nesting in a given locality suggests that
a month or more often elapses in these ‘‘prenuptial” and “preliminary”
periods (Nice, 1943).
The same males and females have been found mated to each other
in successive years (Hamill, 1926; Higgins, 1926).
Nesting.—Building is carried on principally by the female, but
Ora W. Knight (1908) once saw a male apparently assisting his mate.
He was “more inclined to shirk his share, picking up material, dropping
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1495
it and picking it up again, singing meanwhile.” During building,
says Forbush (1929), “the male devotes himself more to song than
to labor.”
The duration of building is variously given, with 5 days the lowest
figure and 10 days a commonly accepted maximum. Weather is
known to influence the speed of building; and it may be supposed
that the time-advance of the season, the number of nesting attempts
already made, and the presence or absence of an earlier brood might
all affect the female’s building behavior. As mentioned below, females
of the race melodia commonly raise three broods in a season and some-
times deposit the eggs for a later brood in a previously successful nest.
Andrew J. Berger (1951) found five nests built in one season by the
same female of the subspecies ewphonia; not all succeeded.
The heights of nests range from ground level to at least 12 feet
high. Most nests are placed on the gound, usually concealed under
a tuft of grass, a bush, or a brush pile; and elevated structures are
rare or absent early in the season. Eaton (1914) reports that 99
percent of the nests in New York are on the ground, but most writers
use words suggesting only that something over half are located there.
Elevated nests are “‘at a height of generally not over two or three
feet”? (Knight, 1908), but numerous references to somewhat higher
sites can be found. Locations over water are not uncommon.
Plants in which nests are placed are grasses, sedges, cattails, a
great assortment of bushes and shrubs, and, more rarely, trees of
many species. Nests are occasionally built in cavities. Hollows in
old apple trees are apparently the commonest such locations (Knight,
1908; Todd, 1940; Eaton, 1914); but hollow logs and rails, unoccupied
buildings such as woodsheds, and even nest boxes (Palmer, 1949)
have been resorted to.
The materials used for the outer, bulky part of the nest, as opposed
to the lining, are most commonly leaves, strips of plant bark, and weed
and grass stems. The lining is of fine grasses, rootlets, and horse
or other animal hair. W.E.C. Todd (1940) states that nests ‘when
above the ground * * * are often quite bulky.” Knight reports
the dimensions of one nest placed on the ground: the diameter of the
cavity was 2% inches, while the overall diameter varied between 5
and 9 inches; the cavity depth was 1% inches, the overall depth 4%
inches.
Eggs.—The statements in this paragraph are applicable to the song
sparrow without regard to race. The female lays from 3 to 6 eggs.
They are slightly glossy and range from ovate to short ovate. The
ground color of freshly laid eggs is ‘‘pale Niagara green” but this
fades upon exposure to a greenish-white. Most eggs are very heavily
speckled, spotted, or blotched with reddish browns such as “‘ Verona
1496 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
brown,” “‘russet,” ‘cinnamon brown,” or ‘‘Brussels brown.’ Some
eggs have undermarkings of ‘‘pale neutral grey.” The spottings
generally are more or less evenly distributed over the entire surface,
sometimes obscuring the ground color and making it appear to be a
light buffy brown. They vary considerably both in shape, size, and
intensity. The measurements of 400 eggs average 20.4 by 15.6
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 25.9 by
17.8, 24.5 by 18.3, 16.9 by 15.4, and 19.6 by 12.8 millimeters.
Turning to the race melodia, the measurements of 50 eggs average
19.5 by 15.1 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
21.9 by 14.5, 20.1 by 16.8, 17.8 by 14.2, and 18.0 by 14.0 millimeters.
Incubation.—Forbush (1929) states that incubation is “by both
sexes, female chiefly’? and that ‘“‘some males assist the females a
little * * *.’ However, there is no evidence that males have an
incubation patch, without which they would be ill-equipped to supply
heat to the eggs. Mrs. Nice (1937) found males of the race euphonia
lack this patch, and her unequivocal statement that only the female
euphonia incubates casts doubt on Forbush’s contention. The role
of the male during incubation is probably confined to the defense of
territory and nest.
Incubation seems to start sometime not many hours from the
laying of the last egg of the set, if this inference may be drawn from
the failure of observers to report differences in development in the
young of a brood. In euphonia Mrs. Nice observed that most often
a clutch hatched over a 2-day span, indicating that incubation had
begun before all eggs were laid.
The incubation period is said by Knight and Forbush to be from
10 to 14 days, but it is doubtful if accurate measurements of the
period, as it is presently defined, would be less than 12 days, as in
euphonia (Nice, 1937). W. E. Schantz (1937) watched a female
euphonia incubate three eggs (laid July 10-12) for 24 days; the eggs
failed to hatch.
Young—Most of our knowledge of the development of the behavior
of nestling song sparrows comes from Mrs. Nice’s work, devoted
chiefly to euphonia. The following paragraph is based on her report
(1943). The development of the plumage is described below under
the heading Plumage.
Newly hatched song sparrows can grasp, gape, swallow, defecate,
and change location ‘““‘by means of uncoordinated wrigglings.” A
feeding note has been heard in 2-day-old birds. The eyes begin to
open at age 3 or 4 days. Incipient preening motions appear at age
5 days, as do, rarely, cowering and the ability to utter a location
call. At age 7 days many motor coordinations are acquired, and
henceforth the bird ‘‘is capable of leaving the nest.’”” Among the
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1497
behaviorisms of the 7-day-old are cowering, stretching of the wings,
head-scratching, yawning, and climbing to the nest rim. Birds 8
and 9 days old acquire new types of wing-stretching, engage in wing-
fluttering and -fanning, and body-shaking, and utter new feeding
notes.
Both parents feed the nestlings, chiefly on “insects, worms, beetles,
erubs, flies, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and similar insects’? (Knight,
1908). The period in the nest varies, its minimal limit being given as
7 days by Forbush (1929) and its maximum as 14 days by most
writers. Seven days undoubtedly does not represent a natural,
undisturbed nestling period, but is probably the youngest age at
which nestlings will leave the nest when disturbed. Knight says
that young leave ground nests earlier than they do elevated nests, and
that this early age is 10 days. At this time they are still unable to
fly, and newly fledged birds remain hidden in plant cover. Mrs.
Nice (1937) states that young ewphonia ‘‘when * * * about 17 days
old * * * are able to fly and come out of hiding.”
Dependence on the parents continues until after the post-juvenal
molt (Todd, 1940). The parental bond may be assumed to be severed
at the age of about 28 to 30 days as in ewphonia (Nice, 1937).
As in other species, juvenile song sparrows occasionally engage in
some of the behavior of nest building (Hoyt, 1961).
As second and third broods are produced regularly, and fourth
broods probably occasionally, as far north as Massachusetts, the
matter of timing successive families is of interest. ‘‘When the young
of the first brood are able to fly, the female immediately begins to
deposit eggs for the second brood, often in the same nest, leaving the
male to care for the first, and he attends them usually until the
young of the second brood have hatched, when he leaves them to
help feed and care for the younger brood” (Forbush, 1929).
Plumages.—In the following description of the plumages and molts,
material involving both melodia and euphonia has been used. The
sexes are identical in their molts and practically identical in their
plumages. Females average a little later than males in date of molt.
Minor sexual differences in plumage will be mentioned.
Natal down, described as both sepia-brown in color (Dwight, 1900)
and black (Nice, 1943) is present at hatching. Mrs. Nice (1943)
writes that this down ‘‘is prominent on the dorsal, femoral and occipital
regions and on the coverts. For the first two days there is little
change except in increased length of down.”
The progress of the molt into the juvenal plumage is described in
detail by G. M. Sutton (1935), who writes:
* * * the nestling-stage of the juvenal plumage is * * * notable for its dull-
ness, the feathers of the loral, malar, and superciliary regions being still for the
646-737—68—pt. 3——1T
1498 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
most part in their sheaths, and the tertials so short that their rich edgings are
not yet apparent. The streaking of the chest is quite sharp, but on the sides it is,
if anything, less marked than in later stages. Male and female birds are appar-
ently not distinguishable at this age. The pectoral streaking is so much intensified
because the feathers lie close together and are partially sheathed, that the actual
width of the streaks is difficult to determine.
By the time the tail is an inch long the feathers of the face are almost altogether
unsheathed, the tertials and secondaries are practically of full length, the pectoral
plumage is fully fluffed out, and the bird is, therefore, much more colorful in ap-
pearance. At this stage males may, with a fair degree of certainty, be distin-
guished from females by the heavy streaking of the chest. Chapman * * * tells
us that the “breast blotch is wanting” in this plumage. While this is no doubt toa
considerable extent true, two individuals in a series of eleven specimens at hand
show a definite blotch and two others exhibit a tendency toward convergence of
streaks in the middle of the chest.
Sutton considers that song sparrows have a rather definite and com-
plete juvenal plumage. ‘By the time the juvenal rectrices are of
full length the body plumage is comparatively complete with all the
feathers unsheathed and with no noticeable intrusion of pin-feathers
of some subsequent plumage.’ He says that ‘‘specimens in juvenal
feather may be taken during a long period of the summer,” but is
cautious about concluding how long the individual bird wears the
plumage.
The foregoing is essentially an account of the molt, not the plumage,
of which Dwight (1900) gives a good description. The bird ‘‘resembles
Z. albicollis, but lacks chestnut above” and is ‘‘paler on [the] crown
and less streaked below. Above, including sides of head, wood-brown
or sepia broadly striped on back, narrowly on crown, nape and rump
with dull black, the feathers centrally black with a narrow zone of
walnut and wood-brown and grayish edgings. Indistinct median
crown and superciliary stripes dull olive-gray with dusky shaft
streaks. Rictal and submalar streaks black; orbital ring buff. Wings
dull black with walnut edgings, the wing coverts and tertiaries buff
tipped. Tail olive-brown broadly edged with walnut and indistinctly
barred. Below, dull white washed with pale or yellowish buff deepest
on the throat and flanks and streaked on sides of chin, throat, breast
and sides with dull black. Feet and bill pinkish flesh, becoming dusky
with age, the lower mandible remaining partly flesh-color.’’ Dwight
believes this plumage is worn several months; it fades considerably.
The first winter plumage is acquired, according to Dwight, “by a
partial, sometimes complete, postjuvenal moult” beginning in some
birds in mid-August, in others not until the last of September. These
latter will still show new feather growth late in October or early in
November, although “the whole period of moult does not cover
much more than two months in the majority of cases.” The molt
‘involves the body plumage and the tail and very often, part at least,
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1499
of the remiges. The renewal of five or six outer primaries occurs in
nearly all young birds of this species and is very likely characteristic
of the first brood. * * * The secondaries are rarely found in moult,
the tertiaries, alulae and wing coverts regularly so. * * * [Oc-
casionally] the renewal of primaries, secondaries and even of rectrices,
might easily be overlooked as the new feathers are nearly of the
same pattern and color as the old and not in contrast * * *.”
In appearance, the first winter plumage is like the previous one,
“but is whiter below and richer in chestnut streakings both above and
below. The lateral crown stripes are distinct with black streaks,
the median and superciliary stripes distinctly olive-gray. Below,
white washed with pale vinaceous cinnamon on sides of head, across
jugulum and on sides, and streaked, except on chin and mid-abdomen,
with clove-brown bordered with chestnut, the streaks becoming con-
fluent at sides of chin and on mid-throat forming three nearly black
spots. Old and young become absolutely indistinguishable in most
cases, young birds with the wing edgings perhaps a trifle duller and
with a yellowish tinge.”” In this plumage females are ‘“‘apt to be more
washed with brown or to have a yellowish cast when compared with
males” in the same plumage.
The first nuptial plumage is acquired, according to Dwight, by
wear, which is marked; “by the end of the breeding season the birds
are in tatters. The buff is lost and the streaking below comes out in
strong contrast on a white ground.”
The adult winter plumage is “acquired by a complete postnuptial
moult beginning usually about the middle of August and completed
before the end of September. Old and young cannot be told apart
with any certainty, adults however with wing edgings that may
perhaps average darker and browner and the throat markings blacker.”
The adult nuptial plumage is ‘‘acquired by wear as in the young
birds with the same results.”
The following description of the adult plumage is by Robert Ridg-
way (1901):
Adults, (sexes alike):—Pileum brown (mummy brown to almost burnt umber),
narrowly streaked with black and divided by a narrow median stripe of gray,
this also narrowly streaked with black; hindneck brownish gray, more or less
streaked or washed with brown; scapulars and interscapulars black medially,
producing streaks of greater or less width, these margined laterally with brown
(like the color of the pileum), the edges of the rectrices, more or less broadly,
brownish gray; rump olive-grayish, more or less streaked with brown (some-
times with blackish also); upper tail-coverts browner than rump and more dis-
tinetly streaked; tail brown (broccoli brown to russet brown), the middle pair of
rectrices with a narrower median stripe of dusky brown, the inner webs of the
other rectrices darker brown than outer webs; lesser wing-coverts brown; middle
coverts brown, margined terminally with pale brownish gray, and marked with
a more or less distinct median streak or spot of dusky; greater coverts brown,
1500 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2:37 PART 3
margined terminally with paler and marked with a broad median tear-shaped
(mostly concealed) space of blackish; tertials mostly blackish, but outer webs
chiefly brown, passing into a paler (sometimes pale grayish or almost grayish
white) hue terminally; rest of remiges dusky, edged with paler or more grayish
brown; edge of wing white; a broad superciliary stripe of olive-gray, sometimes
approaching grayish white on lower portion; loral, suborbital, and auricular regions
darker olive-grayish, the latter margined above and below by narrow postocular
and rictal stripes of brown, these brown stripes sometimes narrowly streaked
with black; a broad malar stripe of dull white or pale buffy, margined below by a
conspicuous submalar stripe or triangular spot of black or mixed brown and
black; under parts white, the chest marked with wedge-shaped streaks of black,
more or less broadly edged with rusty brown, these streaks more or less coalesced
in the lower central portion of the chest, or upper breast, forming a more or less
conspicuous irregular spot; sides and flanks streaked with black and rusty brown,
the ground color, especially on flanks, more or less tinged with pale olive-grayish
or buffy; under tail-coverts white or pale buffy, more or less streaked with brown;
maxilla dusky brown, paler on tomia; mandible horn color; iris brown; tarsi
pale brown, toes darker.
Albinism occurs in song sparrows, and Root (1944) reports a
banded individual that acquired a considerable degree of whiteness
during a 28-day period in early autumn, presumably as the result
of molt.
Food.—S. D. Judd (1901) has described the diet of song sparrows
without regard to race. For the year, animal matter constitutes
34 percent of the total food, the greatest amount being taken from
May to August, when insects represent about half the bird’s food.
Ground-, leaf-, and clickbeetles, weevils, and other beetles rank
first in number; grasshoppers, locusts, larvae such as the cutworm
and army-worm, ants, wasps, ichneumon flies, bugs, leaf-hoppers,
larvae and imagos of horse-flies, etc., are also taken. ‘The remaining
two-thirds of the diet is composed of seeds of crabgrass and pigeon-
grass, timothy, old-witch grass, barnyard grass, panic-grasses,
orchard and yard grasses; knotweeds, wild sunflower, lamb’s
quarters, gromwell, purslane, amaranth, dandelion, chickweed,
dock, ragweed, sheep-sorrel and wood-sorrel; a little grain, largely
waste; and, before the seeds have ripened, wild berries and fruits
such as blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, elderberries, and
raspberries, wild cherries and grapes, and woodbine berries. The
species is very beneficial as a destroyer of injurious insects and weed
seeds. Judd says, “Only 2 per cent of the food consists of useful
insects, while 18 per cent is composed of injurious insects; grain,
largely waste, amounts to only 4 per cent, while the seeds of various
species of weeds constitute 50 per cent.”
W. L. Dawson (1923), writing of song sparrows of no specified race,
says that a bird “sometimes seizes and devours small minnows.”
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1501
Behavior when foraging reflects the seasonal dietary preferences
already described. Eaton (1914) states that in summer song sparrows
cease to feed largely on the ground and sometimes forage for insects
among foliage as high as 20 and 30 feet, although usually among
bushes and grass. These birds scratch the ground by kicking simul-
taneously with both feet. Charles H. Blake writes of watching a
song sparrow catch winged termites as they emerged from their
subterranean colony in early June.
Behavior.—Song sparrows are often furtive in manner, and Knight
(1908) gives a good description of the behavior of alarmed birds. He
states that they prefer to “work downward into the bushes with
bobbing tail, hopping along from twig to twig, or skulking through
the underbrush, grass and leaves. They do not fly, save from bush
to bush, unless closely pursued with evident intention to flush them
or do them harm.”’ Witmer Stone (1937) speaks of ‘“‘how well adapted
[song sparrows] are for a terrestrial life and how rapidly they can run,
mouse-like, through the grass.”
Despite their sometimes secretive behavior, birds dwelling near
humans often develop considerable tameness. Forbush (1929) states
that they may be conditioned by feeding to come when called and tells
of one song sparrow that learned to associate the sound of a bell
with the fact that food was to be scattered and of another that learned
to peck at a window to be fed.
The behavior of females on the nest is often cryptic, according to
Knight (1908). Sometimes the bird sits until almost stepped on; at
other times, when the male gives the alarm, she slips off, sneaks a few
feet away, and then begins to call. Johnston (1957) in long experience
with the shrub-nesting race, samuelis, saw only one case of rodent-like
distraction display. Both adults protest intrusions into the vicinity
of the nest, and Forbush (1929) describes the posture of nest defense
as involving “outspread wings and depressed tails.’”? This threat, if
unsuccessful, may be replaced by attack. Birds as large as the
catbird and hairy woodpecker happening to approach the nest are
attacked, and Forbush mentions a successful attempt by a song
sparrow to drive five house sparrows from a feeding station.
Bathing, states Forbush, occurs “during the day whenever oppor-
tunity offers” and, if there is water, “‘every night after sunset.”’ Pud-
dles, including salt water along the shore, are used; and the song
sparrow is one of many species that bathe in drops of water on grass
and leaves by striking the foliage with the wings and body and thus
throwing water on the plumage.
Scratching of the head by song sparrows is “indirect,” with the
foot brought over the wing to reach the head, and Hailman (1959)
£502 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
has observed song sparrows and other emberizines scratching the head
against perches.
Anting has often been noted in song sparrows; Whitaker (1957)
has summarized the details.
“Helping,” i.e., the feeding of young both of other song sparrows
and of other species, has been noted several times and summarized
by Brackbill (1952) and Skutch (1961). Perhaps the most surprising
instance, reported by Brackbill, involved the cooperative building
and joint use of a nest by a pair of cardinals and a pair of song sparrows.
Both females incubated, the cardinal sometimes sitting on the sparrow.
The cardinal eggs succeeded, and all four adults fed the nestlings.
Forbush (1929) describes an instance in which two females laid a
total of eight eggs in one nest; one of these birds had its own nest 30
feet away but did not use it. The females took turns incubating,
and all eggs were said to have produced fledglings.
The flight speed of song sparrows has been measured by O. P.
Pearson (1961) as 15.9 miles per hour and possibly as much as 21
miles per hour.
Manwell and Herman (1935) found that individual song sparrows
displaced and released in spring as much as 1% miles returned quickly
to the point of capture; at an intermediate trapping station on the
presumed line of flight none were caught.
Body temperatures of 64 individuals of the race ewphonia Sencar
about 109.6° F., varying 10° F. within the sample (Becker and
Stack, 1944). There is a considerable literature on song sparrow
weights; Mrs. K. B. Wetherbee (1934) gives many data. Mrs. Nice
(1935) lists an average weight of 21.3 grams for 267 adults. LeRoy
C. Stegeman (1955) reports weight fluctuation amounts at times to
20 percent in 24 hours, with peak weights in the spring recorded in
the late morning and late afternoon.
Voice-—Male song sparrows sing their variable repertoire not only
during the breeding season but at other times. Songs may be heard
in much of the breeding range during any month of the year (Saunders,
1947), and dawn singing on clear, cold mornings in January and
February is especially noticeable. Regular singing in spring begins
in Connecticut in late February or in March (Saunders, 1947) and
generally closes, for a time, in the third week of August (Saunders,
1948a). There follows a revival of song, beginning in Connecticut
on the average date of September 30 and continuing until November
21 (average). Aretas A. Saunders, who is responsible for these dates,
writes (1948b): ‘This species is the most regular and dependable
fall singer of all our birds.”
Forbush (1929) states that the birds sing “no matter how very
stormy the weather” and sometimes even “in the darkness of night.”
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1503
Six to eight songs per minute is the frequency during the dawn hours
of the breeding period (Forbush), with singing continuing, but less
frequently, all day. Knight (1908) reports that in summer in
Maine most singing occurs during the dawn and evening hours.
Forbush says that occasionally molting birds sing a whisper song.
When singing, the male mounts to a position typically between 7
and 15 feet from the ground (Eaton, 1914); trees, shrubs, fences and
boulders are among the song posts used. Singing has often been
observed in birds on the wing, and Forbush’s description, quoted
under Territory, indicates that this form of behavior may have become
an element in some displays.
Female song sparrows have been known to sing, and Mrs. K. B.
Wetherbee (1935) has written of a female in Massachusetts that
sang ‘“‘a clear series of whistled notes” from April to mid-June.
Not only the vociferousness of the species but also the unusual
variability of the repertoires of the individual males are responsible
for an abundant descriptive literature. Further, the use of electronic
recording and analysis of songs has thrown light on the extent to which
song sparrow vocalizations are modifiable as opposed to innate. For
the present account, two authorities on bird song are quoted.
Aretas A. Saunders wrote Mr. Bent: ‘I have 885 records of the song,
no two of them alike. If we count trills as single notes, the number
of notes per song varies from 4 to 20, averaging about 11. The
length of songs varies from 1.8 to 5.2 seconds, the average being 2.7.
The pitch varies from D’’ to F’’’’.. The pitch interval varies from 1
to 7% tones, the average about 3% tones. Each individual song
sparrow sings a number of different songs. It commonly sings the
same song over a half a dozen times or so, and then takes up a different
song. The number of songs per individual varies from 6 to 24, the
latter being an unusual bird.”
The same author writing elsewhere (1951b) goes into additional
detail and reports the following: Pitch varies from 1150 to 5450
vibrations, in notes audible to man, and pitch intervals are similar
to those in human music. There is little variation in intensity.
“Quality is usually sweet and musical * * * . Consonant sounds
are not very noticeable. * * * The song has three parts: strongly
rhythmic introductory notes, a central trill, and a final series of rather
irregular and indefinite notes. * * * Songs are of five types * * * [dif-
fering] primarily in the position and relative pitches of the introduc-
tory notes and the trill.”
Donald J. Borror (1961), who analyzed 889 tape recording of songs
from 113 different individual song sparrows of the races melodia and
euphonia, writes,
1504 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
The songs of this sparrow consist of a series of different phrases (mostly 1- to
4-noted), and usually a trill; many of the notes are buzzy. * * * A given bird
has a vocabulary of a large number of notes and phrases, and these are variously
combined to produce up to a dozen or more different song patterns; the different
patterns of a given bird are often quite different. The songs of a given pattern
may vary * * *,
Song Sparrow songs are of two general types, those beginning with two to four
(rarely one or five) similar and equally spaced phrases, and those beginning
with four to twenty similar phrases that increase in tempo * * *. Songs of the
first type were much more common, making up 83.8 percent of the Ohio [euphonia]
patterns and 86.7 per cent of the Maine [melodia] patterns * * *.
A Song Sparrow apparently has an inborn tendency to sing songs of two general
types, but it learns its phrases by listening to other, nearby Song Sparrows.
As a result, the songs of different birds in a local population contain similar notes
and phrases (but usually arranged differently), while the songs of birds in separated
populations contain different phrases. The farther away two populations are,
the less likely they are to use similar phrases in their songs.
In a later, very detailed analysis of variation in the songs of Maine
song sparrows, Borror (1965) found 544 song patterns represented
in 7,212 tape-recorded songs of 120 birds.
A description of autumnal song by Forbush (1929) probably is
applicable not to adults but only to birds of the year: Most of the
singing [in fall] is quite different, ranging from a low connected warble
to a song resembling that of the Purple Finch, and (rarely) one like
that of the Vesper Sparrow. There is a particularly low, sweet
melancholy warble uttered just before the bird departs for the south.”
Formless, continuous warbling of the kind described is commonly
a stage in the ontogeny of song in passerines (Lanyon, 1960).
Call notes are described as ‘‘tchenk,” ‘“‘tchip,” “tchunk,”’ ‘chip,’
“teheek,” “chuck.” Forbush also mentions a note “sst’’; a similar
note given by California races is regarded by Dawson (1923) as
functioning as a flocking or recognition call.
Field Marks.—A medium-sized sparrow, the song sparrow is best
recognized by the heavily streaked breast, on which the streaks are
“confluent into a large central spot’ (Peterson, 1947). In flight,
which is usually for short distances between perches or into cover,
the bird is distinguished by its manner of pumping its rather long,
rounded tail up and down. Witmer Stone (1937) describes this
flight graphically as ‘““brokenbacked’ * * * as if the tail were hinged
at the base.”
Banding—The longevity record for banded song sparrows appears
to be about 8 or 9 years. Mrs. Nice (infra) reports a male that was at
least 7!4 and possibly 9% years old at death. A song sparrow Mrs. K.
C. Harding (1943) banded April 27, 1936 at Cohasset, Mass., and
recaptured there on April 5, 1943, was in at least its 8th year.
Recaptures and recoveries at points other than the original banding
station have been reported with some frequency in the journal,
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1505
Bird-Banding. Some of the most interesting of these follow: The
number of such ‘‘recoveries”’ and ‘foreign retraps’” from a total of
3,614 song sparrows banded in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,
was 12 (Middleton, 1956); from 6,109 banded in Groton, Mass., 7
(Wharton, 1953); from over 1,200 banded on Cape Cod, Massachu-
setts, 1 (Broun, 1933). Some of the Pennsylvania birds were caught
in Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, and New Jersey. The
Groton, Mass., birds were caught in Arkansas, South Carolina,
North Carolina, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The Cape Cod
bird was caught in South Carolina. May Thacher Cooke (1943)
reports a bird banded in Massachusetts and captured in Newfound-
land. Wendell P. Smith (1942) caught a bird in Vermont in April,
and it was recaptured 90 miles southward in New Hampshire in
June of the same year, an interesting case of reversal in the direction
of migratory movement.
Enemies.—Perhaps the most interesting and surely the most well
documented hazard in the song sparrow’s environment is exposure
to the parasitic brown-headed cowbird and bronze cowbird. Herbert
Friedmann’s latest report (1963) on the cowbirds states that the song
sparrow (all races) shares with the yellow warbler the claim to being
the most frequently reported host of M. ater. Friedmann’s summary
of the relations between all races of the song sparrow and the brown-
headed cowbird is quoted substantially in full:
The song sparrow is one of the most frequent, if not the most frequent, victim
of the brown-headed cowbird. Since the former is sympatric with the latter
throughout the entire breeding range of the parasite, it is parasitized probably
more often and over a greater area than any other bird. The total number of
records is very great. After accumulating over 900, I stopped noting them except
for records of special interest. The data came from every province of Canada
and every state of the United States included in the breeding ranges of both birds.
All three races of the parasite are involved, and no less than 17 races of the song
sparrow: melodia, atlantica, euphonia, juddi, montana, inexpectata, merrilli,
fisherella, morphna, cleonensis, gouldii, samuelis, pusillula, heermanni, cooperi,
fallar, and saltonis. So far, none of the purely Mexican races have been reported
as fosterers of the cowbird, but this fact is probably due more to a lack of human
observation than to any actual immunity of the bird to cowbird parasitism.
There is no need to detail actual instances for the various races of the song
sparrow since such cases already have been given in my earlier summaries [Fried-
mann, 1929, 1934, 1938, 1943, 1949]. However, a few additional records of
infrequently reported races of the host species should be mentioned * * * [viz.
cleonensis, fallax, morphna, saltonis, samuelis, and inexpectata].
In recent years, not only many hundreds of additional cases, but also much
more quantitative data on the host-parasite relations have become available.
Hicks (1934) found that 135 out of 398 nests (34 percent) of this sparrow were
parasitized in Ohio. Nice (1937a***, 1937b***), also in Ohio, reported that
98 out of 223 nests (43.9 percent) contained eggs or young of the cowbird (the
annual percentage varied from 24.6 to 77.7 percent). Sixty-six unparasitized
nests raised an average of 3.4 song sparrows, whereas 28 successful but parasitized
1506 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
broods averaged only 2.4 song sparrows, indicating that each cowbird was reared
at the expense of one song sparrow. In one instance Nice *** found that a pair
of song sparrows raised a young cowbird together with five of their own young.
Apparently here no loss of sparrows was involved. In another paper, Nice (1936)
noted that, in all the song sparrow nests which she had watched during a period
of five years, adult cowbirds removed 5.7 percent of the song sparrow eggs and
nestling cowbirds crushed or starved 3.5 percent of the young sparrows. The
cowbird eggs did not succeed as well as those of the host; only 30.7 percent of
the former, but 35.8 percent of the latter, reached the fiedgling stage. In 1930-31,
there was one female cowbird to about 11.5 pairs of suitable hosts, but in 1934-35
there was one to 8.6 pairs of suitable victims.
Of all song sparrow nests parasitized, Nice reported that 70 percent held a
single cowbird egg each, 27 percent held 2 each, and 3 percent held 3 each. In
the area of study—near Columbus, Ohio—the song sparrow was the most impor-
tant host of the paeasite [sic]. Norris (1947***) noted that 11 out of 27 nests
(40.7 percent) in Pennsylvania were parasitized, and Berger (1951***) recorded
37 out of 59 nests found in Michigan (62.7 percent). In the Detroit area, as
reported by the Detroit Audubon Society (1956***), the average frequency of
parasitism of the song sparrow was 40.1 percent of all the nests found * * *.
One is drawn toward attempting an over-all estimate of the frequency with
which the song sparrow is victimized, but to do so with any feeling of accuracy
is difficult because the incidence of parasitism appears to vary geographically
(or, at least, the frequency with which it is reported varies). From this it follows
that the over-all percentage depends on how many geographically different areal
data are used in the estimation. [With one group of studies from the eastem
United States] ***, we come up with a total of 323 parasitized nests out of 804
nests observed, or a little over 40 percent. On the other hand, in southern Quebec
(Terrill, 1961, p. 11), out of 486 nests observed, only 62, or 12.7 percent, were para-
sitized. If we put all these studies together, we get a total of 382 out of 1,285
nests victimized, or 29 percent. This figure becomes yet smaller when we attempt
to include data from other parts of the continent.
[One color-banded song sparrow in a single summer] *** had no fewer than five
consecutive nests * * *. It would seem that, if none of these nests had been
interfered with, there would not have been sufficient time for four or five in one
season. * * * It appears that one of the effects of parasitism may be to increase
the ‘‘nesting potential’ of the host. * * *
As many as 7 cowbird eggs have been found in a single nest of this sparrow;
there are numerous records of 3, 4, and 5 parasitic eggs to a nest. Occasionally,
but not often, song sparrows may partly bury cowbird eggs by building a new
nest lining over them—if the alien egg is laid before any eggs of the host.
Salmon (1933, p. 100) has reported seeing a song sparrow feeding three fledgling
cowbirds; no young sparrows were mentioned. Lees (1939, p. 121) recorded that
near Wetaskiwin, Alberta, he watched a song sparrow feeding no less than five
young cowbirds. This must be a record of fledgling success for any host species.
Friedmann (1963) lists no instances of parasitization by the bronze
cowbird of subspecies of the song sparrow covered by these life
histories. Only the Mexican race mezicana has been involved.
Other enemies of the song sparrow are at least four species of
hawks (Munro, 1940; Randall, 1940; Hamerstrom and Hamer-
strom, 1951; Heintzelman, 1964) and at least five species of owls
(Allen, 1924; Hawbecker, 1945; Johnston, 1956; Fisler, 1960; Graber,
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1507
1962). S. A. Altmann (1956) has reported mobbing of mounted
specimens of both screech and great horned owls, and F. Hamerstrom
(1957) witnessed mobbing of a tame red-tailed hawk. Forbush
(1929) mentions nest defense against snakes and turtles; he does not
indicate what turtles may be involved, but box turtles of the middle
west (Terrapene o. ornata), at least, have been known to eat birds
and their eggs (Legler, 1960).
A curious case in which a garter snake (Thamnophis s. sirtalis)
disgorged an adult song sparrow is reported by Carpenter (1951),
who suggests that the bird must have been found dead and then
eaten. Mahan (1956) discovered a milk snake (Lampropeltis tri-
angulum) eating song sparrow eggs in a nest 15 inches above the
ground.
A number of external parasites taken from song sparrows east of
the Mississippi River, most of them within the range of melodia,
have been reported by Harold S. Peters (1936). These include the
Mallophaga Degeeriella vulgata (Kell.), Machaertlaemus maestum
(Kell. and Chap.), Menacanthus incerta (Kell.), Philopterus sub-
flavescens (Geof.), Ricinus melospizae (McGregor); the bloodsucking
hippoboscid flies Ornithoica confluenta Say, and Ornithomyia anchi-
neuria Speiser (syn. O. fringillina); the mites Analgopsis sp., Liponys-
sus sylviarum (C. and F.), Trombicula bisignata Ewing, Trombicula
cavicola Ewing; and the ticks Haemaphysalis leporispalustris Packard,
Izodes brunneus Koch, and Izodes sp. Herman (1937) gives further
data on the hippoboscids parasitizing song sparrows, as does Boyd
(1951); the latter would apparently refer the records of Ornithoica
confluenta to Ornithoica vicina, as the parasite of song sparrows.
Nestling song sparrows are among the many species victimized by
the maggots of blow flies (Calliphoridae). Johnson (1932) found
larval Protocalliphora splendida (Macq.) in a nest, and George
and Mitchell (1948) report Apaulina metallica (Townsend) (syn.
Protocalliphora metallica).
Blood protozoa found in song sparrows (Herman, 1944) include a
number of species of the genera Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, Plas-
modium, Toxoplasma, and Trypanosoma.
Cats, other predatory mammals, and man are often responsible for
song sparrow deaths; and the physical environment takes its toll in
starvation (Forbush, 1929) and in the flooding of ground nests.
Song sparrows are among the birds whose feet occasionally exhibit
large, rough, wart-like swellings. H. and J. R. Michener (1936)
have described the appearance and effect of this disease, which they
also imply may affect the wings and heads of song sparrows, and
which they regard as mildly contagious and epidemic. ‘Their obser-
vations were made in California. The disease runs its course between
1508 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2:37 PART 3
from 1 to 5 months. Apparently it often produces no noticeable after
effects, but it may cause the loss of the nails and sometimes the
phalanges. These authors quote a pathologist’s histological analysis
of a foot of an unspecified species. The opinion was that the
lesions were not true tumors but were the result of an unrecognized
irritant or infection. Viruses are now known to produce comparable
effects in some birds (Herman, 1955).
Fall—In Massachusetts, a few song sparrows begin moving away
from their breeding places in mid-July. The fact that nests have
been found in New York as late as August 25 (Eaton, 1914) suggests
that it may be the young of the year that move at so early a date.
There is some conflict in the evidence as to when the fall migration
is at its peak. The data of Stewart and Robbins (1958) are perhaps
the most recently reported and based upon the most voluminous and
varied factual data. These authors state that in Maryland and the
District of Columbia the normal period of fall migration is between
Sept. 20-30 and Nov. 20-30, with its peak between October 10 and 30.
More northerly latitudes would, of course, be correspondingly earlier,
e.g., in Maine ‘‘throughout September and most of October’ (Palmer,
1949).
Winter.—Most song sparrows that pass the winter in Massachusetts
(Forbush, 1929) remain near the sea, where there are usually patches
of ground clear of snow. In Ontario (Snyder, 1951) and New York
(Eaton, 1914) the habitat at this season is principally marshes and
swamps. In Pennsylvania, Todd (1940) says brushy thickets and
fields with corn shocks are frequented by song sparrows. The birds
are not especially social, but they are often seen in loose flocks of
mixed composition and, particularly in severe weather, may assemble
in small companies with other song sparrows.
South of the breeding range, in the deep south and southeast of the
United States, melodia is found with euphonia, juddi, and, in places,
atlantica. Here the birds seek the same brushy, moist, riparian and
marshy situations that they prefer for breeding. Sprunt and Chamber-
lain (1949) describe such habitat in South Carolina and say the song
sparrow “often * * * is found with swamp sparrows * * *. The
thoroughly characteristic song is delivered throughout the winter
except in very cold weather or on freezing days.”’ In contradiction
Arthur H. Howell (1932) in his work on Florida says, ‘‘The Song
Sparrow, so well known in the North by its cheery song, is practically
silent during its stay in the South, except for its metallic, character-
istic tchip.”’ Howell adds that the birds associate ‘‘in small loose
companies, but not in compact flocks.’”’ George H. Lowery, Jr.,
(1960) of Louisiana, emphasizes the ‘entirely different personality”
of the song sparrow that winters in the south and describes it as a
EASTERN SONG SPARROW 1509
shy and, it seems, silent skulker that prefers the depths of thickets or
“a rank growth of broom sedge.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Southeastern Ontario, central Quebec and southwestern
Newfoundland south to eastern Texas, the Gulf coast, and southern
Florida.
Breeding range.—The eastern song sparrow breeds from southeastern
Ontario (Muskoka District, intergrades with M. m. euphonia), central
Quebec (Lake St. John, Romaine, Blanc Sablon), and southwestern
Newfoundland (Parson’s Pond) south through eastern New York
(intergrades with M. m. euphonia in central section) and Pennsylvania
to extreme northeastern West Virginia (Halltown) and central
Virginia (Lynchburg, Petersburg).
Winter range.— Winters from southern Ontario (Barrie, Arnprior),
southern Quebec (Montreal), central New Brunswick (Memramcook),
Prince Edward Island (North River), and Nova Scotia (Pictou)
south to eastern Texas, eastern and southern Louisiana (Kisatchie,
New Orleans), southern Mississippi (Saucier), southern Alabama
(Petit Bois Island), and western and southern Florida (Pensacola,
Flamingo); casually north to Newfoundland (Mobile)
Casual records. —Casual in Bermuda.
Migration.—The data deal with the species as a whole. Early
dates of spring arrival are: Virginia—Lynchburg, March 2. West
Virginia—Wellsburg, March 21. Maryland—Laurel, February 19.
New York—Monroe County, February 21; Suffolk County, February
22. Massachusetts—Martha’s Vineyard, March 14; Essex County,
average of 5 years, March 10. Vermont—Bennington, March 11.
New Hampshire—Concord, February 22; New Hampton, March 2
(median of 21 years, March 21). Maine—Lake Umbagog, March
25. Quebec—Montreal area, March 27. New Brunswick—St.
John, March 16; St. Andrews, March 17. Nova Scotia—Yarmouth,
March 15. Prince Edward Island—North River, March 19. New-
foundland—Codroy River, May 2. Illinois—Chicago, March 5
(average of 16 years, March 15). Indiana—Elkhart, March 7.
Ohio—Buckeye Lake, February 27. Iowa—Sioux City, March 14
(median of 38 years, March 25). Minnesota—Minneapolis-St. Paul,
March 14 (average of 15 years, March 22); Lincoln County, March 14
(average of 27 years for southern Minnesota, March 22). Nebraska—
Holstein, March 5; Red Cloud, March 11 (average of 21 years, April
3). South Dakota—Sioux City, March 20 (average of 7 years,
March 27). North Dakota—Cass County, March 25 (average,
April 2); Jamestown, March 31. Manitoba—Treesbank, April 4
(average of 25 years, April 14). Saskatchewan—Sovereign, April 5.
1510 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Arizona — Baboquivari Mountains, February 16. Utah — Kanab
area, February 21. Montana—Columbia Falls, March 19. Wash-
ington—Destruction Island, March 10. British Columbia—Arrow
Lake, March 7. Alaska—Kupreanof, April 18.
Late dates of spring departure are: Florida—Enterprise, April 17.
Alabama—Jasper, May 10; Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, May 4.
Georgia—Savannah, May 10; Atlanta, May 9. South Carolina—
Charleston, May 5 (median of 5 years, May 3). North Carolina—
Raleigh, April 29 (average of 14 years, April 4). Virginia—Lawrence-
ville, April 12. Maryland—Laurel, April 29. Louisiana—Baton
Rouge, April 8. Mississippi—Rosedale, May 26; Gulfport, April 4.
Arkansas—Washington County, May 4; Arkansas County, April 28.
Tennessee—Athens, April 28 (average of 6 years, April 24). Ken-
tucky—Bowling Green, April 29. Missouri—St. Louis, April 19.
Illinois—Chicago, May 19 (average of 16 years, May 6). Ohio—
Buckeye Lake, median April 5. Texas—Tyler, April 28; Sinton.
April 8 (median of 5 years, March 29). Oklahoma—Payne County,
May 4; Cleveland County, April 24. Kansas—northeastern Kansas,
May 9 (median of 18 years, April 26). Nebraska—Holstein, April 25.
New Mexico—Mesilla Park, March 20. Arizona—Tucson, May 2.
Utah—Washineton County, May 1. California—Death Valley,
April 6. Oregon—Netarts, April 14. Washington—Cathlamet,
May 22.
Early dates of fall arrival are: California—Fortuna, September 19.
Arizona—Tucson, September 18. Nebraska—Red Cloud, September
7. Kansas—northeastern Kansas, September 2 (median of 20 years,
October 7). Oklahoma—Payne County, September 27; Cleveland
County, October 13. Texas—Sinton, September 17 (median of 5
years, October 1); Midland, September 24. Jowa—Sioux City,
September 4. Ohio—Buckeye Lake, median, October 1... Missouri—
St. Louis, September 30. Ilinois—Chicago, August 4 (average of 16
years, August 16). Kentucky—Bowling Green, October 4. Ten-
nessee—Nashville, October 4 (median of 11 years, October 11);
Athens, October 7. Arkansas—Washington County, October 14;
Arkansas County, October 15. Mississippi—Rosedale, October 2
(mean of 42 years, October 6); Gulfport, October 24. Louisiana—
Baton Rouge, October 23. New York—Tiana Beach, October 10.
New Jersey—Island Beach, September 26. Maryland—Laurel, Sep-
tember 20 (median of 5 years, September 30); Ocean City, October 4.
West Virginia—French Creek, October 10. Virginia—Lawrenceville,
October 14. North Carolina—Raleigh, October 2 (average of 18
years, October 13). South Carolina—Charleston, September 21
(median of 7 years, October 10). Georgia—Athens, October 2;
Savannah, October 12. Alabama—Birmingham, September 22;
EASTERN SONG SPARROW Load
Marion, September 29. Florida—Tallahassee, October 8; St. Marks,
October 9.
Late dates of fall departure are: Alaska—Tenakee Inlet, September
29. British Columbia—Arrow Lake, November 29. Montana—
Fortine, November 5. Arizona—Oak Springs, October12. Saskatch-
ewan—Hastend, October 22. Manitoba—Treesbank, October 28
(average of 22 years, October 15). North Dakota—Cass County,
November 1 (average, October 24); Jamestown, October 23. South
Dakota—Lennox, November 4; Sioux Falls, November 1 (average of 6
years, October 12). Nebraska—Holstein, November 28. Min-
nesota—Minneapolis, November 28 (average of 14 years for southern
Minnesota, November 7). Ohio—Buckeye Lake, median, November
7. Indiana—Roanoke, November 19. Illinois—Chicago, November
17 (average of 16 years, November 3). Newfoundland—Codroy
River, October 10. Prince Edward Island—North River, November
25. New Brunswick—Scotch Lake, November 4. Quebec—Mon-
treal area, November 22. Maine—Lake Umbagog, October 27;
Bangor, October 26. New Hampshire—New Hampton, median of 21
years, November 12. Vermont—Rutland, November 21. New
York—Suffolk County, November 5; Ontario County, November 1.
Maryland—Laurel, November 19. Florida—Leon County, Novem-
ber 27.
Egg dates.—The data deal with the species as a whole:
Alaska: 21 records, April 29 to July 3; 11 records, June 1 to June 26.
Alberta: 51 records, May 18 to July 28; 30 records, May 18 to June
6; 13 records, June 17 to July 26.
Arizona: 33 records, April 9 to August 22; 14 records, May 16 to
May 29; 10 records, June 2 to June 29.
British Columbia: 15 records, April 7 to June 26.
California: 352 records, February 12 to July 7; 73 records, April 12
to April 30; 163 records, May 12 to May 31; 62 records, June 1 to June
20.
Illinois: 116 records, April 22 to August 7; 58 records, May 10 to
May 31; 30 records, June 8 to July 18.
Maryland: 210 records, April 12 to August 21; 105 records, May 7
to June 19.
Massachusetts: 156 records, May 5 to August 17; 68 records, May
16 to May 31; 42 records, June 6 to June 20; 30 records, June 26 to
July 10.
Michigan: 205 records, April 21 to August 29; 100 or more records,
May 7 to June 14.
New Brunswick: 36 records, May 10 to July 16.
New York: 147 records, May 2 to August 24; 65 records, May 10
to June 21; 26 records, June 4 to June 27,
L5t2 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Nova Scotia: 60 records, April 20 to August 6; 30 records, May 24
to June 25.
Ontario: 140 records, April 28 to August 3; 72 records, May 21
to June 20.
Oregon: 80 records, April 7 to July 15; 36 records, May 1 to May 22;
32 records, May 25 to June 29.
Washington: 82 records, April 5 to July 14; 32 records, April 5 to.
April 19; 30 records, May 2 to May 29.
MELOSPIZA MELODIA ATLANTICA Todd
Atlantic Song Sparrow
PLATE 75
Contributed by Vat Notan JR.
HABITS
This race breeds on the ocean beaches and barrier islands of the
central Atlantic states and shifts its range only a little southward in
winter. Witmer Stone (1937) writes that on Cape May, N.J., the
bird inhabits ‘possibly the inner edges of the salt marshes” as well as
the coast islands, and other writers have found atlantica in or near salt
marshes. Stone proceeds to give the following interesting ecological
information about this race and melodia: ‘To illustrate how environ-
ment affects the distribution of these birds it may be mentioned that a
series of breeding Song Sparrows collected in 1891 on the edge of the
old Cape Island Sound and on the salt meadows that formerly existed
southwest of Cape May are all typical of the Atlantic Song
Sparrow * * *. Since * * * the meadows [were filled and] replaced
by dry ground with thickets of bayberry, etc., the common Eastern
Song Sparrows of the interior have spread out and occupied the area.”’
“TM. atlantica is] rarely, if ever, found far from salt water. It nests
in myrtle thickets and in willows at the edge of the salt marsh, obtain-
ing much of its food in the marsh itself, somewhat in the manner of
the Seaside Sparrow” (Burleigh, 1958). Alexander Sprunt, Jr. wrote
Mr. Bent that ‘the nest of atlantica resembles that of melodia in
construction, being made of grasses at low elevations, but always in or
near tide water. The eggs are practically indistinguishable from those
of melodia.” The measurements of 40 eggs average 19.6 by 15.4 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 21.6 by 15.5,
20.1 by 16.8, and 17.8 by 14.2 millimeters.
The voice is similar to that of melodia, according to Sprunt, but
Murray (1941) found the song distinguishable “by a buzzing quality,
definitely reminiscent of the song of the Bewick’s Wren.”
MISSISSIPPI SONG SPARROW 15's
The winter habitat is much the same as that of the summer, although
Sprunt’s note says that in South Carolina the bird “frequents the
same habitat as melodia, showing a predilection, however, for salt and
brackish marshes and environs.”
Writers disagree as to whether atlantica and melodia are distinguish-
able in the field. W. E. C. Todd (1924) described the subspecies
atlantica as “much grayer above, with the blackish streaking more
distinct, and the reddish brown feather-edging reduced to a minimum.
More nearly resembling Melospiza melodia juddi, but more grayish
apove ~ 7.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Tidelands from Long Island, New York, to Georgia.
Breeding range.—The Atlantic song sparrow breeds in the tidelands
along the Atlantic coast from Long Island, New York (Shelter Island)
south to North Carolina (vicinity of Beaufort), including lower
Chesapeake Bay and the lower Potomac River in Maryland (Morgan-
town) and Virginia.
Winter range.—Winters on breeding grounds north at least to
Maryland, ranging south along Atlantic coast to South Carolina
(Mount Pleasant, Yemassee) and Georgia (Savannah).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA EUPHONIA Wetmore
Mississippi Song Sparrow
Contributed by Marcaret Morse NIcE
HasitTs
From 1928 to 1936 at Columbus, Ohio, I studied a population of
song sparrows on a 40 acre tract known as “Interpont.”” The habitat
consisted of weeds, shrubs and trees; the area adjoined the Olentangy
River. Over 500 adults were color-banded and 353 nestlings given
aluminum bands (Nice, 1937). Later a number of nestlings were
hand-raised and kept in captivity; several belonged to the eastern
subspecies melodia, having been hatched in Massachusetts; the others
were euphonia from southern Michigan (Nice, 1942).
Migratory status —About half the resident males proved to be
permanent residents on Interpont, and about 20 percent of the
females. Six males and one female changed status during the study.
Banding of two and three successive generations gave no evidence of
a migratory or resident strain. The migratory impulse seemed to be
latent in all the birds, cold weather in October stimulating it in the
majority of the individuals, mild weather in October inhibiting it
in some.
646-737—68—pt. 3——18
1514 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Spring.—The spring migration normally showed two main flights:
an early migration of breeding males in late February or early March,
and the main flight of breeding males and females, and also transients,
in the middle of March. The early migration was absolutely de-
pendent on a warm wave the last of February or the first of March,
but the main migration was only relatively dependent on a rise in
temperature. Severe cold waves stopped migration short. The
early males migrated at markedly higher temperatures, an average
of 50° F., than did the later males, which migrated at an average of
43° F. High temperatures in December, January, and early Feb-
ruary never brought a flight, so it is clear that migration was de-
pendent on both increasing day-length and rising temperature.
Fifty-seven migration dates for 22 banded males were obtained;
5 birds came consistently early and 6 consistently late, while the
others varied in different years depending both on the weather and
on their ages, older birds coming earlier than younger ones.
Territory—The holding of territory is a fundamental trait with
these song sparrows, enforced by innate behavior patterns con-
sisting of song, display and fighting. This territoriality is essential
for the undistrubed carrying out of the reproductive cycle (Nice,
1939). Although highly territorial for over half the year, and in-
clined, if a resident, to remain on or near his territory permanently,
yet in fall and winter the male becomes somewhat social, particularly
in times of severe cold and snow. Occasionally females hold terri-
tory for themselves; sometimes one helps defend the male’s bound-
aries; sometimes females ignore the boundaries established by males.
Male and female song sparrows were recorded as driving from their
territories their own and 21 other species, ranging in weight from
6 to 42 or even 50 grams. (The song sparrow’s own weight averages
22 grams.) Yet several of these species nested among the song
sparrows.
Some male song sparrows keep the same territories year after year,
while others make slight changes. Females returned to their former
nesting territories in 20 of 54 cases, settled next door almost as often,
and in 19 instances settled at distances of from 100 to 800 yards.
Twenty-two males banded in the nest took up territories from 100
yards to nearly a mile from their birth places, while 12 females banded
in the nest settled from 50 yards to nearly a mile from their birth-
places. The minimum size of a territory was some 2000 square meters
(% acre), the average size in a region well filled with song sparrows
about 2700 square meters (% acre), and the maximum size about
6000 square meters (1% acres). In years of low population density,
territory size was somewhat larger.
MISSISSIPPI SONG SPARROW 1515
Pair Formation.—In pair formation, the territorial male gives the
same initial reaction to all intruders of his species, that is, he flies
at them. Migrating song sparrows respond by leaving; a male in
breeding condition puffs out his feathers, sings, and waves a wing,
while a female seeking a mate stands her ground and gives special
notes and postures. The male ‘‘pounces” upon his mate, sometimes
colliding with her, sometimes only swooping over her, then flies
away with a loud song; she stands still and either gives her copulation
note or a threat note. Copulation, however, never occurs in con-
nection with pouncing. The male stops singing as soon as joined
by a mate.
The pair normally stays together throughout one nesting season.
Yet a female may sometimes follow her young into a neighbor’s
territory and if he is unmated she may remain with him for the next
brood. Remating of pairs a second year has been known in only 8
out of 30 possible cases, probably due to the many chances a male has
of getting a mate before the return of his last year’s mate. A female
finding her former mate already mated to another female does not
drive off the new female, as does the brown thrasher (Thomas, 1952),
but joins another male. There were 4 cases of bigamy, apparently
arising when an incubating female lost her mate and attached herself
to a neighboring male.
Nesting.—Typically the nest is built entirely by the female. An
exceptional male, while unmated, built 2 incomplete and one complete
nest; later he helped his mates built 3 nests (Schantz, 1937). The
nest is a rather simple affair built largely of dead grass and weeds,
with a few fine roots and pieces of grape-vine bark, and lined with fine
grass and occasionally horse hair. Renesting regularly occurs if a
nest fails, until the nesting season is at its end. The song sparrow
shows its adaptability in the nest sites chosen. The requisites are
secure support and concealment. In April almost the only situations
on Interpont offering these characteristics are on the ground; here
under tufts of grass, weed stalks or thistles, and often in a natural
depression, nine-tenths of the nests of the first attempt have been
situated. One-third of the nests of the second attempt were placed
above the ground, as were two-thirds of the third attempt. Few nests
were built more than 3 feet above the ground. Replacement nests
were built at 10 to 55 yards from the nests replaced, averaging 25
yards.
Reginald F. James wrote Mr. Bent from Willowdale, Ontario:
“The Song Sparrow begins to nest around April 20th, and its first nest
is usually placed on the ground. The second nest is built about 18
inches above the ground level. If and when a third nest is con-
1516 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
structed, it may be placed as much as 3 feet above ground level,
usually in a thorn bush.”
One nest, however, he found 9% feet above ground in a horizontal
hole in a willow. One banded song sparrow nested for 3 years in his
garden: “On May 18, 1947 it was found sitting on three lightly marked
eggs in a perfect replica of an ovenbird’s nest. On June 14th she was
found sitting on three heavily blotched eggs and one cowbird egg,
eighteen inches from the ground in a wild rose bush.”’
A different picture is given in a letter to Mr. Bent by D. J. Nicholson
of small colonies of song sparrows observed from June 10 through
August at Lake Summit, near Tuxedo, Henderson County, North
Carolina, at an elevation of 2,000 feet. Nests were often placed 2 to
4 feet up in small pine saplings. Three nests were found ‘in very
large tall pines 25 or 28 feet above the ground,” and two others at 20
feet; these were built 8 to 15 feet from the trunk of the tree. Around
Tuxedo many nests were found “well up in apple trees 6 to 12 feet
above ground.”
The nest is usually pretty well completed in two days and lined on
the 3rd and perhaps the 4th. A female will engage in building for
from 15 to 23 minutes, then interrupt her work for 5 to 8 minutes.
In the matter of nest building, the young female is in every way the
equal of the older and experienced bird in choice of site, skill in
construction, quality of the finished structure, and excellence of its
concealment.
The start of egg-laying with the song sparrows on Interpont was
closely correlated with the temperature in April; in one year, 1929, it
was also affected by the temperature in the last third of March. In
6 years the first egg was found between April 15 and 19, but in 1929
it was found on April 10, and in 1932, April 23. The start of general
laying was closely correlated with temperature. The ‘‘normal” date
was April 25, but this was accelerated nearly 2 weeks in 1929 and 4 or
5 days in 1930 and 1931, but was delayed 4 or 5 days in 1933 and 1934.
In eastern North America between the latitudes of Maine and
North Carolina, the races of the song sparrow normally nest through
July and into August. Drought curtails nesting, however, as it did
on Interpont in 1930, when adults began to molt two weeks early.
George M. Sutton (1960) found the same to be true on the Edwin S.
George Reserve near Ann Arbor, Mich., where nests were active in
July and August of 1934, 1935, and 1940, but not in the extremely
dry summers of 1936 and 1946.
Eggs.—The ground color of the eggs on Interpont ranges typically
from blue through blue-green to grey-green. The spots are brown to
red-brown and rarely lilac, and are arranged in an endless variety
from small speckles nearly uniformly distributed over the whole egg
MISSISSIPPI SONG SPARROW 1517
to a few large splotches irregularly placed, usually the larger part of
the pigment being around the large end, sometimes in quite a regular
ring. Measurements of 503 eggs ranged from 17.5 to 22.5 mm. in
length and from 14 to 17 mm. in width, the median being 19.9 x 15.5.
As to weight, 44 fresh eggs varied from 1.8 to 2.85 grams, the average
being 2.28, the median 2.23.
In 211 nests on Interpont sets of 5 eggs were found in 30 percent of
the cases, 4 eggs in 50 percent, and 3 eggs in about 20; the average
size was 4.1 eggs. In North Carolina in 175 nests D. J. Nicholson
discovered only one 5-egg set; 4-egg sets were in the majority, although
there were several of 2 eggs and once he collected a single well incubated
egg. When a song sparrow’s nest is destroyed the first egg of the
next set is laid 5 days later.
The weight of a set was approximately half the weight of the bird
that laid it.
Young.—Incubation, which is performed by the female alone,
usually lasts slightly over 12 or 13 days but rarely has taken 14 and
15 days with unusually inattentive females. The bird stays on the
eggs for 20 to 30 minutes, then leaves for 6 to 8 minutes. The total
percentage of daylight hours spent on the nest averages 75 to 80. The
male guards his territory, nest, and mate, and does considerable
singing. He often calls her off the nest with a sudden loud song.
The young are brooded by the female for the first 5 or 6 days of
nest life. The rate of feeding increases with the age of the nestlings;
in 7 broods the rate for the first 5 days averaged 7.2 times an hour, for
the second 5 days 17.8; the average for the whole period was 11.1
times an hour. The weight of the nestling increases more than ten-
fold in the first 10 days of life. Young usually stay in the nest 10
days, leaving before they can fly. They become independent of the
parents at the age of 28 to 30 days.
After a nest was destroyed, the young of the replacement nest were
usually fledged just 30 days later. Periods between the fledging of
two broods successfully raised ranged from 30 to 41 days. M. m.
euphonia might be called three-brooded, although Schantz (1937)
reports that one pair raised four broods in one nest in one season.
D. J. Nicholson writes of a similar observation near Tuxedo, N.C. in
1956, his only such record in 56 years of experience.
Plumages.—Alexander Wetmore (1936b) described euphonia as
similar to melodia but distinctly darker above, being grayer, with the
dark markings generally more distinct; sides of head grayer, less
buffy or brown; tail averaging darker. In common with other races
of the song sparrow in the east, many individuals of ewphonia show a
distinctly rufescent phase, One breeding bird collected has the
1518 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
brown markings (auburn in color) predominating over any other
shade on the dorsal surface.
Behavior —Female song sparrows arose about 5 minutes after civil
twilight in clear weather and 7 minutes after civil twilight in cloudy
weather. Males did likewise in January and early and late fall; but in
early spring they arose at civil twilight, and later in spring and in
mid-fall when in full song they rose 4 minutes before civil twilight.
Roosting took place at about 10 times the light values of the rising
time of the female. From December through May and again in
October the last notes of the males came with surprising regularity
13-14 minutes after sunset in clear weather.
Song sparrows use several methods for defense of nest and young.
They may sometimes threaten an enemy with posture and sound.
They attack cowbirds that approach the nest site. Some individuals
attack small snakes, while others ignore them. Typically solicitude for
the nest reaches its peak when the young are ready to leave it.
Warning notes from the parents at the approach of an intruder induce
silence in the young. Distraction display, in which the bird runs
about close to the observer with wings held stiffly erect and tail
depressed, was typically shown when young of 6 or 7 days shrieked
when being banded. Occasionally parents will try to lure young to
safety by bringing food near, then hurrying away with it.
Experiments with enemy recognition, as well as observations in
nature, led to the conclusion that owls are recognized by song sparrows
largely through an inborn pattern, hawks through their rapid move-
ments, and cats and cowbirds through conditioning. With a hand-
raised bird, memory of circumstances connected with strong alarm
persisted after 4 to 19 months, a response that has definite biological
value (Nice and ter Pelkwyk, 1941).
Anting was observed in 3 of the hand-raised song sparrows; both ants
and sumach berries were used. Anting first appeared at the age of
36 to 37 days (Nice and ter Pelkwyk, 1940).
Although the song sparrow is only slightly gregarious, it shows the
basic mechanisms for social integration (Nice, 1943.)
Voice.—Kight different kinds of vocalizations were heard from young
song sparrows, 16 from adult males, and 15 from females. Songs are
given at the rate of 5 to 7 a minute when the bird is singing steadily,
but occasionally during encounters involving territory establishment,
the rate may be 10 times a minute. Sometimes a primitive-sounding,
irregular flight song is uttered. Young birds change often from one
song to another; at the height of vigor there is sustained effort and
one song may be sung 60 or even 70 times in succession; an old bird
may change from one song to another somewhat more often. The
MISSISSIPPI SONG SPARROW 1519
greatest number of songs in one hour was 325, and in one day 2,305
from a bird 8 or 9 years old.
Female song sparrows occasionally sing early in the season before
nesting begins; the song is given from an elevation and is short, simple,
and unmusical. The most energetic singers were also zealous in
chasing male neighbors.
There are 5 chief stages in the development of song in the young
bird: continuous warbling, advanced warbling with some short songs,
predominantly short songs, songs practically as in adult but with
repertoire undetermined, songs as in adult with repertoire fixed.
This species, where each male has a quota of songs peculiar to him-
self, but where there are occasional duplications in a community,
offers an opportunity to test the matter of inheritance or learning of
song with banded birds. The possession of similar songs was no proof
of close relationship between the singers, as neither brothers, fathers
and sons, nor grandfathers and grandsons had similar songs, while
birds known to be unrelated occasionally had similar songs. With
two hand-raised brothers (melodia) from Massachusetts exposed only
to records of songs of English birds, the form, length, and timing of
their songs were typical of the species, but the quality was atypical and
may have been suggested by the recorded songs. The following year,
a nestling ewphonia hatched 600 miles from the hatching site of the
two brothers, heard one of them sing a small amount in the fall but
heard no other singing; in December this ewphonia burst into song with
all of the 6 songs he had heard and with nothing else. It is evident that
the pattern is innate, but that quality may be imitated. Particular
songs may be improvised, or they may be adopted from some other
song sparrow.
Enemies.—The song sparrow, like other small passerines, suffers from
a multitude of adverse factors: weather; predators, native and intro-
duced; the brood parasite, the cowbird; and man with his destruction
of habitat, his inventions—windows, rat traps, automobiles, light-
houses, ceilometers at airports—shooting by his offspring in mistake
for “English sparrows.”’ The introduced predators—cat, rat, and dog—
appeared to be more destructive than native predators—snakes,
birds, and mammals. On Interpont about 26 percent of the song
sparrow nests found were parasitized by the cowbird in 1930 and 1931,
58 percent of the early nests in 1932, 36 percent in 1933 and 69 to 78
percent during the next 3 years. From 0 to 5 song sparrows were
raised in 28 nests along with 1 cowbird, from 0 to 2 song sparrows along
with 2 cowbirds. Sixty-six successful nonparasitized nests raised an
average of 3.4 song sparrows, while 28 successful parasitized nests
raised an average of 2.4 song sparrows. So each cowbird appears to
have been raised at the expense of one song sparrow.
1520 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
D. J. Nicholson found no cowbird eggs or young in any nests during
9 years of observation in North Carolina. But in July, 1954, he saw a
fledging cowbird being fed by a Mississippi song sparrow. ‘“Appar-
ently cowbirds are extremely scarce in that region of North Carolina
and have just come there,” he wrote.
Turning to egg and nestling losses from all causes, 44 percent of the
eggs laid left the nest as fledged young during the first 2 years of the
Interpont study and 29 percent during the next 4 years; 36 percent of
the eggs yielded fledglings during the 6 years. The first 2 years, during
which conditions for reproduction were favorable, correspond well
with results of other studies on altricial young in open nests. The
poor success afterwards reflected the disturbed conditions of the
environment. The percentage losses suffered by eggs and nestlings
of 906 eggs laid during 7 years was: flood 2.8 percent, predators 36.7
percent, cowbird 6.1 percent, sterile and addled eggs 5.6 percent,
parental failure 2.4 percent, man 4 percent, parents killed 3.7 percent,
young starved 3.1 percent. For all eggs laid these figures represent a
death of 40.9 percent in the egg stage, and of 23.5 percent after the
nestling stage was reached—64.4 percent in all.
The survival of the adult breeding males averaged over 60 percent
during the first 2 years, but after that dropped to 48, 23, 30, and 20
percent. The loss of breeding males from April to June averaged 15
percent during the first 3 years, 30 percent during the next 3; the loss
of breeding females averaged 30 percent and 35 percent during the
same periods. The proportion of first year males in the population
ranged from about 26 to 55 percent.
Out of 317 fledged nestlings 26 males and 14 females were later
found as breeders. The late arrival of young females doubtless raises
difficulties in the way of return to the vicinity of the birth place.
The percentage of yearly return of birds, without regard to sex, ranged
from 4.5 to 20, averaging 12.6; and 4.5 percent of the eggs laid produced
birds that returned to breed on the area. If the population is to be
maintained it is estimated that an average of 20 percent of the fledged
young should survive to adulthood. It is believed that 50 to 60
percent of the young song sparrows that survived to breed returned
to the place of birth to do so.
In a well-situated group of song sparrows the average life of the
breeding males was 214 to 234 years. Individuals have been known
to have reached 7 years of age, while one male was at least 714, and
perhaps 914 years old at his death.
Fall.—There was always singing in the fall from the males on their
territories, much in mild weather, little in bleak. Usually the summer
residents sang for only a few days the last of September and first of
October, but some residents might sing well into November. In
MISSISSIPPI SONG SPARROW 1521
each of 5 years one banded male sang for periods lasting 40 to 65
days. The character of the autumn singing differed little from that
of the height of the nesting season, except that there were more
incomplete songs.
The fall migration of the transients in central Ohio takes place in
late September and throughout October. Summer resident females
left by the middle of October, males a little later. Bleak weather
tended to hasten migration, mild weather to delay it or even occasion-
ally to supress it.
Winter.—Resident song sparrows stay on or near their territories
throughout the year, although they do not defend them in winter.
At this season they may range over an area 6 to 10 times as large as
their breeding territories. In cold spells they sometimes come more
than a quarter of a mile to a feeding station. In snowy weather they
assemble in loose flocks which are neither family parties nor neigh-
borhood groups, as they are composed of both residents and winter
residents. (Families break up at the end of the nesting season.)
The resident males start their singing and take up territories during
warm weather in late January or early February, but a return of
winter brings a return to winter behavior.
T never had a recovery away from Interpont of the 870 birds banded.
A song sparrow banded June 8, 1932 near Cleveland, Ohio, was taken
in Janesboro, Ga., Dec. 25, 1933.
[Note.—Because Mrs. Nice’s account of ewphonia is essentially a
summary of her banding study of an Ohio population, it is desirable
to add a word about the race in other places, and especially in the
Appalachian Mountains. Indeed, the old vernacular name Missis-
sippi Song Sparrow was rejected by some (see Burleigh, 1958) as being
less appropriate than ‘Appalachian Song Sparrow.”’—V.N_]
Arthur Stupka (1963) writes that this race is common in the lower
altitudes of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park but breeds
at any heights there. The habitat above 6,000 feet is ‘‘brushy open-
ings in these moist highlands.” In the mountains of Georgia, on
the other hand, Burleigh (1958) states that the bird is fairly common
in ‘thickets and underbrush in the valleys. It has no liking for thick
woods and will never be seen on mountainsides or in wooded ravines.”
Interestingly, both the foregoing authors have noted an extension
of euphonia’s range. It appears to have moved into the high altitudes
in only recent years, and Stupka discusses the possibility that large-
scale habitat changes attributable to lumbering and chestnut blight
have thinned the forest overstory and produced the changed distri-
bution of the bird. In Georgia, the breeding range of the species has
been extended even more markedly. ‘‘Less than fifty years ago, it
was not known to breed in Georgia * * * (Burleigh, 1958), but by
1522 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
1945 it had penetrated southward beyond the mountain valleys to
the northern edge of the Piedmont.”
Milton B. Trautman (1940) has given a most comprehensive de-
scription of the habitat preferences of this race in a large and varied
area around Buckeye Lake in central Ohio:
In winter the bird was abundant in brushy thickets, fallow fields of rank weed
growth, weedy fields of uncut corn, brushy edges and openings of woodlands,
brushy fence rows, brushy and weedy swamps, weedy edges of the canal, and
cattail marshes. It was less numerous or entirely absent from the bleak snow-
swept fields and pastures, from the vicinity of farmhouses containing little shrub-
bery, and from orchards and woodlots which had no ground cover. During
spring and fall it was also noted in small numbers in more barren localities, such
as pastures, meadows and last year’s forage and grain fields.
In the nesting season, from late March to early August, the species was found
in the greatest concentrations in lowland weedy situations. Many pairs nested
on the islands and lowland shores of the lake where herbaceous plants and brush
were present, about weedy and brushy borders and isolated brushy areas of cattail
swamps, in weedy and brushy inland swamps, in brushy edges and openings of
woodlands, along brushy fence rows, in fallow and weedy fields, and in the openings
and borders of brushy thickets. A few also nested along weedy or brushy fence
rows, in fields of smaller grains and forage crops, and in woodlots containing little
ground cover. It was only in the barren upland fields and on the crests of wooded
hills that nesting birds were absent.
DISTRIBUTION
Range——Northern Wisconsin, northeastern Michigan, southern
Ontario, and western New York south to south-central Texas, the
Gulf coast, and southern Georgia.
Breeding range.—The Mississippi song sparrow breeds from north-
ern Wisconsin, northeastern Michigan (Marquette, Whitefish Point),
central southern Ontario (Bruce County, Hamilton), and western
New York (east to Keuka Lake) south through southeastern Minne-
sota and Iowa to northeastern Kansas (Bendena), southwestern
Missouri (Jasper County), and northwestern and _ north-central
Arkansas (Winslow, Newport); through western Pennsylvania,
western Maryland (Accident), West Virginia (except extreme north-
east), southwestern Kentucky (Paducah, Glasgow), southwestern
Virginia (Pulaski, Marion), southeastern Tennessee (Chattanooga,
Crab Orchard), northeastern Alabama (Valley Head), and western
North Carolina to northern Georgia (Milledgeville) and northwestern
South Carolina (Clemson); casual in summer in south-central Kansas
(Harper) and northern Louisiana (Tallulah).
Winter range-—Winters from southern Wisconsin (Viroqua, Green
Bay), southern Michigan (Alicia), southern Ontario, and western
New York southwest and south through southeastern Nebraska,
eastern Kansas (Douglas County), and central Oklahoma (Norman)
DAKOTA SONG SPARROW 1523
to south-central Texas (Fort Clark, Matagorda), southern Louisiana
(Main Pass), southern Mississippi (Biloxi), southern Alabama (Petit
Bois Island), southern Georgia (Grady County, St. Simons Island),
and South Carolina (Kershaw County, Mount Pleasant); casually
in northern Michigan (McMillan) and western Kansas (Seward
County).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA JUDDI Bishop
Dakota Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat NoLan Jr.
Hasits
This breeding race of the great plains of Canada and of the northern
United States withdraws from much of its range in winter and spreads
southward and eastward as far as Florida. Early migrants return to
Canada in mixed flocks with tree sparrows, juncos, fox sparrows, and
other fringillids in March and April (Houston and Street, 1959).
Thomas S. Roberts (1936) has described the habitat in Minnesota:
“Bushy meadows and the banks of lakes and streams are the chosen
dwelling-places, but it is not confined to such surroundings and may
be found almost anywhere about prairie groves, upland fields, clearings,
and gardens, shunning only the deep shade of heavy timber.’’ Roberts
also quotes T. Martin Trippe, a pioneer Minnesota bird student, who
in 1871 noted that this shy bird of the brush prairies and thickets,
near water, was changing from ‘‘almost the wildness and timidity of a
wild-duck” to a confiding neighbor of man.
Territory sizes under favorable conditions would probably approxi-
mate those stated above for ewphonia and suggested for melodia.
However, Beer et al. (1956) report that song sparrows nesting on small
islands in Basswood Lake, Minn., regularly hold territories as small as
0.04 acre, whichis the total area of each of two of the islands. Indeed,
territories of 0.05 acre each were held by two pairs present on a single
island, but one male was “definitely subordinate.’’ Suthers (1960)
measured lake-shore territories on Lake Itasca, Minn., ‘‘to retain the
effects of shore line on size’? while avoiding the probable effects of
insularity; territory sizes varied from 0.34 to 0.68 acre, averaged 0.47
acre, and were thus intermediate between those of island and mainland
territories. Comparison with work of Tompa (1962) on the race
morphna, below, is suggested.
M.m.juddi is among the first birds to sing in spring, and descriptions
of the song resemble those of the eastern races. However, Louis B.
Bishop (1896), who described the race, found the song ‘‘quite different,
1524 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
* * * clearer, sweeter, more powerful. * * * I could not believe
[it] was a song sparrow until I had the bird in my hand.”
No differences between the reproductive cycle of juddi and of melodia
and ewphonia are apparent in Roberts (1936) and other literature.
Beer and his colleagues (1956) state that on the small islands in Bass-
wood Lake, Minn., ‘Nesting, while normally on the ground, may take
place in holes in trees or in small evergreens as much as seven feet
off the ground where there are not suitable open areas.’’
Roberts describes an interesting instance of predation on a nest by a
garter snake which suddenly appeared, and seized and made off with a
newly hatched nestling ‘‘in spite of a vigorous attack by one of the
parents. When pursued the snake quickly swallowed the tiny nest-
ling.” Roberts opened the snake (a gravid female) and found a
second song sparrow nestling in it. As garter snakes are common in
the nesting habitat of song sparrows, the episode was probably
typical.
L. B. Bishop (1896) described juddi as being similar to the race
presently known as M. m. melodia, “but with the ground color of the
upper parts paler, especially the superciliary streak and sides of neck,
and the white of the lower parts clearer; the interscapulars with the
black center broader, the reddish-brown portions narrower, and the
gray edgings paler; the dark markings on the breast restricted, and
more sharply defined against the ground color.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Northeastern British Columbia, southern Mackenzie,
northern Manitoba, and northern Ontario south to southern Texas,
the Gulf coast, and central Florida.
Breeding range—The Dakota song sparrow breeds from north-
eastern British Columbia (near Peace River), central southern
Mackenzie (Great Slave Lake), northern Saskatchewan (Lake Atha-
baska), northern Manitoba (Knee Lake; casual at Churchill), and
northern Ontario (Fort Severn, Attawapiskat Post) south through
the plains of Alberta (Grand Prairie, Calgary, Milk River) and
eastern Montana (Miles City) to northern Nebraska (Sioux County,
Dakota City), northwestern Iowa, southern Minnesota, extreme
northwestern Michigan (Baraga County), and southwestern Ontario
(Amyot); casual in southern Nebraska (Red Cloud).
Winter range—Winters from southeastern Montana (Miles City),
South Dakota (Yankton), and southern Minnesota (Cambridge)
south and east to western and southern Texas (Fort Davis, Boquillas,
Del Rio; Atascosa County; Longview), Louisiana (Lake Charles),
southern Mississippi (Petit Bois Island), Georgia (Ila, Tifton),
MOUNTAIN SONG SPARROW La25
central Florida (Enterprise), and southwestern Virginia (Blacksburg) ;
casually to Manitoba (Burnside) and southern Arizona (Tucson).
Accidental on Banks Island, Franklin District.
MELOSPIZA MELODIA MONTANA Henshaw
Mountain Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat NoLan Jr.
HaBItTs
This is the breeding subspecies of most of the Rocky Mountains
of the United States, from the states bordering Canada to those
adjoining Mexico. Although it may nest at least as high as 9,000
feet (Betts, 1912), the song sparrow is replaced in the Canadian life
zone by the congeneric Lincoln’s sparrow and is ordinarily found at
somewhat lower altitudes. In Yellowstone, for example, Milton
Skinner (1925) found montana only up to 6,500 feet. At the other
extreme, some individuals breed on the plains of Colorado at the
eastern edge of the mountains (W. W. Cooke, 1897; Niedrach and
Rockwell, 1939).
The habitat of montana is water-edge vegetation, whether it be
in marshes around mountain lakes as at Lake Tahoe, Nev. (W. W.
Price in Barlow, 1901), in streamside willows as in eastern Oregon
(Peck, 1911), or in boggy areas of cultivated fields and meadows
as in Colorado (Rockwell, 1908; Niedrach and Rockwell, 1937).
Alexander Wetmore (1920) describes the habitat at Lake Burford,
N. Mex., as clumps of dead tule (Scirpus occidentalis) fringing the
lake, although occasionally birds ventured up into sagebrush to feed
or nest.
In the marshes of the Grand Tetons of Wyoming, Salt (1957)
studied the ecologic relations of song sparrows (believed to have been
montana, because of the location), Lincoln’s sparrows, and fox spar-
rows. Song sparrows occupied the dense thickets 6 to 10 feet high
along open water, where they foraged ‘‘often with their feet in the
water.” Population density was approximately 3 individuals per
10 acres, and Salt estimated plant food comprised 60 percent
of the summer diet.
Spring—Some birds winter throughout the breeding range, while
others migrate as far south as the northern states of Mexico. Re-
occupation of breeding territories takes place in late March in Colorado
(Cooke, 1897) and extends into early Aprilin Montana (Saunders, 1921).
Nesting.—Nesting habits are like those of the races already dis-
cussed. Ground nests appear to be the commonest and are built in
1526 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
grass, alfalfa, in hollows under sage and willows, among ferns under
fallen trees, and in cattails at slight elevations. Elevated nests have
been found as high as 11 feet, and willows and lodgepole pines are
numbered among the nest trees. The nest itself is described in the
same terms as are the nests of the eastern races and apparently does
not differ significantly. As an example, M. S. Ray (1910) has re-
ported a nest in a flooded alfalfa field. It was made “‘of grasses and
weed stems with a lining of horsehair, was placed on slightly higher
ground,” and well concealed, and contained an unusual clutch of 6 eggs.
Nests are sometimes built over water (Rust, 1917). Jean M. Lins-
dale (1936), in testing the hypothesis that colors of nest linings and
downy plumage of nestlings are adapted to the degree of exposure to
sun, studied these points in the Toyabe Mountains of Nevada, where
the breeding race of the song sparrow is montana. Linsdale found
five nests ‘close to the ground” and “‘covered”’ so they were not ex-
posed to sun. The down of the nestlings he classed as intermediate
between light and dark in color, but the nest linings were dark, with
the result that they would absorb warmth rather than reflect it.
Nesting continues until mid-summer, e.g., in Oregon until at least
mid-July.
The male is said by Niedrach and Rockwell (1937) to help in nest
building.
Eggs.—The measurements of 40 eggs average 19.9 by 14.9 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 22.6 by 15.2,
20.8 by 15.5, 18.3 by 14.2, and 19.3 by 13.5 millimeters.
Incubation.—Courtship feeding by the male of the female as she sits
on the eggs has been attributed to this race by Niedrach and Rockwell
(1937). However, because these authors give no details and because
Mrs. Nice (1943) did not observe such behavior in euphonia, con-
firmation seems desirable. David Lack (1940b) in his review of
courtship feeding states, ‘‘Typically [it] seems absent in * * *
American sparrows, including the well-studied * * * Melospiza
(Song Sparrow).”’
Plumage.—Ridgway (1901) states that montana is similar to
melodia, “but wing, tail and tarsi averaging decidedly longer, bill
smaller and relatively more slender, and coloration grayer; young with
ground color or under parts dull white or grayish white, instead of
more or less buffy, that of upper parts less tawny than the young
of * * * melodia.” H. W. Henshaw (1884) states that fall speci-
mens of montana are “browner” than the race fallax with the markings
generally less distinct, i.e., more diffused. The black streaks of the
back are always present. M.S. Ray (1918) found a partially albino
nestling in a brood of three; ‘the entire underparts were pure white
and iris light reddish.’
YELLOWHEAD OR RILEY SONG SPARROW 1527
Fall and winter—Some birds are found in fall above the breeding
altitude, e.g., at 10,000 feet in Park County, Colorado (Warren, 1915).
Those that remain in the breeding range through the winter ap-
parently survive by staying close to the moderating influences of
water, including warm springs where these occur. Rockwell and
Wetmore (1914) found this race common in the mountains along Clear
Creek near Golden, Colo., on Nov. 14 “though there was six inches of
snow and the bushes were veritable snow banks.” Stanley G. Jewett
(1912) has written of seeing several M/. m. montana that in December
frequented the warm spring flats of the Wood River in Idaho and
obtained insects from the muddy ground. The birds were “often
seen feeding in the shallow water, while on all sides the snow was
piled four feet deep.”” Birds that migrate to southeastern California
inhabit ‘thickets of arrowweed, and willows and reeds at the edges of
ditches and river courses. The birds forage short distances out into
grassy or weedy places and about root tangles and piles of driftwood”’
(Grinnell and Miller, 1944).
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Northeastern Oregon and north-central Montana _ to
southeastern California, northern Sonora, central Chihuahua, and
western Texas.
Breeding range-—The mountain song sparrow breeds from north-
eastern Oregon (Union and Wallowa counties), central western Idaho
(New Meadows), and north-central Montana (Missoula and Teton
counties, intergrades with M. m. merrilli) south to eastern Nevada
(Toiyabe Mountains, Lehman Creek), southwestern Utah (Pine
Valley Mountains, Kanab), central eastern Arizona (White Mountains),
and northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, Raton).
Winter range.—Winters throughout the breeding range and south
to southeastern California (Death Valley, Riverside Mountain),
northern Sonora (Caborca, headwaters of Bavispe River), central
Chihuahua (Chihuahua), and western Texas (Fort Davis, Ingram) ;
east casually to western Nebraska (Crawford), western Kansas
(Trego County), and western Oklahoma (Cimarron County).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA INEXPECTATA Riley
Yellowhead or Riley Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat Notan Jr.
Hasits
Although M. m. inexpectata occurs as a breeding bird on the coast
and inner islands of the southeastern extension of Alaska, the range of
1528 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
this race also includes much of interior British Columbia and reaches
into the mountains of Alberta. This distribution and a difference
in its nesting ecology are responsible for the separation of this life his-
tory of inexpectata from the combined account of most other sub-
species that occur in Alaska.
Both on the breeding and the winter ranges, which do not overlap,
this race seems to prefer a marshy or brushy habitat like those, for
example, of melodia or juddv. George Willett (1928) writes that im-
expectata occurs in southeastern Alaska in inland locations several
miles from salt water. ‘‘Nests * * * found at Ketchikan were often
placed several feet up in trees.”’ Apparently nests were built near
the ocean, as well, for the same writer found a nest “inside a roll of
wire netting that was lying just above the high tide line.” Harry 8.
Swarth (1922) found this song sparrow in relatively few places in the
upper Stikine River valley in British Columbia, but near one tribu-
tary creek and in the marshy meadows a mile or so back from the
river it was abundant. Between July 8 and 26, 1921, Swarth con-
sidered full grown young more numerous than adults; the latter were
apparently engaged in tending second broods, many probably still in
the nest. The adults were very shy and stayed in the nesting areas,
which were sloughs grown up with reeds and surrounded by willows.
By mid-July, the presumed first-brood young were spreading farther
and farther from the marshes and down the river. Another example
of the dispersal of young from the breeding habitats is Swarth’s
collection of juveniles between July 26 and August 8 in fireweed
patches near Flood Glacier where no suitable nesting areas were
observed.
Swarth (1924) reported that on the Skeena River near Hazelton,
British Columbia, this song sparrow found little suitable habitat
and nested only in scattered pairs along small streams. Nesting
seemed in progress on May 26, and a young bird was seen being fed
by an adult as late as Aug. 29. Most birds had left by the third
week of September. Swarth found no song sparrows nesting in the
mountains.
Jewett et al. (1953) describe the winter habitat in western Washing-
ton as “alder brush and berry tangles of second-growth localities, as
well as brush along roadsides and in partly cleared places.”
J. H. Riley (1911) described inexpectata as being “‘similar to Melo-
spiza melodia rufina, but the browns of the upper parts lacking the
reddish tinge, thus giving to the back a gray cast; below not so heavily
streaked; averaging smaller.”’
MERRILL’S SONG SPARROW 1529
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Southeastern Alaska and southern Yukon south to northern
Oregon.
Breeding range.-—The yellowhead song sparrow breeds from the
coast and inner islands of southeastern Alaska (Glacier Bay, Ad-
miralty Island, Revillagigedo Island), southern Yukon (Squanga
Lake), and northwestern British Columbia (Atlin, rarely) southeast
through interior British Columbia to lat. 51° N. (Horse Lake, Yellow-
head Pass) and the mountains of southwestern Alberta (Henry House,
Banff).
Winter range.—Winters from southern British Columbia (Comox,
Alta Lake, Okanagan Landing) south through Washington to northern
Oregon (Portland, Prineville); casually north to Caribou district,
British Columbia (Indianpoint Lake).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA MERRILLI Brewster
Merriil’s Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat No.an Jr.
HaBITs
This migratory race breeds in the interior of the three northwestern
states adjoining Canada and of the two southwestern provinces of the
latter country. As is true of so many other subspecies of Melospiza
melodia, individuals can be found in winter in locations virtually
throughout the breeding range, while others migrate, in the case of
this race, to the southwestern United States. Descriptions of the
habitat would be generally applicable to those of most of the other
inland subspecies: tangles of willows, cottonwood, and alder; open,
sedge-grown, brushy meadows; hawthorn brush bordering clearings;
and lakeside marshy associations. H. J. Rust (1919) tells of seeing
these birds hopping from pad to pad of water lilies and wading into
shallow water “reminding one of the Water Ouzel except in color.”
At the opposite extreme, they occur in Washington, possibly as breed-
ers, in brush succeeding deforestation at altitudes of 4,000 feet (Jewett
et al., 1953). James C. Merrill (1898), for whom the bird is named,
states, ‘There is nothing in their general habits to distinguish them
from the Song Sparrows in other parts of the country,” but he notes
their very marked preference for the immediate vicinity of water in
the type locality, Fort Sherman, Idaho.
Spring.—Rust (1919) believed birds that wintered near Fernan
Lake, Idaho, to be principally old males, and these started to sing on
sunny February days. Females began to join males in mid-March,
646-737—68—pt. 319
1530 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
and the earliest nest was found on Apr. 12, 1918, a year with an un-
usually warm spring. A like date is given for Washington by W. L.
Dawson and J. H. Bowles (1909). At these dates few other species
are nesting in the song sparrow’s habitat.
Nesting.—Dawson and Bowles (1909) describe a pattern of nest
placement that prevails for many other races: First nests are usually
built on the ground under cover of vegetation, and elevated nests (up
to 20 feet high) become commoner as the season advances. Occa-
sional ground nests may be found at any date, e.g., on Aug. 3, in
Washington. On the other hand, Rust (1919) gives an interesting
portrayal of a different kind of seasonal change in nest location,
with heights tending to move downward from elevated positions to
the ground. At Fernan Lake, Idaho, the onset of breeding coincided
with high water levels, and early nests invariably were in spirea
shrubs and willows whose bases were partly submerged. Receding
water in mid-May exposed clumps of sedge, which were then used for
some nest sites, although shrubs and willows also continued to be
selected throughout the season. J.C. Merrill (1898) never found a
nest on the ground, and most were in bushes growing in water.
Dawson and Bowles and also Merrill describe clumps of debris stranded
in willows by flood water as common nest sites.
J. C. Merrill (1898) writes that nests near Ft. Sherman, Idaho,
were ‘‘unusually large for a song sparrow” and were built largely of
dead leaves and strips of cottonwood bark, deeply cupped and with
finer materials for the linings. Rust found sedge the most used
plant material and reported that nests built later in the season were
more compact and less precariously wedged in forks and supports;
horsehair was a common lining.
Eggs.—The measurements of 40 eggs average 20.1 by 15.0 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 22.4 by 15.5,
20.8 by 16.3, 18.3 by 15.2, and 19.3 by 13.7 millimeters.
Rust (1919) found 4-eg¢ clutches more numerous than 5-egg clutches
at Fernan Lake, Idaho. Near Ft. Sherman, Idaho, Merrill (1898) re-
ports 5 as the common size of the first clutch, 3 or 4 as the usual later
sizes,
Incubation, young.—The incubation period is set by Dawson and
Bowles (1909) and by Rust (1919) at 12 days, but Rust’s nestling
period, 14 to 16 days, seems remarkably long in view of the periods
known for ewphonia, 10 days, and melodia, 10 to 14 days. Dawson
and Bowles’ statement that young can “fly” when 12 days old should
be compared with Mrs. Nice’s finding that 17 days is the age at
which young of ewphonia commonly begin to fly. Fledglings remain
in dense underbrush and sedge until fairly strong on the wing.
MODOC SONG SPARROW 153k
Plumage.—Ridgway (1901) states that merrilli is “very similar
to * * * montana but slightly darker and more uniform above, with
the grayish edgings to the interscapulars and scapulars less strongly
contrasted with the darker mesial streaks, the latter usually with
more brown than black.”
Food.—Jewett et al., (1953) tell of the methodical dismemberment,
limb by limb, of a moth by a merrilli song sparrow.
Enemies.—Both Merrill (1898) and Rust (1919) regard nest losses
to flooding as very numerous. As enemies Dawson and Bowles
(1909) list the usual nest predators of small passerines, i.e., mammals,
snakes, and corvids.
Fall and winter—Individuals wintering in the breeding range
resort to tule beds, thickets, brush piles, and the vicinity of out-
buildings. Outside the breeding range in California, Grinnell and
Miller (1944) report the habitat as ‘“‘weed thickets, old rice fields,
tule beds and willow tangles. In general favors riparian growth
and damp places.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Southern interior British Columbia and southwestern
Alberta south to southern California, southern Utah, and northern
New Mexico.
Breeding range—The Merrill’s song sparrow breeds from southern
interior British Columbia (south of lat. 51° N.; Alta Lake, Shuswap
Falls) and southwestern Alberta (Waterton Lakes Park) south to
eastern Washington, east of the Cascade Range (Yakima, Wallula;
intergrades with M. m. fisherella), northern Idaho (South Fork Clear-
water River), and northwestern Montana (Flathead Lake).
Winter range-—Winters from southern interior British Columbia
(Okanagan Landing) and northwestern Montana (Fortine) west to
western Washington (Destruction and Orcas islands) and south to
southern California (Altadena, Victorville), southern Nevada (Charles-
ton Mountains), southern Utah (Santa Clara), and northern New
Mexico (Las Vegas, Hot Springs); casually to southern Arizona
(Quitobaquito) and northern Sonora (Upper Bavispe River).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA FISHERELLA Oberholser
Modoe Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat Noan Jr.
Hasits
A song sparrow of the interior of the northwestern United States
(as far south as Nevada), M. m. fisherella appears in its life bistory to
1532 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
resemble closely merrilli, one of the races with which it intergrades.
Many individuals winter throughout the breeding range, but others
migrate, occasionally as far as northern Sonora.
Breeding altitudes in California range between 300 and 8,000 feet
above sea level. But everywhere “riparian vegetation, marshes, and
lake borders” are sought out, for “the combination of dense low
cover and surface water with wet ground is essential for this race”’
(Grinnell and Miller, 1944). Philip C. Dumas (1950) has documented
the foregoing statement about the habitat in a series of detailed
density indices for this and other birds in the various environments
of southeastern Washington.
Moisture-loving plants such as willows and cattails are the most
usual nest sites, which in California “commonly are above ground in
the branch-work of bushes” (Grinnell and Miller, 1944). Near Pull-
man, Wash. (Jewett et al., 1953), nests are often placed between 8
and 12 inches high in willows. Plants of dry associations, e.g., small
conifers and shrubs, are also sometimes used for nests, which have
been found as high as at least 7 feet (Maillard, 1919b). Ground
nests are also found. Nests are described as loosely woven of weeds
and grasses. L. R. Dice (1918) once found a structure in which
some of the material had been picked green. W. L. Dawson (1923)
reports a most unusual nest in Modoc County, California; it had been
built into the side of a large paper wasp nest hanging 5 feet up in a
willow, and scraps of newspaper were among the materials used in the
construction of the outer surface. In Washington full sets of fresh
eggs have been found as early as March 30, and L. R. Dice (1918)
found well feathered young in a late nest on July 13.
Feeding ‘‘occurs on the moist ground or at the water’s edge, or on
plants over the water or floating in it,’ state Grinnell and Miller
(1944); and Jewett et al. (1953) describe some birds as ‘almost
semiaquatic” in their foraging on the floating green leaves of water
plants. H.C. Bryant (1911) found only insects in one stomach he
examined.
Grinnell and Miller state: “In winter, restriction to riparian growth
is less rigid, but seldom are the birds found far from moist situations
and the associated plant species.”’
H. C. Oberholser (1911) described fisherella as being similar to
heermanni, “but larger; upper surface paler, less rufescent; streaks on
lower parts less blackish (more brownish).” Aé.m. fisherella differs
from montana “‘in its darker upper parts, more blackish brown streaks
of under surface, heavier bill, and shorter wing.”
SONG SPARROW: ALASKAN 1533
DisTRIBUTION
Range.—Northeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho south to
southern California.
Breeding range.—The Modoc song sparrow breeds from northeastern
Oregon, east of the Cascade Range and west of the Blue Mountains
(The Dalles, Pendleton; intergrades with M. m. merrilli in southern
interior Washington, and with M. m. montana in central Baker
County, Oregon), and extreme southwestern Idaho (Weiser, Jordan
Creek) south to south-central Oregon (Medford), north-central and
central eastern California (Hayfork, Red Bluff, Mohawk, Olancha),
and western Nevada (Santa Rosa Mountains, Fish Lake Valley).
Winter range.—Winters throughout the breeding range and south
to western and southern California (Laytonville, Hayward, El Monte,
Calipatria); rarely to northern Sonora (Caborca) and southern
Arizona (Tucson).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wilson)
Song Sparrow: Alaskan Subspecies*
Contributed by Vat Nowan Jr.
HaBitTs
The six races grouped for the purposes of this life history have in
common the facts that they breed only in Alaska and that they are
largely birds of the ocean beaches. Two of the races, kenaiensis
and caurina, are migratory to some extent and breed, in part, on the
mainland, whereas the other four races are almost exclusively island
inhabitants and are resident. Otherwise the life histories of these
six subspecies are probably much alike. Information referable to a
particular race is so indicated.
Two additional races that breed both in Alaska and in British
Columbia, inexpectata and rufina, are treated separately, because of
the differences in their habitats, which are sometimes ‘‘inland localities
several miles from salt water * * *,”’ according to George Willett
(1928). The same experienced observer states that the other Alaskan
races (recognized at the date he wrote) “appear to be strictly beach
birds, nesting and feeding within a few yards of the beach.”
Gabrielson and Lincoln in their work (1959) on Alaskan birds
write:
*The following subspecies are discussed in this section: Melospiza melodia
maxima Gabrielson and Lincoln, M. m. sanaka McGregor, M.m. amaka Gabrielson
and Lincoln, M. m. insignis Baird, M. m. kenaiensis Ridgway, and M. m. caurina
Ridgway.
1534 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
The Alaskan Song Sparrows have become rather specialized birds, adhering very
closely to the sea beaches throughout most of their range, and only in the south-
eastern district from Yakutat Bay south do they show any resemblance to the
habits so familiar to bird students elsewhere. * * * The species has one of the
most curious ranges of any in Alaska. It is found along a narrow coastal strip
from Dixon Entrance [at the boundary of Alaska and British Columbia] to Attu
[the outermost Aleutian] * * * and only as straggling individuals in the Bristol
Bay area, on the Pribilofs, or on the north side of the Alaska Peninsula.
It is also one of the most variable of Alaskan birds. The races of southeastern
Alaska are dark and relatively small * * *. Northward and westward from
Yakutat, however, the birds become larger and paler, reaching the grayest race in
the Alaska Peninsula and in the easternmost of the Aleutian Islands [sanaka],
and then becoming browner but not much darker in the western Aleutians [maxima].
Ridgway’s measurements of the length, although taken from dried skins, give
some indication of the variation in the size of these birds as one passes to the west.
Males of the southeastern race (rufina) average 159 mm. in length while those of
the Aleutian Islands (mazima) average 187 mm. * * * These big birds * * *
with the normal markings greatly obscured and softened look entirely unlike their
more sharply marked relatives to the east; and yet, they sing about the same song.
It is an unusual experience for an ornithologist to watch one of these comparatively
gigantic Song Sparrows behave exactly as do their small counterparts far to the
south.
Spring.—Those individuals of the two migrant races that have
wintered in southeast Alaska, British Columbia, and the Pacific states
of the United States probably return to the breeding range in March
and April. Thus caurina is found in California until March, and
Swarth (1911) took specimens of that race in the Alexander Archi-
pelago just south of the breeding range in middle and late April.
Gabrielson and Lincoln (1951) mention a specimen of kenaiensis
collected in southeastern Alaska outside the breeding range on Feb. 6.
The spring behavior of the resident races may perhaps be typified
by that of maxima on Attu, as described by Sutton and Wilson (1946)
for the period Feb. 20 to March 18. ‘‘As a rule we saw the birds in
twos, and we believe that most of these were actually mated pairs.
They were not in breeding condition, however (the gonads of specimens
examined being unenlarged), and we saw little in the way of court-
ship, few pursuit flights of any sort, and no copulation. Singing we
heard now and then on windy days, but it was especially noticeable in
calm, sunny weather.”’
Nesting.—Richard F. Johnston (1954), from a study principally of
eee collections, fixes the duration of nesting in the Alaskan Peninsula
and the Aleutians (presumably, sanaka and mazima, and possibly
kenaiensis, insignis, and amaka) at about 7 weeks and indicates that
breeding in Alaska begins on about May 15, reaches a peak on about
June 10, and ends about July 5.
SONG SPARROW: ALASKAN 1535
Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) say,
Nests are almost invariably placed either on the ground or very close to it in
a clump of grass. Those in the Aleutians and along the south side of the Alaska
Peninsula are usually built in the beach grass just above the high tide line or in
the same grass in the little bays and stream bottoms which it occasionally follows
for a short distance into the interior. In southeastern Alaska, it builds in similar
situations, although sometimes the nests are woven around the taller grass stems,
and elevated a few inches above the ground. The nests are rather bulky and
rough on the outside, and are usually built of coarse grass stems not too well
put together. They are usually lined with finer dried grasses that are more
carefully woven into the interlining.
Joseph Grinnell (1910b) describes two nests of M. m. kenaiensis.
Both were placed in beach grass growing on sand spits and both were
alike in structure, composed principally of coarse, dry, mildewed
grass stalks, arranged concentrically but not intertwined, “‘so that if
roughly handled the nest would readily fall to pieces. The inner
lining is thin and of fine, round, yellow grass stems, the majority
approaching a position parallel to the rim of the nest. Although
many stems are also incorporated cross-wise, the interweaving is not
a conspicuous feature. The inner wall of the nest has a slippery
feeling because of the smoothness of the grass-stems and the ease with
which they slide, one over another; and it is extremely porous. Yet
there is a moderate firmness about the whole structure.”’? The dimen-
sions of one nest were taken after shipment and may have been
inaccurate; the diameter externally was 142 millimeters and internally
70 millimeters, while the depths were 67 and 32 millimeters externally
and internally.
Two ground nests of sanaka that Swarth (1934) examined were
made of grass, one built in a hollow, fairly well concealed by over-
hanging ferns and salmon berry on a steep mossy bank, the other on a
hillside 30 feet above the water. One of these had an external diam-
eter of about 150 millimeters and an internal diameter of 80 milli-
meters. R.C. McGregor (1960) describes a nest of sanaka in similar
terms; it was in the face of a low cliff and had external and internal
diameters of 140 and 160 millimeters and depths of 100 and 60 milli-
meters, respectively.
J. C. Howell (1948) found eight nests of insignis on the ground on
Kodiak Island.
Eggs.—The measurements of 20 eggs of M.m. sanaka average 24.1
by 17.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure
25.9 by 17.8, 24.5 by 18.3, and 21.8 by 16.3 millimeters.
The measurements of 20 eggs of M.m. insignis average 22.5 by 16.7
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 23.9 by
16.3, 23.4 by 17.3. 21.3 by 16.8, and 21.8 by 16.8 millimeters.
1536 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Johnston (1954), from 17 records of clutch size of unspecified
Alaskan races, found an average first clutch of 4.00 eggs and an average
second clutch of 4.33 eggs, with the mean clutch size of the sample
being 4.17 eggs. The nest of sanaka McGregor found, described above,
had three eggs, and those found by Howell contained from three to
five eges,
Young.—Swarth (1934) tells of finding families of young sanaka
hopping about the face of a cliff and among boulders on the shore
of Unalaska on June 15.
Plumage.—This summary of descriptions of the races under con-
sideration is taken from the paper by Gabrielson and Lincoln (1951),
which described maxima and amaka and reviewed the Alaskan song
sparrows, and from Ridgway (1901).
M. m. maxima: ‘‘Separable from sanaka, to which it is most nearly
related, by the following characters: bill slightly heavier and averaging
somewhat longer, especially in the males; in breeding plumage back
and head distinctly brownish in tone rather than grayish. This is
due to the wider and heavier brown stripes in the center of the feathers
of the back and to a darker brown color of the head. In specimens
of sanaka in comparable plumage, the brown feather markings are
narrower and more obscured, so that the general effect is an over-all
erayish tone of the head and back.
“The brownish appearance also is conspicuous in the fall, * * *
[and] a comparable difference is noticeable in the juvenal plumage”
(Gabrielson and Lincoln, 1951).
M. m. sanaka: Ridgway’s (1901) description of sanaka (at that
date cinerea) is that the ‘‘general color above [is] olive-gray (almost
ash-gray in summer), the back broadly streaked with brown (usually
inclosing narrow blackish shaft-streaks), the pileum usually with two
broad lateral stripes of light vandyke or mummy brown (these often
obsolete in worn summer plumage); streaks on chest, etc., varying
from light grayish brown to rusty brown. Young similar to the
young of * * * insignis, but paler above and streaks of under parts
grayish brown instead of sooty brown.” The bird is similar to, but
larger and grayer than, Mm. insignis.
M. m. amaka: ‘“‘Resembles maxima from the western Aleutians in
color and extensive brown markings, but somewhat more heavily
marked with brown than that race both on back and breast * * *.
Closer in color to mazima than to the geographically closer race sanaka.
Bill short and stubby as in sanaka’”’ (Gabrielson and Lincoln, 1951).
M. m. insignis: ‘This race is somewhat smaller than sanaka and is
darker, with a sooty wash that noticeably obscures the markings and
tends to make the color more uniform. It is, however, paler and
grayer than [kenaiensis] * * *” (Gabrielson and Lincoln, 1951).
SONG SPARROW: ALASKAN 1537
M. m. kenaiensis: Ridgway (1901) states that this race is smaller
and browner than insignis with the streaks on the chest and elsewhere
darker. It is intermediate between kenaiensis and caurina, being
larger with the upper parts more uniform in color and less streaked
than caurina. ‘Young, much resembling * * * insignis but more
heavily streaked below; much paler and browner above than young
of * * * caurina, with streaks on back much narrower, those on
chest, etc., much browner.”
M. m. caurina: This subspecies is intermediate between kenaiensis
and rufina, which is a sooty brown form of the outer islands of Alaska
and British Columbia. Caurina ‘is smaller and darker, with the
streaks more distinct on the back [than kenaiensis], whereas it has a
longer bill and grayer coloration than rufina”’ (Gabrielson and Lincoln,
1951).
Food.—Although the song sparrows of Alaska eat seeds when they
are available, Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) note that they take a
considerable amount of small marine life, particularly in western
Alaska. “Gabrielson has seen them picking up small mollusks or
crustaceans as well as such seeds and berries as may be found close to
the water line.”” Reported food items are beach fleas, crowberries,
seeds of wild rye grass, and ‘‘many of the smaller alpine and tundra
plants that grow close to the water’s edge.” The birds also undoubt-
edly eat insects. G. M. Sutton and R. S. Wilson (1946) state that
maxima on Attu in February and March feeds on tidal flats side by side
with rock sandpipers. A specimen examined smelled like the sand-
pipers and had eaten tiny snails. Swarth (1912) quotes Allen Hassel-
borg as saying that winter song sparrows around Juneau were very
fat and had masses of unrecognized slimy matter in their stomachs,
food that had been gathered on the beaches.
Behavior.—Ornithologists familiar with song sparrows in other
environments will find the beachcombing habit of the Alaskan races
of special interest. Thus Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) state that
“the Song Sparrows most frequently seen at Seward * * * are those
that live along the beach and under the main dock of that town. On
the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, [they] * * * are usually seen
only around the wharves and waterfronts of * * * towns * * *.
From Kodiak west through the Aleutians and the other islands * * *
it is most frequently seen as a beach bird which, when disturbed, flies
up into the rocks or disappears into the openings of a talus slope.”
The same authors state that the birds of southeastern Alaska, pre-
sumably inexpectata, rufina, and perhaps caurina, are sometimes found
in the same bushy habitats, including ornamental shrubs around
buildings, frequented by more southern races. The behavior of such
birds is correspondingly like that of the southern forms.
1538 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Sutton and Wilson (1946) give a notably interesting and detailed
report of the behavior of maxima on Attu in February and March,
when
The only vegetation is coarse grass, most of which has been blown flat and
buried under the snow, and the bare stalks of high weeds which offer little shel-
ter. * * * Its manner is not quite orthodox [for a song sparrow]. It seems to
move too slowly and it keeps under rocks too much of the time. * * * /
Most of them lived along the shore, spending virtually all their time between
the water’s edge and the snow—a coastal strip varying in width from a few feet
at high tide to a hundred yards or so at low tide. * * *
Certain pairs lived about scrap heaps of metal, piles of gasoline drums, and so
forth, as Song Sparrows might be expected to live about brush piles. * * * The
usual roosting place was a niche or crevice on the face of a big rock, or under a
tussock on a turfy headland. * * * Between 5 o’clock in the afternoon and dark,
* * * we frequently saw the sparrows going to roost or flushed them from their
roosting places. One which we saw asleep was fluffed up, with the bill stuck be-
tween the back and scapular plumage, chest against the bare rock, and tail out,
down and slightly spread. Others, which flew out as we climbed about the
rocks in the twilight must have been sleeping under the rocks or on the bare
ground.
Voice.—Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) state that the song is
“rather persistent’? during the breeding season, but not heard at
other times. On the other hand, Sutton and Wilson (1946) heard it
in February from males of maxima whose gonads were not in breeding
condition. The song is variable and to Gabrielson and Lincoln
“enough like that of the same species on the Atlantic coast * * * to
be easily recognized * * *.”’ (These authors make this statement
only about birds of the western Aleutians [maxima] but presumably
select this most remote race in order to make the general point.)
Sutton and Wilson speak of a slight initial unfamiliarity in the song
of maxima but seem to attribute this to the unfamiliar environment
and conclude that the vocalization is ‘fairly average after all * * *.”
They also state that an ornithologist from the eastern United States
will instantly recognize the Aleutian song sparrow’s husky, alto “chirp
of alarm.” “He will recognize also a higher pitched chip, which
indicates greater excitement, and certain beady cries which accom-
pany pursuit flights.”
Fall.—A specimen of sanaka collected July 28 had a very short,
new tail, and a male and female of that race collected Aug. 3 had
half-grown tails, new feathers of primaries 3 through 7, and were
undergoing body molt (McGregor, 1906).
The resident races of the western islands leave the immediate
vicinity of the shore after the young have been raised and wander
some distance up the side of the mountains until snows force a return
to the beaches (Gabrielson and Lincoln, 1959; R. D. Taber, 1946,
referring to maxima).
SONG SPARROW: ALASKAN 1539
Winter—The behavior of maxima, as Sutton and Wilson (1946)
describe it, may be inferred to be typical of that race during the winter
and not likely to differ much from that of any of the other sedentary
Alaskan races. Wilson, in another paper (1948) states that on Attu
song sparrows usually stayed in pairs the year round and that he
noted them only “occasionally singly, never in a flock.”
Those birds of caurina (and apparently kenaiensis) that migrate
remain essentially shore dwellers on the winter range. ‘Thus Alfred
Shelton (1915) reports collecting two specimens of caurina in Oregon
after he saw one fly up to elude a breaker and then light again at
the surf’s edge. A similar observation made by C. I. Clay is
reported by Grinnell (1910a), who also indicates that the bird was
adhering closely to a winter foraging range 200 yards long on a strip
of shore in California. The bird was seen repeatedly feeding among
driftwood, and it could never be driven beyond the bounds of its
range. Its flights were short and apparently undertaken reluctantly,
and it preferred to skulk on foot. Interestingly, song sparrows were
said by Allen Hasselborg, quoted by Swarth (1912), to have been
distributed singly along 200-yard stretches of stony beach at Juneau,
Alaska, in winter.
DIsTRIBUTION
Giant Song Sparrow (m. m. maxima)
Range.—The giant song sparrow is resident in the Aleutian Islands,
Alaska, from Attu Island to Atka Island.
Aleutian Song Sparrow (M. m. sanaka)
Range.—The Aleutian song sparrow is resident in the eastern
Aleutian Islands, Alaska (Seguam Island to Unimak Island), the
Alaska Peninsula east to Stepovak Bay, and the islands south of the
Alaska Peninsula from Sanak Island to the Semidi Islands.
Casual records.—Casual in fall and winter on the Pribilof Islands
(St. George) and the coast of western Alaska (Nushagak).
Amak Song Sparrow (M. m. amaka)
Range.—The Amak song sparrow is resident on Amak Island, north
of the western end of the Alaska Peninsula.
Bischoff’s Song Sparrow (M. m. insignis)
Range.—The Bischoff’s song sparrow is resident in the Kodiak
Island group (Barren Islands to Sitkalidak Island) and the adjacent
Alaska Peninsula (Kukak, Katmai).
1540 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Kenai Song Sparrow (M. m. kenaiensis)
Range.—Cook Inlet to southeastern Alaska.
Breeding range-—The Kenai song sparrow breeds on the coast of
southern Alaska from Cook Inlet (Seldovia, Hope) to the mouth of the
Copper River.
Winter Range.—Winters in the breeding range and southward
in southeastern Alaska (Sitka); rarely to the coast of western Wash-
ington (Marysville).
Yakutat Song Sparrow (M. m. caurina)
Range.—Coast from Yakutat Bay in southeastern Alaska to northern
California.
Breeding range-—The Yakutat song sparrow breeds on the coast of
southeastern Alaska from Yakutat Bay to Cross Sound.
Winter Range.—Winters from southeastern Alaska (Chichagof
Island, Juneau, Wrangell, Howkan) south along the marine shore lines
of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon to northern California
(Fortuna) ; rarely to central California (Bay Farm Island).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA RUFINA (Bonaparte)
Sooty Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat Noran Jr.
HABITS
This race, although it breeds on the outer islands of southeastern
Alaska and British Columbia, is not confined to the beaches. George
Willett (1928) states that rufina occurs ‘in inland locations several
miles from salt water * * *.”’ Near Sitka, the same observer (1914)
found the bird common in summer ‘‘in brush and grass lands on islands
and along the shore.” Individual birds occur in winter in the breeding
range, but some migrate as far south as western Washington. George
Willett (1921) reports that rufina and caurina both remained at
Craig, Alaska, through the winter of 1919, but that in 1920 at Wrangell,
rufina had departed by early November. ‘This latter place, though
only about a hundred miles distant from Craig is, by virtue of its
proximity to the mainland, considerably colder.”
Willett (1928) says all nests of rufina are “either flush with the
ground or in short grass a few inches up.’ Gabrielson and Lincoln
(1959) quote the same observer as having found nests with eggs or
young from June 2 to July 22.
The post-breeding and winter habitats of rufina are substantially
unlike those of the six races reported immediately preceding. Of
RUSTY SONG SPARROW 1541
birds found in September on Mt. Rainier, Washington, Jewett et al.
(1953) write: “It seemed to prefer the alder and huckleberry brush
of moist, spongy meadows, as well as willows about lake margins.”’
They add: “Coastal records of the sooty song sparrow are notably
scarce, though it appears to be of general occurrence in winter on the
islands of Puget Sound and at certain lowland localities in western
Washington away from the coast.”’ Specimens have been collected
in Washington between Sept. 3 and Feb. 20.
Ridgway (1901) describes rufina as being “Similar to M. ce. morphna
but decidely larger (except bill), with coloration darker (sooty rather
than rusty), and more uniform above; general color of upper parts
deep sooty brown or bister, brightening into rusty brown or chestnut
on outer webs of greater wing-coverts and tertials, the back obsoletely
streaked with darker, and the median crown-stripe indistinct or ob-
solete; streaks on chest, etc., deep prouts brown.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Outer islands of southeastern Alaska and of central British
Columbia south to western Washington.
Breeding range.—The sooty song sparrow breeds on the outer is-
lands of southeastern Alaska (Chichagof to Forrester and Duke
islands) and of central British Columbia (Queen Charlotte Islands,
Porcher Island, Spider Island).
Winter range.—Winters in breeding range (north to Sitka), ranging
south to western Washington (Whidbey Island, Toledo).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA MORPHNA Oberholser
Rusty Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat NoLan Jr.
Habits
Another race from the Pacific Northwest, M. m. morphna breeds
in southwest British Columbia and western Washington and Oregon.
Bird banders have found many wholly sedentary individuals, but
there is also a migratory element. The winter range reaches to
California and, rarely, Nevada.
The habitat is well described by Jewett et al. (1953): ‘Distinctly a
ground bird, it prefers to hide in the brush along the bank of some
trickling creek, though it is often observed in dry brushy localities at
some distance from water, and has been noted in such diverse places
as weedy lots and about dooryards in towns, on the tide flats, among
the logs and brush of a windfall, in a log jam on a river, among stranded
1542 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
dry logs on the sea beach, along roadsides and in partly cleared
places, in tule swamps, about beaver ponds, and even in the dense
Douglas fir forest. Everywhere it keeps fairly close to the ground,
and in general it remains in wet or marshy places.” Frank S. Tompa
(1962), in an important study of the population on Mandarte Island,
B. C., found that the birds defended territory in shrubby growth,
included grassland within their home ranges, and foraged in the tidal.
zone as a common feeding ground.
Territory.—Tompa’s work on the sedentary population of Mandarte
Island provides the following data: Territorialism revived in late
January, when singing and chasing began in males. At this time
adults with previous breeding experience were occupying their terri-
tories and home ranges of the year before, substantially without
change in the former boundaries. Land left vacant by mortality
was occupied by birds hatched the preceding year, and a surplus of
such young birds was distributed in loose groups of five to ten in-
dividuals. With the revival of territorial behavior, most young
birds that were still unsettled on a site emigrated; one was found
1,300 meters from its hatching site and another 6 kilometers. Pair
formation occurred in February and March.
Territory size of mated males averaged 288 square meters for 47
cases, and home range averaged 473 square meters. This average
territory area is one-tenth the minimum size Nice reported for terri-
tories of ewphonia in Ohio. Unmated males on Mandarte Island had
territories averaging only 82 square meters. ‘Tompa suggests that the
amount of shrubbery defended determined whether a male could
attract a female.
Territorial behavior gradually declined during the breeding season
until it reached its minimum in late July and August when molt began
in adults. Song was very rare by late June and early July, except in
unmated males. Aggressive behavior revived in October. Some
young of the year became territorial in late summer, and from late
August until October there was an emigration of certain of these birds,
apparently as a result of mutual aggressiveness and the shortage of
vacant habitat on which to settle. Aggressiveness declined again after
October and reached the minimum in November and December.
Tompa’s investigation establishes that the upper limit of territory
size in this local population is fixed primarily by territorial behavior.
Details of early spring behavior of birds at Vancouver, B.C., are
reported by William M. Hughes (1951). Males sing on bright winter
mornings, and other signs of territoriality appear early in the season.
Hughes remarked aggressiveness in birds in January and _ color-
banded three, which he sexed as males. He found that these marked
birds fed amicably with other song sparrows (he caught all three
RUSTY SONG SPARROW 1543
again on Feb. 8, together in the trap) but that each then returned to a
particular area in which it attacked and pursued others of the species.
This territorial behavior persisted even in a late-February and early-
March period of cold and snow, during the sunny intervals. Song
first became frequent on March 13, courtship of females was first noted
on March 17, and by March 27 the three banded males all had mates
that were carrying nest material.
Song posts of males are 10 to 15 feet high (Jewett et al., 1953).
Nesting —On Mandarte Island, B.C., Tompa found that the breed-
ing season “normally extends from the second half of March to late
July.” As many as three broods are raised by some pairs.
In Washington, eggs have been found as early as April 2, and a fresh
set of four eggs has been recorded on July 16. Gabrielson and Jewett
(1940) set extreme dates of fresh eggs as April 15 and July 10 in Oregon.
G. W. Gullion (1951) states that breeding dates of song sparrows in
the southern Willamette valley, Oregon, range from Feb. 28 to Aug.
13; the subspecies is not identified but is inferred from the locality to
have been morphna.
Nests are said to be very well concealed, and are located both on the
ground in grass or tules or by a log, in shrubs such as blackberries,
in trees such as spruces, and in brush piles. The seasonal pattern
of nest location already described for melodia and many other races,
in which the elevated nests are to be expected later in the season,
prevails in morphna. Heights are rarely greater than 5 feet, more
commonly 1 or 2 feet (Jewett, 1916; Gabrielson and Jewett, 1940).
William H. Kobbe (1900) measured an elevated nest made of grasses
and found its external diameter was 5 inches, its internal diameter
3 inches, its external depth 3% inches, and internal depth 2 inches.
The same author, as well as Alexander Wetmore (quoted in Jewett
et al., 1953), described nest construction in terms closely resembling
descriptions of nests of melodia. Hughes (1951) found a most unusual
nest on April 16; it was the previous year’s nest of a Swainson’s thrush,
6%; feet high in a yew.
Eggs.—The measurements of 40 eggs average 20.2 by 15.1 milli-
meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 21.8 by 15.2, 20.3
by 16.0, 18.0 by 14.2, and 18.8 by 13.8 millimeters.
Young.—Song has been noted in young of the year as early as July 9,
in a bird that could not have been more than 2 months old. William
E. Sherwood (1929) felt that the first songs he heard were subdued in
volume, but within a few minutes the songs had become indistinguish-
able from those of an adult. This early beginning of song correlates
well with Tompa’s observation of the onset of territorial behavior
after the post-juvenal molt.
1544 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Outside the breeding range, in California, morphna “Has been
noted specifically in weedy thickets, along grassy ditch banks, in old
cornfields, and in wooded or brush-bordered gardens. ‘This race is
not noticeably restricted to the vicinity of water in the winter season
in California” (Grinnell and Miller, 1944).
Mortality —Tompa found that 29 of 55 birds (53 percent) banded
as adults survived from one summer until the beginning of the follow-,
ing breeding season. During the next approximately 10 months,
from the onset of breeding until the end of January, adult mortality
was only 22 percent. Emigration of the young apparently prevented
accurate determination of first-year mortality. One year Tompa
recaptured 21 of 113 young that he had banded the preceding season,
19 on Mandarte, 2 on adjacent islands. Egg and nestling losses on
Mandarte Island, where nest predators and parasites were virtually
lacking, were less than 40 percent.
Plumage—Ridgway (1901) describes morphna as being similar in
color to the race cleonensis, ‘‘but much larger and colors more uniform
above, the rusty brown or chestnut streaks on back, etc., less strongly
contrasted with the rusty olive ground color and the black mesial
streaks less distinct (often obsolete); under parts with the chestnut
streaks on chest, etc., usually without blackish shaft-streaks, and the
flanks olivaceous rather than tawny. Young, slightly rufescent bister
brown above, the back streaked with blackish; beneath dull whitish or
very pale buffy grayish, the chest, sides, and flanks more or less tinged
with buffy or pale fulvous and streaked with sooty brownish.”
Food —L. M. Huey (1954) collected a female of this subspecies near
San Diego, Calif., on Oct. 13, and states that ‘‘the entire digestive
tract was found to be thoroughly stained red from a diet of the ripe
[Opuntia] cactus fruit.””. Tompa mentions caterpillars and lacewings
as food items.
Fall——Mainland birds show a tendency to wander in the fall, as
indicated by records from altitudes of 4,000 feet in the Cascade
Mountains of Washington and from heights in the Olympics, as well as
from records east of the Cascades. Most of these wanderers are
thought to be young birds (Jewett et al., 1953), as Tompa’s work
suggests.
Winter —Winter habitats are varied and include most of the places
itemized by Jewett et al. (1953), as quoted in the second paragraph
of this life history. Gabrielson and Jewett (1940) regard morphna as
a conspicuous member of the mixed winter flocks of sparrows in
Oregon. Songs are heard there on bright winter mornings. In
another paper, Jewett (1916) says that birds of this race “are very
plentiful on the ocean beach, feeding amongst the driftwood.”
MENDOCINO SONG SPARROW 1545
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Southwestern British Columbia to northern California.
Breeding range —The rusty song sparrow breeds from southwestern
British Columbia (Alert Bay, Chilliwack) south through western
Washington (Tatoosh Island, Longmire) to southwestern Oregon
(North Santiam River at 3,400 feet, Grants Pass, Wedderburn).
Winter range.—Winters chiefly in the breeding range, extending
south to northern California (Paicines, Snelling), rarely to southern
California (Riverside, Yaqui Wells) and western Nevada (Fallon).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA CLEONENSIS McGregor
Mendocino Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat Noan Jr.
HABIts
This permanent resident of the coastal districts of the extreme
southwest corner of Oregon and of three counties of northern Cali-
fornia inhabits a variety of low dense cover, listed by Grinnell and
Miller (1944) as ‘“‘blackberry patches, ceanothus clumps, bracken,
weeds and brush-piles in logged or burned-over land, pasture fence-
row tangles, baccharis brush, willow thickets, and fresh- and salt-
water marshes. Within the narrow coastal range of this race
prevailing fogs and rain supply amply the moisture requirements of
Song Sparrows even in cover some distance from streams or marshes.
Undergrowth in forests is generally not occupied, the birds apparently
seeking brush in openings and at forest edges.” Walter K. Fisher
(1902), commenting on the abundance of the bird, writes that it
“fairly swarms in some places, and is the commonest bird in de-
forested areas.”
Ridgway (1901) describes cleonensis as being ‘‘similar in size and
proportions to M. m. samuelis, but averaging slightly smaller with
larger legs and feet, and coloration very different, being much more
rufescent; general color of upper parts deep rusty olive, conspicuously
and broadly streaked on back, etc., with dark rusty brown, or chest-
nut, and black; streaks on chest, ete., dark rusty brown or chestnut
(black medially), and sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts strongly
fulvous.”
DisTRIBUTION
Range—The Mendocino song sparrow is resident in the coastal
district of extreme southwestern Oregon (mouth of Pistol River) and
646—737—68—pt. 3——20
1546 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
northwestern California (Del Norte, Humboldt, and western Mendo-
cino counties, south to Gualala).
Casual record.—Casual in Marin County, California (Olema).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA GOULDII Baird
Marin Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vai NoLan Jr.
HABITs
Except in the marshes around San Francisco Bay, the song sparrow
of the long coastal district of central California is this resident race.
Here it inhabits fresh water marshes, fog-drenched brush on west-
ward-facing slopes down to the shore or to the edges of salt marshes,
streamside growth such as willow clumps and shrubby weedy tangles,
and garden shrubbery. As Grinnell and Miller (1944) observe, ‘‘An
essential combination of dense, tangled vegetation, and moist ground
or surface water is provided by each of these types of habitat.”
Toward the interior the birds are limited to streamsides and fresh-
water marshes, but near the coast the fogs, seepage, and damp ground
provide enough moisture to free them of such restrictions.
Nests are built ‘‘on the ground or in bushes a few feet up” (Ray,
1908). Richard F. Johnston, in his study of the breeding seasons and
clutch sizes of western song sparrows (1954), indicates that the season
extends from about February 25 to about June 25 in south central
California and from about March 25 to about July 5 in the northern
part of the range; the peaks of breeding are in mid-April in both sec-
tions with a second, greater, peak in the first half of May in the north.
Mean clutch sizes in the sets Johnston examined were 3.71 and 3.53
in the south and the north, respectively; first clutches were somewhat
smaller and second clutches larger than the means.
Grinnell and Miller (1944) say that cover “is often hunted through
in almost wren-like fashion; crevices, holes and branch tangles are
entered and inspected for insect food.’”’? H.C. Bryant (1921) stated at
Berkeley, ‘‘The worst egg eater yet discovered in my aviary is a Santa
Cruz Song Sparrow [now M. m. gouldu].”
‘Tn fall and winter some scattering to drier situations is noted,
especially to thickets of dead grass and annuals in fairly open fields”
(Grinnell and Miller, 1944).
Grinnell (1909) describes gouldii as: “Similar to M. m. cleonensvs,
but less rufescent, the black element much stronger on feathers of
back, scapulars, and exposed quills, that of pileum taking form of
streaks alternating with browns; the streaking of underparts also
SONG SPARROW: SAN FRANCISCO BAY 1547
?
more decidedly black, often scarcely rufescent on edges.”’ The race
is depicted by Dawson (1923).
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—The Marin song sparrow is resident in the coastal district
of central California (exclusive of tidal and brackish marshes of San
Francisco Bay area), from interior Mendocino County (6 miles south-
west of Laytonville), northern Sonoma County (Cazadero), and Lake
County (Blue Lakes) south through San Mateo and Santa Clara
counties to northern San Benito County (Paicines); east to the edge
of Sacramento Valley (Stonyford, Vacaville).
MELOSPIiZA MELODIA (Wilson)
Song Sparrow: San Francisco Bay Marsh Subspecies*
Contributed by RicHarp FouRNESS JOHNSTON
[Nowhere have song sparrows become adapted more interestingly
to a specialized environment than they have in the salt and brackish
marshes ringing San Francisco Bay. Here, as Joe 'T. Marshall, Jr.
(1948) has written, ‘‘the spatial isolation of different habitats, par-
ticularly bay salt-marsh from upland fresh-water growth is correlated
with a marked differentiation of very local races.”” Marshall’s paper
analyzes the differences in the ecologies of these sedentary marsh song
sparrows, but their essential similarities have led to their being
grouped for present purposes. The race samuelis is selected to represent
the group because of Dr. Johnston’s knowledge of it. A few details
regarding other races are inserted into the Johnston account; these
are set apart in brackets.—V.N.]
HABITs
Melospiza melodia samuelis is one of the many distinctive morpho-
logical segregates of this widespread species found in the central
Californian region. One of the smaller, darker subspecies (Marshall,
1948), it is closely restricted to a peculiar habitat-type found
only on the salt marshes fringing the northern reaches of San Fran-
cisco Bay. As these marshes are inhabited by no other subspecies,
any song sparrow seen there is almost certain to be MZ. m. samuelis.
The salt marshes of the north part of the bay are flat expanses
of alluvial soil seldom more than 7 feet in elevation above mean sea
level. They are exposed to a varying amount of wetting each day
* The following subspecies are discussed in this section: Melospiza melodia
mazillaris Grinnell, M. m. samuelis (Baird), and M. m. pusillula Ridgway.
1548 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
by tidal flux of the brackish bay waters. The marsh vegetation in
response to these conditions is arranged in three zones, corresponding
roughly to the amount of daily submergence each zone experiences.
Fringing the lower edge of the marsh adjacent to the bay is a broad
expanse of cordgrass (Spartina foliosa), and on the higher reaches of
marsh grows pickleweed (Salicornia ambigua). Lastly, along the
raised banks of tidal sloughs, which carry water into and out of the.
marsh, grows a gumplant (Grindelia cuneifolia). This gumplant,
which reaches the size of a small bush, affords a great deal of cover when
mixed with the pickleweed; here the marsh song sparrows find con-
ditions most suitable for their existence.
The tides thus set the pattern assumed by the dominant plants
on the marsh, and in so doing strongly influence the areas in which
the song sparrow lives. High tides also have other effects on the
birds. High spring tides, which can flood nests of song sparrows,
occur in late April, May, and June in nocturnal hours; high winter
tides, which may influence the amount and direction of movements
of song sparrows, occur mainly in December during daylight hours.
Nesting, territory, eggs—In lowland California song sparrows
tend to begin breeding activities fairly early in the year, ordinarily
in late March, but the song sparrows that breed earliest are those
living on salt marshes (Johnston, 1954). The first date for a com-
pleted clutch of M. m. samuelis is February 28, and the modal date
for population-wide completion of clutches is March 28; corresponding
dates for song sparrows living in the hills around the San Francisco
Bay area are March 25 and April 15, respectively. The marked
earliness of breeding in the salt marsh birds probably is an adaptation
to tidal conditions, for if these song sparrows bred at the same time
that the upland birds do, spring flood tides would destroy many
eges and young (Johnston, 1956a). Birds hereditarily endowed for
earliness of breeding thus leave more offspring than those breeding
late. [M. m. pusillula also breeds early.—V.N.]
Salt marsh song sparrows are double-brooded; almost all pairs
nest twice in a season. If replacement nests are considered, each
pair will nest on the average 2.5 to (rarely) 3 times each season.
The song sparrows place their nests in clumps of pickleweed, among
stalks of cordgrass, or in crotches of gumplant. All nests are low to
the ground, as the average height of marsh vegetation is less than 2
feet. Nests in fact average only 9% inches above the ground; they are
higher on the lower marsh, averaging there about 12 inches high.
Nests are not used more than once, and the two or more nests of any
one season are built at different sites within a territory.
SONG SPARROW: SAN FRANCISCO BAY 1549
On one occasion (out of about 130 possible occasions) a song sparrow
gave a “rodent run” distraction display as it left the nest when the
observer visited it.
[The measurements of 40 eggs of samuelis average 21.5 by 15.9
millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 24.4 by 16.3,
22.9 by 17.38, 19.1 by 15.8 and 20.1 by 15.0 millimeters.—W.G.F.H.]
Mean clutch-size for salt marsh song sparrows Is 3.20+ 0.05 eggs, on
the basis of 157 records collected between 1950 and 1955 (Johnston,
1956a). The range in mean clutch-size is from 2.91 to 3.42 eggs. In
any one season the earliest clutches are relatively small (to 2.83 eggs),
clutches completed in mid-season are relatively high (to 3.66 eggs), and
those of the late season low (to 2.60 eggs). Pairs of samuelis averaged
from 7.5 eggs to 9.1 eggs per season from 1950 to 1955. Owing to
unpredictable mortality to eggs and young, these figures are not a
reliable guide to productivity, which is best defined as the number of
fledglings per pair of adults per season. On the salt marsh this
productivity is from three to five fledglings per pair per year.
[M. m. pusillula also has a low mean clutch size, 3.3 eggs.—V.N.]
Territorial relationships of salt marsh song sparrows are similar to
those of the species in general. In late winter and spring, male singing
and chasing increase. By late February and March most males have
established themselves on territories; pair-formation ordinarily has
already taken place, but those birds not yet mated now form pairs.
Singing decreases in late March and April, but territorial strife con-
tinues sporadically throughout the remainder of the breeding season.
Territorial activity ceases in July, but becomes evident again in late
August and September. Although in many instances true territories
are not staked out the quarters most birds, adults and juveniles alike,
occupy in September are identical with those of the following breeding
season.
The territories of salt marsh song sparrows are small, and the
borders of some sloughs may support as many as 8 to 10 pairs of birds
per acre; most territories are thus about 30 feet wide by 150 feet long, a
little over 0.1 acre. Territories are larger where vegetation is sparser
at the heads and mouths of the sloughs than along the middle reaches.
Adults show a strong tendency to remain permanently in the
territories they take up their first autumn. Very few birds move more
than 10 meters from this first autumn territory, no matter how long
they live. The longest movement recorded on banded birds (Johns-
ton, 1956a) is 35 meters.
The incubation period is about 12 (12 to 14) days. Young remain
in the nest 9 to 12 days, but will leave prematurely at 8 days if dis-
turbed. Fledglings remain under parental care for 5 to 8 more days;
this gives a total parental period of attention per brood of about 30
1550 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
days. The adults start second broods in short order, and the first
young then gradually move out into other parts of the marsh.
Dispersal by the young occurs from time of fledging until autumn,
when the adults again begin to show territoriality. The median
distance of dispersal in these young is 185 meters. The longest
distance on record is 960 meters (Johnston, 1956a).
Enemies.—Adults are preyed upon by marsh hawks, short-eared.
owls, and probably Norway rats. Much predation must occur for
which there is little record, for although adult mortality is about 42
percent per year (Johnston, 1956) very few birds are known to have
died through a specific agency. Only four skulls of song sparrows
appeared in 491 pellets of short-eared owls collected in a 4-year period
(Johnston, 1956b).
Eggs and nestlings are subject to higher mortality than full-grown
birds, and for these the mortality factors are easier to determine. In
a sample of 504 eggs and young, about 20 percent of eggs and young
were killed by some predatory agent (probably Norway rats), 11
percent by flood tides, 5 percent by desertion of adults, 5 percent by
rainstorms, and about 4 percent by accidental loss of eggs from the
nest and parasitism by cowbirds (Molothrus ater), Total mortality
was 50 percent of all eggs laid.
Plumages.—The sequence of plumages in salt marsh song sparrows
has not been studied, but probably is the same as for other subspecies
of the species. The annual molt begins in early July, almost imme-
diately following cessation of breeding, at which time adults are in
extremely poor feather owing to heavy abrasion on rough marsh plants.
The annual molt is completed in late August or early September, and
at this time most juveniles have completed the post-juvenal molt.
[Grinnell (1909) described mavzillaris as resembling the race “gouldia
closely in coloration and M.m. heermanni in general size; differs from
Mm. samuelis * * * in having the browns more extended and of a
deeper tone (bay rather than hazel) and in much greater size and,
especially, bulkier bill; differs from M.m. gouldii * * * in much
greater size throughout; and from M.m. heermanni * * * in that the
base of the maxilla is more swollen, the black streakings everywhere
broader, and the general tone of coloration darker.” Ridgway (1901)
states that samuelis is “exactly like” the race heermanni in coloration,
but is ‘much smaller, with the bill more slender.’’ He describes
pusillula as being ‘Most like samuelis but still smaller, the wings and
tail decidedly so; coloration much less rusty, the general color of upper
parts olive-grayish, the black dorsal streaks not distinctly, if at all,
margined with rusty brown, the lateral crown-stripes and wings less
distinctly rufescent, under parts more heavily streaked (streaks usually
wholly black) and flanks paler fulvous; under parts usually more or
SONG SPARROW: SAN FRANCISCO BAY 1551
less tinged with yellowish. Young much paler and grayer than that
of N. c. samuelis, with the broad black streaks on back and scapulars
much more strongly contrasted with the ground color; ground color
of under parts dull yellowish white or pale yellowish buff, without
brownish tinge on breast or sides.’”’—V.N.]
Behavior: foraging.—Salt marsh song sparrows forage on the marshes
in the same fashion as do song sparrows in upland situations. Upland
races frequently scratch vigorously with their strong feet at the ground
surface to expose invertebrate and plant foods within and under the
surface litter. Salt marsh song sparrows perpetuate this foraging
mannerism; these birds scratch, typically with both feet in unison, on
the soft slough mud, and peck frequently at the disturbed surface.
One bird, for a period of 40 seconds, alternately scratched 3 to 6
seconds and pecked 1 to 5 times between each scratching period.
The bird was hunting small snails, and it furrowed and turned over
the top % inch of mud covering about 8 square inches. Foraging on
harder mud comprising the true marsh surface most closely resembles
the scratching performed by song sparrows in upland habitats. The
birds also forage in “‘typical” fashion, i.e., slowly progressing by short
hops accompanied by wing flicks and tail flicks and punctuated by
frequent pecks at possible food items.
Another type of foraging on soft mud could be called “terrestrial
flycatching.”” In midsummer on salt marshes large numbers of various
Diptera occur. Some of these frequent exposed mud at low tide,
flying just above the mud or resting on it. Song sparrows catch these
flies, by making short, jerky hops or runs with tail elevated and some-
times with wings half outstretched, but without leaving the ground.
Aerial flycatching is also a small part of foraging behavior in these
birds, but the half-outstretched wings are probably used to maintain
balance rather than to remain ready to resume flight.
Salt marsh song sparrows feed at dried heads of the gumplant (a
composite) and eat the peeled seeds, perching on the edges of the larger
heads or on nearby stalks or heads. They look much like siskins or
goldfinches when foraging in this fashion.
In autumn these song sparrows eat fleshy fruits and seeds of pickle-
weed or salicornia. The birds perch quietly in a patch of salicornia
and slowly and methodically chisel the fruits out of the succulent,
cylindrical spikes with their bills. They seem to prefer plants within
6 feet of the tidal sloughs, and they consume most of the available
fruits along the sloughs in 2 or 3 weeks, ordinarily at the end of Novem-
ber. This feeding is possibly of some importance as a source of free
water; it comes at a time when insect foods with their free water are
at an ebb.
1552 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
The birds also eat the almost unbelievably enormous numbers of
seeds of salicornia released when the spikes wither in winter. The
birds probably take these seeds whenever they find them, but their
consumption is especially noticeable after the high winter tides when
the loose seeds have gathered in great, floating windrows up to a foot
thick and form a concentrated food source. Song sparrows spend
almost all the morning hours foraging, mostly on the masses of sali-
cornia seeds; they also eat invertebrate animals they find within the
seed masses.
Reactions to high tides.—It is possible to mention only the diurnal
behavior evident during the daytime high tides in December; pre-
sumably equally important behavior patterns occur when breeding
adults and young contend with the night high tides in spring, but
they have not been witnessed. It is known that nestling song sparrows
about 8 days old escape flooding by climbing up into vegetation
above their nests.
The tallest salt marsh vegetation is leafless in December. When
tide water rises within a foot to a few inches from the tops of these
plants, little cover remains for song sparrows. When no potential
avian predators are in evidence, the sparrows usually maintain an
active, vigorous foraging pattern. Occasional birds splash in the
water in typical bathing routines, and others loaf. A few birds
apparently wander beyond their autumnal territories, and occasional
examples of territorial strife are evident. Such occurrences end in a
chase, and the intruder moves back to his presumed point of origin.
One banded bird was seen under such circumstances to have moved
about 150 yards, and thus made a round trip of 300 yards.
J reviewed the influence of winter high tides on two distinct popula-
tions of salt marsh song sparrows before completing my observations on
the behavior of M.m. samuelis. In a marsh where extensive, man-
made levees existed, the song sparrows accumulated on them, but
on a marsh where only emergent vegetation and floating timbers were
available, no such concentrations were seen. Later observations on
this marsh from a 6- by 30-foot raft floating at high tide showed that
the song sparrows there did indeed congregate; at one time immedi-
ately after a marsh hawk passed, 17 song sparrows were perched on the
raft. The birds apparently felt exposed in the thin emergent vege-
tation, and those from as far as 60 yards away streaked toward the
raft in full, powered flight. After the hawk passed the birds gradually
left the raft, but each time a hawk approached they returned to it. At
the same time, the foraging or loafing song sparrows practically ig-
nored short-eared owls; this difference in reaction to the raptors lends
support to the idea that short-eared owls are unimportant predators
on song sparrows.
MODESTO SONG SPARROW 1553
The sparrows reacted to marsh hawks just as strongly during
normal tides. They always detected an oncoming hawk well before
the human observer did and, giving thin, chip alarm notes, moved
down to soil level, quite out of sight and reach of any hawk.
DISTRIBUTION
Suisun Song Sparrow (M. m. maxillaris)
Range.—The Suisun song sparrow is resident in brackish marshes
surrounding Suisun Bay in central California (Southampton Bay,
Grizzly Island, Port Costa, Pittsburg).
Casual record.—Casual in Santa Clara County, California (Palo
Alto).
Samuel’s Song Sparrow (M. m. samuelis)
Range.—The Samuel’s song sparrow is resident in central California
in salt marshes on the northern side of San Francisco and San Pablo
bays (Richardson Bay to Vallejo) and on the south side of San Pablo
Bay (southwest to San Pablo Point).
Egg dates.—San Pablo Salt Marsh, Contra Costa County, California:
157 records, February 28 to June 18; 78 records, March 20 to April 10.
Alameda Song Sparrow (M. m. pusillula)
Range-—The Alameda song sparrow is resident in salt marshes
surrounding the south arm of San Francisco Bay, California (San
Francisco, Alviso, Stege).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA MAILLIARDI Grinnell
Modesto Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat Noian Jr.
Habits
This non-migratory race is confined to the central lower basin of
the Great Valley of California, the lowland between the Coast Range
and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Grinnell and Miller (1944)
state that it breeds “chiefly, perhaps entirely, below 200 feet eleva-
tion” but may occur rarely at greater altitudes along streams of the
Sierran foothills. The same authors state that the habitat is ‘‘Fresh-
water marshes and riparian thickets. Predominant plant cover
consists of willow and nettle thickets and growths of tules and cattails.”
No other material on the life history has been found.
J. Grinnell (1911b) described the race mazlliardi, giving as diagnostic
characters the generally large size, large bill, and broad and dark
1554 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
markings; “resembles Melospiza melodia mazillaris closely in these
respects, but shape of the bill different, more nearly like that in
M. m. heermanni.”” He considered the bill the distinctive feature of
mailliardi. Although the bills of mazlliardi and mavrillaris appear
practically identical when viewed from the side, “when viewed
dorsally the bill of mazlliardi presents a very much narrower outline,
there being scarcely any indication of the lateral swellings of the
maxilla characterizing the bill of mazillaris * * *. In coloration’
mailliardi is very much darker than heermanni, having the streaking
everywhere broad and black, with edgings of deep bay, the latter
color showing dorsally to the almost entire exclusion of ashy margin-
ings, there being mere traces of the latter. In coloration, mailliardi
differs from mazillaris only in being a trifle less heavily marked on
an average * * *,”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—The Modesto song sparrow is resident in the Central
Valley of California, from Glenn and Butte counties (Glenn, Biggs)
south to Stanislaus County (Modesto, Lagrange); west to the deltas
of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.
Casual record.—Casual in western Nevada (Fallon).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA HEERMANNI Baird
Heermann’s Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat Notan Jr.
HABITS
Still another non-migratory song sparrow from California, this
race lives between the north-south mountain ranges in the San
Joaquin valley. In this arid region the bird adheres closely to
stream-, lake-, and marsh-side vegetation at altitudes of from 100
feet to 5,000 feet. In 1944 Grinnell and Miller reported that “numbers
have greatly increased in the last thirty-five years owing to develop-
ment of irrigation systems in previously unoccupied parts of its
general range.’ In an earlier paper (1911) Grinnell had noted the
absence of song sparrows in great stretches of dry prairies in the
San Joaquin valley and predicted range extensions along canals.
The breeding habits of heermanni appear to fit the generalized
pattern for riparian song sparrows. Grinnell (191la) describes two
nests, at 24% and 4 feet, built in low vegetation in which drift trash
had lodged. He also reports finding two females with nests, but
only one male, at a reservoir 3 miles distant from any other song
SAN DIEGO SONG SPARROW 1555
sparrow habitat. Among other possibilities was that of polygyny
attributable to the surplus of females.
The measurements of 20 eggs average 20.4 by 15.4 millimeters; the
eggs showing the 4 extremes measure 23.1 by 17.2 and 19.6 by 12.8
millimeters.
The food habits of heermanni are among those Beal (1910)
investigated and reported in the life history of MM. m. samuelis and
the other salt marsh song sparrows.
Ridgway (1901) describes heermanni as being similar to melodia
“but smaller and coloration much darker and browner, the black
streaks on back, etc., averaging broader, and streaks on chest, etc.,
darker (black or brownish black in summer); young similar to that
of * * * melodia but deeper tawny brown above with black streaks
on back broader, the under parts more or less tinged with brownish
buff, especially on chest, where the dusky streaks are broader.”’
Grinnell (191la) states that heermanni has a ‘much paler ‘ground
color’ * * *, narrower black-streaking both above and below and * * *
slightly smaller bill” than mailliardi.
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Heermann’s song sparrow is resident in the southern San
Joaquin Valley of California, from Merced and Mariposa counties
(Los Bafios, Yosemite Valley) south to Kern County (Fort Tejon,
Walker Basin); east to Kings Canyon (Zumwalt Meadow).
MELOSPIZA MELODIA COOPERI Ridgway
San Diego Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat Notan Jr.
Hasits
Melospiza melodia cooperi is a resident race in southern California
and northern Baja California in the valleys of the coast ranges and
on the Pacific slopes; it extends eastward to streams penetrating the
Mojave and Colorado deserts. Its habitat is river bottom vegetation,
fresh water marshes, “‘at least margins of salt marshes” (Grinnell and
Miller, 1944), and garden shrubbery. Settlement of the coastal
plain, with a consequent development of water systems, has contrib-
uted to an increase in numbers in relatively recent times. Breeding
occurs from sea level to altitudes of 5,000 feet, and vagrants have
been collected in late summer at 7,500 feet. Nests found in pampas
grass (Myers, 1910) and 10 inches high in a dock plant (Chambers,
1917) have been described.
1556 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
R. F. Johnston (1954) has reported that the breeding season begins
about Feb. 5 and lasts until about July 5, with the great majority
of nesting records falling between late March and early June, the
peak about May 1. First clutches averaged 3.74 eggs, second clutches
3.58; the seasonal mean was 3.69 eggs. The interval between com-
pletion of the first nest and the laying of the first egg has been reported
for one nest as about 5 days (Lamb, 1922). W. C. Hanna (1924)
weighed 48 eggs; the extremes were 2.87 and 2.05 grams, the average
2.41 grams.
A number of diverse but interesting points have been recorded
about coopert. Josephine R. Michener (1926) describes her efforts
to raise a young bird unable to fly. Among details of its behavior
is the fact that its response to the first standing water it saw was to
hop into the dish and bathe, at an age inferred to be about 20 days.
E. L. Sumner, Jr. and J. L. Cobb (1928) in the fall and winter of 1927
displaced 25 banded birds about 4 miles and recaptured 3 at the
original trapping stations within a few days; 8 birds were released
34 miles west of the point of capture, to which none was known to
have returned. More interestingly, 2 were still present at the point
of release 7 days later.
J. Mailliard (1919a) observed that a bird that habitually flew
against a window pane on cool mornings was in fact gathering sluggish
house flies apparently attracted by the warmth of the glass on the
preceding evenings. R. 8. Woods (1932) saw song sparrows of this
race drinking sugar solution put out for hummingbirds. W. L.
Dawson (1923) picked three ticks from the head of a cooperi song
sparrow in April 1917, but gives no further details.
Ridgway (1901) describes coopera as being similar to heermanni
“but slightly smaller and coloration much lighter and grayer; pre-
vailing color of the back, etc., grayish olive, the back broadly streaked
with black, the black streaks with little, if any, rusty external suffu-
sion; young similar to that of M. m. montana.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—The San Diego song sparrow is resident in the coastal
districts of southern California from Santa Cruz County (Santa Cruz)
southward to northern Baja California, as far as lat. 30° N. (San
Fernando); east to streams penetrating Mohave and Colorado deserts
(Manix, Palm Canyon, Vallecitos, east base of Sierra San Pedro
Martir).
SONG SPARROW: PACIFIC INSULAR 1557
MELOSPIZA MELODIA (Wilson)
Song Sparrow: Pacific Insular Subspecies*
Contributed by Vat Notan Jr.
HABITS
On each of the San Miguel, San Clemente, Santa Barbara and
Coronados Island groups off the California and Baja California
coasts lives a sedentary subspecies of the song sparrow. These
four races, about whose life histories not a great deal is known, are
treated together here.
Although the habitats these islands afford are not uniform, in
general the birds dwell in a sparsely vegetated environment charac-
terized by its aridity. Cover is afforded by herbs and coarse grasses,
cacti, and, particularly on San Clemente Island, brush and shrubs.
On Los Coronados Islands no fresh water is to be found (Grinnell
and Daggett, 1903), and fresh moisture must come only from the
condensation of fog. Indeed fog seems to supply most of the moisture
needs for all these races (Grinnell and Miller, 1944).
C. B. Linton (1908) writes that MM. m. clementae was abundant on
San Clemente. He continues: ‘(Common in the yards at Howland’s,
nesting in the scrub cacti and vines within a few yards of the hacienda.
March 31, three nests were found in the corral near the stables; one
contained four young one week old, the others having incomplete
sets. These nests were built a few inches from the ground in the
center of the cacti beds, which, being covered with a thick growth
of vines, completely hid the nests.”
Wright and Snyder (1913) report MM. m. graminea occurs on
Santa Barbara wherever bushes provide cover, and Grinnell and
Miller (1944) add that ‘Bushes are used for nesting.”
Grinnell and Daggett (1903) visited Los Coronados Islands on
Aug. 6 and 7, 1902, and collected the type specimen of coronatorum.
The following quotations are from their account of their field work:
Juvenals were seen along the path * * *. An old and weather-beaten nest
was found under a bush. * * * As we landed, an individual was fearlessly
hopping close at hand among the boulders almost at the edge of the surf. Most
of the Song Sparrows, however, were seen higher up toward the crest of the
island, where they were haunting the sparse growth of shrubs on the shaded
northeast slope. We saw no trace of fresh water anywhere, and the scanty
vegetation presented anything but an inviting appearance. Yet here we heard
the familiar notes and full song of these birds which on the mainland keep so close
to verdant water courses and damp lowlands. The Rock Wren, always a bird
*The following subspecies are discussed in this section: Melospiza melodia
micronyz Grinnell, M. m. clementae Townsend, M. m. graminea Townsend, and
M. m. coronatorum Grinnell and Daggett.
1558 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
of the dryest localities, did not seem out of place, but the Song Sparrow seemed
altogether foreign to such surroundings.
Nelson K. Carpenter (1918) described and photographed two nests
of coronatorum, one of grasses placed 3 feet up in a bush, the second on
the ground and “constructed entirely of feathers and the skin of a
lizard * * *. This nest was found in the midst of the large colony of
California Brown Pelicans and Western Gulls.” Pingree I. Osburn.
(1909) found three young just able to fly on April 8.
Joseph Grinnell (1928) describes micronyx as the race with grayest
coloration among song sparrows in general: “brown or brownish tones
almost wanting; dark markings black and sharply contrasted against
gray of dorsal surface or white of lower surface; bill, feet and especially
claws weak; wing showing extreme of bluntness (longest primary not
much longer than outermost). AZ. m. micronyz is most nearly like
graminea of Santa Barbara Island, “but differs from it in broader and
blacker dark streaking everywhere, in grayer ground-color dorsally,
especially on the pileum, in paler flanks, in decidedly smaller claws, in
blunter wing, and in slightly greater size.’ From clementae the race
micronyx differs as it does from graminea, “only for the most part
(save as to general size) in greater degree. Especially on the top of
the head is the greater amount of grayness apparent; the broad brown
capital side-stripes in clementae are in micronyz reduced to very narrow
ones, which play out altogether on the nape instead of extending back
to blend (in clementae) with the brownish tone of the dorsum. The
broad gray occipital area is in micronyz lined sharply with black shaft
streaks which are thus thrown into conspicuous contrast.”
Ridgway (1901) describes clementae as being similar to cooperi
“but slightly larger and coloration still grayer, the back light olive-
grayish, with black streaks narrower, the black streaks of chest, etc.,
also narrower; young similar to that of cooperi but paler above.”
Ridgway (1901) describes graminea as being similar in coloration to
clementae, but much smaller.
J. Grinnell and F. S. Daggett (1903) describe coronatorum as ‘most
nearly resembling in coloration melospiza clementae, and general size
about the same, but tarsus decidely shorter and bill smaller; differs
from * * * cooperi of the adjacent mainland in much paler ground
color, narrower streaking and smaller bill.”
DISTRIBUTION
San Miguel Song Sparrow (M. m. micronyx)
Range.—The San Miguel song sparrow is resident on San Miguel
Island, Santa Barbara County, California.
TUCSON SONG SPARROW 1559
San Clemente Song Sparrow (M. m. clementae)
Range.—The San Clemente song sparrow is resident on Santa Rosa,
Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and San Clemente islands off the coast of
southern California.
Casual record.—Casual on the California mainland (Santa Barbara).
Santa Barbara Song Sparrow (M. m. graminea)
Range.—The Santa Barbara song sparrow is resident on Santa
Barbara Island, Los Angeles County, California.
Coronados Song Sparrow (M. m. coronatorum)
Range.—The Coronados song sparrow is resident on the four islands
of Los Coronados group off northern Baja California.
MELOSPIZA MELODIA FALLAX (Baird)
Tucson Song Sparrow
Contributed by Ropert WiLt1am DicKERMAN
HaBItTs
The pale reddish desert song sparrow race, fallax, is a resident of
riparian and marsh associations at low to moderate elevations from
extreme southeastern Nevada and extreme southwestern Utah south-
wards to central Sonora. In the period before the introduction of
cattle, the rivers of central Arizona had lush bottomlands that sup-
ported beaver marshes and their attendant wildlife. Trapping by
man, overgrazing by cattle, and, most recently, the demand for wriga-
tion water have reduced the major portions of these rivers to dry
eroded beds. As a result, some populations of fallax are extinct
(those of the Santa Cruz River and of sections of the San Pedro and
Salt Rivers) and others much reduced. The largest populations are
now found along the Salt River above Tempe at Coon Bluff and in
marshes along the Gila River near Palo Verde, both locations in
Maricopa County.
Allan R. Phillips (1943) described a subspecies bendirei from the
Salt River at Tempe Butte, Maricopa County, Ariz., as a population
intermediate between fallax and saltonis. Later, when it was realized
that saltonis migrates regularly to southeastern Arizona, the type of
bendirei was reexamined and proved to be a fresh-plumaged migrant
of saltonis. Examination of a large series of fresh-plumaged birds
from Arizona and Sonora has revealed no positive geographic variation
within the population here considered fallaz.
J.T. Marshall, Jr., and W. H. Behle (1942) describe the habitat of
song sparrows in the Virgin River valley as ‘‘the vicinity of cattail
1560 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
swamps with standing water and with brushy thickets such as mesquite
or rose in the immediate dry-land surroundings. Both the thickets
and the cattails are frequented by the Song Sparrows, the latter
being resorted to especially for greater protection * * *. Bird as-
sociates are Marsh Wrens, Yellow-throats, Yellow Warblers, and
Red-winged Blackbirds * * *. The swamps where these birds do
occur are few in number and widely scattered. If the swamps are
of any extent at all, Song Sparrows are numerous in them, but the
total * * * population cannot be great. This spotty distribution of
suitable swampy habitat * * * makes for discontinuous distribution
of the colonies within the general range of the race.’
Nesting. —The nesting habits of fallaz are similar to those of other
populations in more temperate areas. The nest is always built close
to open water. Francis C. Willard (1912) found a nest in a low bush.
The same author (1923) writes ‘““The Song Sparrow sometimes deserts
the ground and low bushes in favor of a tree, and the desert subspecies
(Melospiza melodia fallax) also has this trait. One nest was built
fifteen feet up in a large willow tree, on a horizontal branch. The
bird was on the nest when I found it and remained until I was nearly
up to it. * * * There were four of the song sparrow’s eggs and four
of the Long-tailed Chat * * *.”
Herbert Brandt (1951) describes the site of a nest he found on the
Slaughter (San Bernadino) Ranch 20 miles east of Douglas, Cochise
County, Ariz., in an “irrigation project near cattail pond in grassy
meadow; surrounding flora, small mesquites, sacaton and other
grasses, beyond which are rows of black willow and cottonwood, and
in near-by pond, cattails and other water plants; date, May 23, 1948.
Nest situated 18 inches up in a low dense mesquite brush, 25 feet
from artesian pond rim; nest placed in a four-pronged fork of dead
wood; made in a crude, bulky manner of coarse plant stems and
leaves; rim substantial but ragged and irregular, shaped to fit the
supports; lining of brown rootlets and white cow-tail hair arranged
circularly; interior well cupped. Apparently the only pair present
in the area. Contents, 3 eggs, unevenly incubated 6 to 8 days.”
A female taken March 26 near La Casita (27 miles south of Nogales,
Sonora) contained ova measuring 7 and 4 millimeters. Full grown
young have been collected by May 30 (Feldman, San Pedro River).
Eggs.—There are 15 sets of eggs of fallax in the United States Na-
tional Museum and one set in the University of Arizona collection.
These sets contain 2, 3, and 4 eggs, with 3 being the most frequent
number and the average. These eggs measure in millimeters 14.1 to
15.7 by 17.4 to 21.7. The average of the 48 eggs is 15.00 by 19.03.
Plumages.—The molts and plumages of the desert populations are
similar to those of the species elsewhere, save for the light coloration
TUCSON SONG SPARROW 1561
of the plumage. Adults are in heavy molt in September, and first
molt may continue until December, but the time of instigation of
these molts is not known. Young in juvenal plumages are to be
found in September and possibly later. Wear and fading are extreme
in the desert subspecies. This is probably due to coarse vegetation,
sun, and possibly higher alkaline content of the soils. Adults taken
after March are virtually worthless for taxonomic purposes.
Ridgway (1901) describes fallax as being similar to montana in the
slender bill, “but wing and tail averaging decidedly shorter and
coloration conspicuously paler and more rusty, the rusty streaks,
both above and below, without blackish shaft-streaks, or else with
these merely indicated on the interscapular region; young dull brown-
ish buffy or pale wood brown above, the back streaked with rusty
brown or dark brown; beneath buffy white, the chest streaked with
rather light brown.”
Winter —The Tucson song sparrow winters throughout much of its
breeding range, but some movement does occur, especially from the
northern part of the breeding range. The breeding population at
Tucson has been extinct for more than 5 decades, but an occasional
winter specimen is taken there, and a winter specimen of fallar has
been taken at Bard, Calif.
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—Southeastern Nevada and southwestern Utah south to
Arizona and northeastern Sonora.
Breeding range-—The Tucson song sparrow breeds from south-
eastern Nevada (Pahranagat Valley) and southwestern Utah (St.
George) south in the Virgin River Valley and the Colorado River
Canyon of Nevada and north-central Arizona, and locally through
the lowlands of central and southeastern Arizona to northeastern
Sonora. It intergrades with saltonis along the Colorado River from
southern Nevada to Topock, Arizona, along the Big Sandy River,
and a little south of Arlington along the Gila River. In central
Arizona it nests below the Mogollon Plateau (Indian Gardens, Oak
Creek Canyon, and possibly formerly Walnut Creek north of Pres-
cott), along the Verde and Salt Rivers, the Gila River (Geronimo,
San Carlos, Safford, Phoenix, Palo Verde), the San Pedro River (near
Feldman, formerly south to Fairbank), along the Sante Cruz River
(formerly at Tucson), and at Picacho Reservoir. In extreme southern
Arizona it has nested at Patagonia and San Bernardino. In Sonora it
breeds along the Rio Magdalena (Caborca) and along its tributaries
(Rancho la Arizona, Saric, Magdalene, La Casite, and Agua Caliente),
along the Rio Sonora (Hermpsillo, Ures, Arizpe), the Rio Moctezum
646-737—68—pt. 3——21
1562 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
(Oposura, Cumpes), and the Rio Bevispe (Husebes, Grenados, and
Pilares).
Winter range.—Winters apparently over most of the breed range,
but in reduced numbers northward.
MELOSPIZA MELODIA SALTONIS Grinnell
Desert Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat No.an Jr.
HABITS
Melospiza melodia saltonis is a resident of the lower Colorado River
valley. The summary of its habitat in California by Grinnell and
Miller (1944) gives an idea of its life: “Riparian plant associations,
most notably those dominated by arrow-weed (Piuchea), guatemote
(Baccharis) and young willows, and tule beds and cattails in marshes,
overflow sumps and along irrigation systems. Nests are placed in
the vegetation above the mud which marks flood level. Development
of irrigation has undoubtedly increased the total population of this
race in the last 30 years. Although usually sharply limited to
water-seeking plants, and most abundant in cover growing over or
at the edge of water, this Song Sparrow has occasionally been noted
in mesquite thickets at some distance from water.”
The measurements of 40 eggs average 18.9 by 14.9 millimeters;
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 20.8 by 15.2, 18.5 by
15.5, 17.8 by 15.0, and 18.0 by 14.0 millimeters. Robert W.
Dickerman reports three sets of eggs of this race from Yuma, Ariz.,
in the collection of the University of Arizona, two of which contain
eges of the brown-headed cowbird.
J. Grinnell (1909) described saltonis as resembling fallaz, ‘but very
much paler throughout, the ‘ground-color’ being white ventrally and
ashy dorsally, with streakings of pale hazel; supercilliary stripe
wholly white; general size much less than in either M. m. fallax or
M. m. montana.”’
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—The desert song sparrow is resident in the lower Colorado
Valley in extreme southern Nevada (east of Searchlight), southeastern
California, western Arizona (east to Big Sandy River at 2,000 feet;
Alamo), northwestern Baja California (Mexicali, mouth of Hardy
River), and northwestern Sonora (Colorado River delta), extending
northwest through the Imperial Valley of California (Mecca, Calexico).
Casual records. —Casual in the desert area of southeastern California
(Death Valley, Oro Grande), south-central Arizona (Tucson), and
northwestern Sonora (Sonoyta River, Caborca).
BROWN’S SONG SPARROW 1563
MELOSPIZA MELODIA RIVULARIS Bryant
Brown’s Song Sparrow
Contributed by Vat Notan Jr.
HasitTs
This race inhabits “west-flowing stream courses” (Grinnell, 1928)
in a very limited region of central Baja California. Here, as Griffing
Bancroft (1930) writes, “there are several systems of dry river beds
which have an important influence on the biology of this region.
Even though the country be arid beyond anything known in the
United States there is still enough rainfall to provide some moisture.
This water, as well as a part of that from the cloud-bursts that come
once in a decade, finds its way to the sea by means of a subterranean
flow. * * * Occasionally the subterranean flow encounters bed rock
formations which force the water to the surface.”
G. Bancroft (1930) gives the following description of the breeding
biology of rivularis in this restricted range:
This light-breasted type of Melospiza occurs wherever there are pools of water
with tule or willow. * * * Itis byno means as abundant * * * asis, for instance,
M.m. coopert in the willow bottoms of southern California. Still it can hardly be
regarded as rare.
The birds begin to lay the latter part of April and continue for at least six
weeks. Most of the nests are bulky affairs of tule, usually lined with palm fibre
or cow hair. They are normally placed in tule about four feet above the water.
* * * [Some were] surrounded by loose and fairly long dead tule leaves. These
more than equaled the bulk of the nest * * * . Some of the nests found were
in willow trees and one was in a thick weed clinging to a rock and overhanging
a pool. In general, excepting the unusual size of their nests, the habits of the
Brown Song Sparrow were much like those of the San Diegan form [cooperi].
They lay either two or three eggs, with four the record.
The eggs themselves are unlike those of any other Song Sparrow I have exam-
ined. They are more brilliant than those of the northern birds, a brighter blue,
and altogether lacking in the common tan type, in which the spots are so close
together as to give the appearance of a reddish egg.
G. Bancroft’s measurements of 35 eggs trom San Ignacio yielded an
average size of 21.2 x 15.9 mm., and of 250 eggs from El Rosario an
average size of 20.1 x 15.2 mm.
Ridgway (1901) describes rivularis as being similar to fallax ‘but
larger, with longer, more slender, and more compressed bill, still less
strongly contrasted markings, and duller, less rufescent colors.”
DISTRIBUTION
Range.—The Brown’s song sparrow is resident in south-central Baja
California (Santa Agueda Canyon and San Ignacio south to Comondt).
1564. U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Casual record.—Casual in the Cape District of Baja California
(Todos Santos).
RHYNCHOPHANES McCOWNII (Lawrence)
McCown’s Longspur
PLATE 76
Contributed by HERBERT KRAUSE
Hasits
Whether on its winter range or summer breeding ground, McCown’s
longspur is a bird of the plains, of the “big sky’’ country where the
land flattens to the blue haze of mesa or plateau; where distance is
the hawk’s flight from a line of craggy “breaks” to the horizon. Amid
the features of such a vast landscape it was first collected about 1851.
It happened apparently as much by accident as by design. “TI fired
at a flock of Shore Larks,” writes Capt. John P. McCown, U.S.A.
(1851), “‘and found this bird among the killed.”” For this, in the first
published description of the bird, George N. Lawrence (1851)
announced, ‘It gives me pleasure to bestow upon this species the
name of my friend, Capt. J. P. McCown, U.S.A.” He adds, “‘Two
specimens were obtained * * * on the high prairies of Western
Texas. When killed, they were feeding in company with Shore Larks.
Although procured late in the spring, they still appear to be in their
winter dress.”
Very likely this is the bird that the fatigued Captain Meriwether
Lewis saw on the Marias River (near Loma, Choteau County, Mont.).
Had he been more explicit in his description he might have added
McCown’s longspur to the magpie and the prairie dog on the list of
species new to science the Lewis and Clark Expedition was to bring
out of the vast northwestern wilderness. As it happened, the com-
pany was footsore and weary, slightly rebellious, and nearly at the
rope’s end of its resources when on June 2, 1805, with its usual unpre-
dictableness, the Missouri River divided in front of the explorers.
One branch bore down on them from the right or north, the other
seemed to come from the south or left, each flow about equally wicked
in its rolling turbidity. Which was the Missouri and which its
affluent? An incorrect decision meant days of toil and pain spent for
nothing, incalculable delay, the threat of spending winter in the
mountains. On June 4, 1805, Lewis and six men, taking the right-
hand fork, the Marias River, explored upstream. A day’s march
brought him to extensive “plains”? where prickly pear tore his feet
through his ““Mockersons,” where rain soaked, and a windstorm chilled
McCOWN'S LONGSPUR 1565
the party. What with haste, the fear of Indian attack, the distraction
of bear, deer, elk, and ‘‘barking squireels’’ continually under their
gunsights, it is perhaps hardly surprising that when he encountered a
new bird in the short grass, Lewis did not collect it and later was less
precise in his report than was his custom. He listed (Thwaites, Lewis
and Clark Journals, II: 119-120) several sparrows and
Also a small bird which in action resembles the lark, it is about the size of a
large sparrow of a dark brown colour with some white feathers in the tail; this
bird or that which I take to be the male rises into the air about 60 feet and sup-
porting itself in the air with a brisk motion of the wings sings very sweetly, has
several shrill soft notes reather of the plaintive order which it frequently repeats
and varies, after remaining stationary about a minute in his aireal station he
descends obliquely occasionally pausing and accomnyng his descension with a
note something like twit twit twit; on the ground he is silent. Thirty or forty of
these birds will be stationed in the air at a time in view. These larks as I shall
call them add much to the gayety and cheerfullness of the scene. All those birds
are not seting and laying their eggs in the plains; their little nests are to be seen
in great abundance as we pass. there are meriads of small grasshoppers in these
plains which no doubt furnish the principal aliment of this numerous progeny of
the feathered creation.
While Lewis’ notation describes McCown’s generally (though it
lacks the precise detail necessary for positive identification), Elliott
Coues in his annotation of the Biddle edition of the Lewis and Clark
“JOURNALS” in 1893 unhesitatingly identified the bird: ‘‘This is the
black-breasted lark-bunting or longspur, Centrophanes (Rhynchopanes)
maccownt, Which abounds in Montana in the breeding seasons.”
Reuben G. Thwaites, the editor of the ‘“OrtcinaL JoURNALS OF
Lewis AND CxiarxK (1904-05),”’ accepts his conclusion. Between
1806, when Thomas Jefferson announced the news of the progress of
the Expedition in a message to the Congress, and 1851, when George
N. Lawrence published the discovery of the longspur, only the
Biddle version of the ‘“Journats” (published in 1814) appeared in
print. The Biddle edition, however, is a paraphrase, a popular
account of the most important events of the expedition. It omits
the scientific data, including the zoological material, among which is
the account of McCown’s longspur. While the avian specimens
collected on the Expedition were becoming well known, the scientific
data remained in darkest obscurity.
For almost a hundred years Lewis’ description of ‘‘a small bird”’
with a treasury of other ornithological information lay hidden in the
unpublished portions of the “JourNats” in the library vaults of the
American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. In 1892 Elliott
Coues, his new Biddle edition largely completed, learned of the
original papers, secured them, and from their largely untapped
resources enriched his volume with pages of annotations. One of the
notes pertains to the identification of Lewis’ “small bird.’”? But the
1566 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
actual text of Lewis’ account of the discovery was not published until
Thwaites brought out the original Lewis and Clark ‘“Journats,”’
uncut and intact, in 1904-05. By that time Captain McCown’s
discovery of the longspur was firmly established in the literature.
With no specimen of McCown’s from the expedition at hand, orni-
thologists since then seem indisposed to reopen the question whether
the “small bird’? Lewis saw on its breeding grounds really was, as.
Coues stoutly maintained, Centrophanes (Rhynchophanes) maccowni.
If his identification of the species lacks detail, Lewis’ description
of its habitat is certainly that of McCown’s longspur. For McCown’s
is a bird of the land where mirages on miles of sage and salt flats
deceive the eye with the illusion of gleaming tree-bordered lakes;
where, as Lewis observed, “‘the whole country appears to be one
continued plain to the foot of the mountains or as far as the eye can
reach; the soil appears dark rich and fertile yet the grass * * * is
short just sufficient to conceal the ground. Great abundance of
prickly pears which are extremely troublesome; as the thorns very
readily pierce the foot through the Mockerson; they are so numerous
that it requires one half of the traveler’s attention to avoid them;”’
a land where the temperature, as unpredictable as a cowboy’s flapjacks,
rises breathlessly high in summer and drops to icy lows in winter. In
Custer County, Montana, in the late 1880s, Ewen S. Cameron (1907)
watched McCown’s longspurs in the heat waves of a temperature
standing at 114 degrees. In July 1911 near Choteau, Teton County,
in the same state, Aretas A. Saunders (1912), caught in one of those
thunderstorms which suddenly and commonly lash the plains, fled to
cover under a sheep herder’s shed to escape the rain which quickly
changed to hail. Soon ‘a small flock”? of McCown’s longspurs
joined him, “feeding on the ground under the shed as though they
were out in the open in the best of weather.”
I remember the flock of McCown’s I saw in 1958 in a late April
squall. According to my field notes:
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Chapman, Dr. N. R. Whitney, Jr., and I drove near
Casper, Wyoming. With the unexpectedness characteristic of prairie weather, a
spring storm hurled wind and snow upon us; the road ahead vanished. We no
more than crawled along a road where side-banks, car high, were topped with sage.
Suddenly we saw birds struggling into view over and into the road. Some
came down no more than a car’s length away. Chapman stopped altogether.
We saw they were McCown’s Longspurs, the black caps and dark smudgy
crescents on the breast marking the gray fronts of the males. Farther away
were others, their bodies so light in color that frequently they were invisible, lost
in the folds of snow. Several dozen swooped out of a gust. Through snow on
the windshield and snow driven in windy sheets we watched. Perhaps as many
as two hundred birds drifted into the road and up the side of the opposite bank.
The wind ripped at the sage above them, but here in the lee of the bank, in a
sort of microclimate less severe than the white fury above, they fed, apparently
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1567
on seeds; walked rather than hopped about, now in, now out of view in the white
spirals the wind flung down the roadway. Now and again two males squared off
in what seemed to be threat postures, head down, beaks open, wings laid back
and fluttering slightly. There was some chasing presumably of McCown’s
females by males. A male pursued a female across the road and back again; then
both flew down the road; the white area in the tail and the black terminal band
were sharply revealed in flight; both vanished in the obscurity of snowdust. A
female faced an approaching male; male promptly veered aside, lifting his wings
slightly but enough to show the white linings momentarily.
About five minutes passed. When the squall abated, the birds moved in short
flights above the road and along the bank; appeared restless. As the road ahead
cleared, the birds arose above the sage and met the hard push of the wind. For
a moment they hung there, swinging sidewise, dark shapes moving at a cord’s-end,
without advancing. Theninaslacking wind or in an extra spurt of driving power,
they swept low over the sage and vanished. By the time we drove beyond the
cutbank, though the storm had lifted somewhat, the birds had become indis-
tinguishable from the driven gusts.
It is a bird of a landscape dominated by rolling prairies where sage
and buffalo grass are the characteristic floristic types, and chestnut-
collared longspurs, horned larks and sage grouse are the characteristic
birds. Saunders (1912), riding on horseback across the divide
between the drainages of the Dearborn and Sun Rivers, gives an
excellent account of the approach to prairie habitat for which
McCown’s seems to have a preference: ‘“The rolling, round-topped
hills changed to fantastically shaped, flat-topped, prairie buttes, the
tall grass and blue lupine changed to short buffalo-grass and prickly
pear, and the bird voices changed from Vesper Sparrows and Meadow-
larks, to Horned Larks and McCown Longspurs.”
Called McCown’s bunting, rufous-winged lark bunting, black-
breasted longspur, black-throated bunting, and ‘ground larks’’
(Raine, 1892) by ‘‘the natives” at Rush Lake in Saskatchewan, in
southern Alberta it is often ‘fone of the few common, widespread
birds of the open country” (Rand, 1948); sometimes “on flattopped
prairie benches, this is the only bird found” in Teton and Northern
Lewis and Clark counties (Saunders, 1914).
The monotypic status of Rhyncophanes mccownti has been questioned
several times. In his general discussion of the genus Plectrophanes,
S. F. Baird (1858) suggested in 1858 a new genus, Rhyncophanes. In
his description of the species, Baird says: “The Plectrophanes Mac-
cowni is quite different from the other species of the genus in the
enormously large bill and much shorter hind claw, so much so, in
fact, that Bonaparte places it in an entirely different family. As,
however, many of the characteristics are those of Plectrophanes,
and the general coloration especially so, I see no objection to keeping
it in this genus for the present.”
Joues (1880) writes: “As Baird exhibited in 1858, there is a good
deal of difference among the birds usually grouped with Plectrophanes
1568 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 ° PART 3
nivalis, enough to separate them generically in the prevailing fashion.
* * * Maccown’s Bunting has precisely the habits of C. ornatus,
with which it is associated during the breeding season in Dakota
and Montana.”
When in 1946 Olin S. Pettingill, Jr., collected in Saskatchewan what
proved to be a hybrid between the chestnut-collared and McCown’s
longspurs, the problem was discussed again. Enumerating similar-
ities and differences, Sibley and Pettingill (1955) argue that, despite
the difference in the size of the bill, the point of distinction between
the two longspurs, “It is demonstrable that it merely represents the
extreme development in a graded series.’””’ The authors conclude
that ‘it seems doubtfully valid to separate the members of the genus
Calcarius, including the Chestnut-collared, Lapland (C. lapponicus)
and Smith’s (C. pictus) longspurs from the monotypic genus Rhynco-
phanes.”’ They recommend a return to the genus Calcarius.
Once the species ranged in the breeding season over the wide prairie
interiors of the western United States and the southern expanses
of the Canadian prairie provinces: Oklahoma (Nice, 1931), Colorado
(Bergtold, 1928; Bailey and Niedrach, 1938), Wyoming (McCready,
1939; Mickey, 1943), Nebraska (Carriker, 1902), South Dakota
(Visher, 1913, 1914), Minnesota (Brown, 1891; Currie, 1890), North
Dakota (Allen, in Coues, 1874; Coues, 1878), Manitoba (Taverner,
1927), Saskatchewan (Raine, 1892; Macoun, 1909) and Alberta
(Macoun, 1909).
If the foregoing is an indication of its former nesting grounds, then
the breeding range of McCown’s has been drastically reduced. It
is no longer included among the breeding birds of Kansas (Johnston,
1964), if indeed it ever nested there, nor of Nebraska, where it is now
designated a migrant and a winter resident (Rapp, Rapp, Baum-
garten, and Moser, 1958).
In South Dakota it was last recorded by Visher (1914) in 1914;
since 1949, no authenticated nesting has been reported (Krause,
1954; Holden and Hall, 1959). It vanished from the Minnesota
scene after 1900 (Roberts, 1932) except for a single observation of
two fall stragglers in October 1936 near Hassem (Peterson and Peter-
son, 1936). The first authentic specimen for Manitoba was not
collected until May 1925 according to P. A. Taverner (1927); its
status as a breeding bird in the province is at the moment unclear.
In North Dakota it has been reported from the southwest (Allen,
in Coues, 1874), northeast (Peabody, in Roberts, 1932, at Pembina),
and northwest (Coues, 1878). But Robert E. Stewart, wildlife
research biologist of the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
at Jamestown, writes me (1964): “During the first quarter of this
century, the species gradually disappeared over the greater portion
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1569
of its former range, leaving only a small remnant population of
scattered pairs in the extreme western part of the State near the
Montana line.”
It is sobering to reflect on his next statement: ‘At the present time,
there is some doubt as to whether McCown’s Longspurs breed any-
where in North Dakota, although spring and fall migrations are of
regular occurrence in the western areas. If breeding populations are
present they must be either very rare and local or irregular in occur-
rence. While searching for them during the past two summers, I
have combed the native prairies in the northwest quarter of the
State, but without success.”
At this writing, Montana seems to be the last stronghold of
McCown’s longspur in the United States. Stewart (letter, 1964)
says that it is “common and widespread over most of the short grass
prairies” there; ‘‘in the northeast portion, considerable numbers may
be found within 50 miles of the North Dakota boundary. On July 3,
1953, I made a detailed list count of breeding birds occurring in
approximately 200 acres of lightly grazed short-grass prairie, located
in Roosevelt County, about 18 miles northeast of Wolf Point.”
How numerous McCown’s was in the study area as compared with
other emberizine forms can be seen in Stewart’s list of relative
abundance:
Sey IMRAN [DITO = ae iw Se aa a gg TR ep ce
lag -COLGTEG SDAILOW, =. 8405p ig ee eg 1
(Chesinut-collated ones pur 25 72 i ee ee 44
I TeA® CVS pRAOTISTS EL te She a I a 20
Is it significant that this area of comparative abundance is con-
tiguous to the area in the Canadian Provinces where McCown’s
longspur still maintains itself with something of its former vigor?
The center of population seems to be northeastern Montana west-
ward, the adjacent regions in Saskatchewan from Willow Bunch
northwest to Gull Lake and Golden Prairie, and the southeastern
portion of southern Alberta. Whether the density of population is
contiguous or broken into widely distributed breeding colonies seems
not to be known. C. Stuart Houston writes me (letter, 1964) that
in Saskatchewan there appears to be additionally a wide area of
lesser density which apparently runs from Estevan northward to
Fort Qu’Appelle, northwest to Outlook and Rosetown, and westward
to the Alberta border. This would include the “elbow” region of the
South Saskatchewan River.
In this “fringe” area the bird seems to show considerable fluctuation
in numbers and in appearances in a given locality. M. Ross Lein
(letter, 1964) says that in the Estevan region during the period 1958-
1570 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
1962, “I never saw a McCown’s Longspur,” although he believes the
bird may be resident but very much restricted. Writing about the
South Saskatchewan River sector, Frank Roy (1958) comes to the
conclusion that ‘“longspurs, once the most common bird in the Coteau,
are now a rare and local species.’”’ However, in a letter (1964) he
adds, “I now believe that the fluctuations in numbers in the area
north of the South Saskatchewan River are attributable to the birds ©
being near the edge of their normal range.”
Apparently McCown’s is a bird that responds to not easily dis-
cernible environmental changes. Perhaps this is involved in the
unpredictableness of its appearances at certain times and in certain
places. Although not enough data seem to be at hand to draw con-
clusions, it appears to arrive in numbers more often in dry years than
in wet. Roberts (1932) says that it visited western Minnesota “only
in dry seasons—when very dry it was most abundant, and in wet
seasons it was entirely absent.”
In North Dakota Dr. and Mrs. Robert Gammell (letter, 1964),
bird banders at Kenmare, are of the opinion that they secure McCown’s
“mostly during the dry years * * *. During the dry year of 1961 we
caught 6 in July.”” This is contrasted with years of average or above
average moisture when one bird was banded in June in 1959 and none
in the years 1960, 1962, 1963, and 1964 until August; after the breeding
season, that is, and at the beginning of the flocking and migration
period. Frank Roy (1964) states that its abundance in the “Elbow”
region of Saskatchewan apparently depends on the year—an inference,
I take it, to a wet or a dry year.
Another factor seems to complicate the problem. Writes Stewart
(letter, 1964): ‘“‘Certainly there seems to be ample habitat left, since
large tracts of native prairie are still present in many areas, including
the high, drier types that were preferred. * * * The reason for the
gradual disappearance of this species in North Dakota is not apparent
to me.” He adds: “Possibly, some subtle climatic change may be
involved.”
Willard Rosine (MS) suggests that certain of the emberizine forms,
such as lark bunting and grasshopper sparrow, may detect minute
and subtle changes in the complex of soil and vegetation as well of
climate—changes too minute to be easily recognized—to which they
respond. It may be that McCown’s longspur is a member of this
group.
I have been thinking about the effects of fire in the regeneration of
the prairie environment and whether this may be one of the “changes”
involved here. Early travelers on the plains have left many and
vivid depictions of “oceans of flame” rolling over the prairie swales,
from Kansas (Sage, 1846) to the Canadian Provinces where Henry W.
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1571
Hind (1860) describes one such holocaust which ‘‘extended for one
thousand miles in length and several hundreds in breadth.”
In the last 40 years at least, agricultural methods have largely
prevented uncontrolled prairie fires or have contained them to the
smallest area possible. One wonders if fire and its effect on the grass-
lands’ environment, however minute and subtle, may be involved in
the changing boundaries of the breeding range of McCown’s longspur;
whether fire is implicated in the environmental requirements of this
species as there is the possibility that it may be in the requirements of
Kirtland’s warbler in Michigan (Van Tyne, 1953), although these have
not yet been determined.
Nor can one ignore such factors as Frank Roy (1958) underscores in
his query concerning the Coteau region of Saskatchewan: ‘‘Has
cultivation brought about this rather sudden decline in the longspur
population? Do newer methods of cultivation, and more frequent
tilling to eradicate weeds, make it impossible for longspurs to rear their
young in regions where they were abundant as recently as fifteen
years ago?”’ Also the possible effects of aerial spraying, pesticides,
herbicides, and fertilizers upon the vast and still somewhat mysterious
complex of soil composition and vegetational relationships have still to
be assessed.
Once McCown’s longspur apparently ranged a country where fences
were farther apart than rivers or the far plateaus; today it nests where
barbed and woven wire proclaim the domesticity of plowed acres.
Once it bred on the plains where its associates included the antelope
and the buffalo; today it is neighbor to the Hereford and the baby
Angus.
Spring.—Even while the blusters of spring are still raging on its
summer range, McCown’s longspur leaves its wintering grounds.
In Texas watchers report that it usually leaves the San Antonio
region late in March or early in April (Dresser, 1865; N. C. Brown,
1882, 1884) and the western areas, such as Tom Green and Concho
counties, in March (Lloyd, 1887). An occasional straggler might
be encountered as late as May (Cruickshank, 1950). In Arizona it
apparently departs the southeast region late in February (Monson,
1942) and the central east in March (Swinburne, 1888). In New
Mexico H. K. Coale (1894) collected a pair in March 1892 near Fort
Union in the northwestern part of the state while A. W. Anthony
(1892) writes that he saw them only until February in the south-
western region.
Apparently McCown’s responds early to subtle environmental and
physiological stimuli toward migration, for it arrives in numbers on
“the Laramie Plains during the first week in April’? (Mickey, 1943),
in east and north central Montana from mid-April to the third week
1572 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
in the month (DuBois, 1937a; Saunders, 1921), in southwestern
North Dakota at Dickinson between April 9 and May 3 (9 years,
Sorenson, letter, 1964), and in the Regina, Saskatchewan, environs
during the last two weeks of the month (Belcher, 1961). The earliest
data for spring arrivals in southern Alberta seem to be that of the
Macouns (1909) who saw two individuals at Medicine Hat Apr. 21,
1894. That same year Spreadborough (Rand, 1948) collected this.
species at the same place on April 26. These dates correspond pretty
well with Margaret Belcher’s (1961) observations in the Regina,
Saskatchewan, region where she cites Ledingham’s April 15 as an
early date (letter, 1964).
In Saskatchewan dates recorded by Belcher (1961) —the last two
weeks of April—presumably hold comparatively true for that part
of the province west and south of Regina. W. Earl Godfrey (1950)
lists two adult male specimens in the National Museum of Canada
taken at Crane Lake near the Alberta border Apr. 25, 1894.
In its usual penetration northward in spring McCown’s apparently
stays well south of Saskatoon (Bremner, letter, 1965). Houston
and Street (1959) have no records for the Saskatchewan River between
Carlton and Cumberland. In the grasslands east and west of the
“elbow” region of the South Saskatchewan River it still finds suitable
habitat for breeding purposes, although Roy (1964) finds that it
ranges “from rare to fairly common depending on the area and the
year.”’ I am greatly indebted to C. Stuart Houston of Saskatoon
and his indefatigable researches which include data on nearly all
of my Saskatchewan references. On a vegetation distribution map
C. S. Houston laid out the range of McCown’s longspur in terms of
greater and lesser densities of population. In a note (1965) he
reminds me: ‘‘Notice how well range corresponds to yellow prairie
area of enclosed map.”
Cameron (1907) regards McCown’s as “seemingly a most punctual
migrant.” Writing about its spring appearance in Dawson and Custer
Counties, Montana, he adds, ‘My notes give April 26, 27, and 29,
for 1897, ’98 and ’99 as dates of first appearance.”’ Davis (letter,
1964) collected a specimen near Judith Gap on April 26.
In Montana McCown’s is frequently in the vanguard of spring,
arriving during the last harsh vestiges of winter. Perley M. Silloway
(1902) in Fergus County remembers that:
It was on April 24, 1889, on a cloudy, raw afternoon, when I had gone out
upon the neighboring bench to look for evidence of belated spring. In the bed of
a miniature coulee that crossed my path was a bank of snow, sullenly giving way
before the weak assaults of the advancing vernal season. Crouching under the
lee of a small stone, and hugging the edge of the snow-bank, a new bird caught
my eye. The stranger was apparently as interested in the featherless biped as
I was in him, for he allowed me to approach until I could observe every detail
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1573
of his handsome breeding plumage, so that there was no call for me to deprive
him of the life he was supporting with so much hardihood along the line of melting
snow. I can yet remember how the great tears crossed down my cheeks as I
faced the raw south wind in my efforts to watch every movement of the longspur
and to take in every detail of his dress. Presently I observed asecond McCown’s
longspur lurking near the first, the advance guards of the troops that were soon
to throng the prairies to rear their broods.
The following Sunday afternoon * * * while walking over the bench I sudden-
ly found myself in the midst of a flock of McCown’s Longspurs. They were
crouching silently in the hollows of the road and in depressions of the ground,
and I was not aware of their presence until I startled several near me. When
flushed at my approach, after sitting undisturbed until I was only five or six
feet away from them, six or eight of them would flitter farther away, uttering a
sharp chipping note as they flittered to stations beyond me,
When I discovered myself among them, by looking carefully around me I
could see them crouched upon the ground on all sides of me, their gray attire
assimilating them as closely with the background that only by their black cres-
centric breast markings could I detect them. Frequently, however, some of them
would emit their chipping call in a gentle tone, and thus I could note their posi-
tions. In several instances there were fifty of the flock crouched around me, their
black breasts showing as black spots on the dreary gray herbage and prairie soil.
E. S. Cameron (1907) who witnessed their arrival in Custer and
Dawson counties in Montana says that “the birds scatter over the
ground as they alight, hide in the horse and cattle prints, or other
holes, and allow themselves to be almost trodden upon before rising.”
Frances W. Mickey (1943), whose work on the breeding habits of
McCown’s is the most complete study to date, describes the arrival
near Laramie, Wyo. ‘By the third week in April large flocks of male
longspurs were common. These flocks spent most of their time
feeding. However, those among them who were selecting territories
sang a great deal, not only in characteristic flight song, but also from
perches on the tops of rocks or shrubs within their chosen areas.”
Mickey observes that at about the time flight song is initiated and
territorial selection begins, “scattered groups of females made their
appearance. By the last of April the females became numerous.
Later than this, females were seldom seen in groups, for the transients
had moved on, and the resident females had separated and spread out
over the areas being defending by singing males.”
Extremes for southern Wyoming are March 12 and April 24
(Mickey, 1943; McCreary, 1939). In Montana both sexes are
common by the first week in May, with early arrivals berween April
13 and 18 in Teton county (DuBois, 1937), on April 22 at Terry, and
April 28 at Big Sandy in the north central part of the state (Saunders,
1921).
In Alberta John Macoun (1909) found them ‘in thousands at
Medicine Hat and numbers of males were in full song” on May 2, 1894.
In Saskatchewan C. G. Harrold (1933) found them “fairly common
1574 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
from May 20 to 26 in the Lake Johnston area south of Moose Jaw.”
Macoun (1909) reports them as ‘common at Crane Lake in June’,
presumably the first part of June. Crane Lake lies in the south-
western part of the Province north of Highway No. 1 at the village of
Piapot. Early dates are Apr. 7, 1947 and Apr. 16, 1948 at Bladworth,
some 50 miles southeast of Saskatoon; however, P. L. Beckie (1958),
an observer there, writes, ‘Although I often see the McCown’s in -
migration * * * I have no records of resident birds for this area.”
In these northern latitudes there are intriguing records of McCown’s
wandering rather widely from its wonted purlieus. Macoun (1909)
reports that ‘one was seen on the shore of an island in Lesser Slave
Lake” and Salt and Wilk (1958) call attention to the fact that “‘wan-
derers have been taken * * * on an island in Lesser Slave Lake.”’
This is nearly 500 miles from what seems to be its area of greatest
density in southeastern Alberta. Other points where McCown’s has
been collected in the province are Beaverhill Lake and Sandy Creek
near Athabasca, the first east and the second about 100 miles north
of Edmonton. In British Columbia Major Allan Brooks (1900) took
a male and two females “‘on the lower Fraser River Valley at Chilli-
wack’’, the male on June 2, 1887, and the females on the same day,
1889. William Brewster (1893) acknowledged this unusual record in
the AUK, adding Brooks’ postscript to the observation: “I passed
this place every day but saw no others, either there or elsewhere in
British Columbia.” Robert R. Taylor points out in a letter (1964)
that during the summer of 1964 members of a party from the Sas-
katchewan Museum of Natural History at Regina ‘collected a
McCown’s longspur on the Hanson Lake Road, in northern Sas-
katchewan.”’
In Alberta Salt and Wilk (1958) extend the range of McCown’s as
far north as “Youngstown on the east” and ‘Calgary on the West.”
The inclusion of Calgary brings up the matter of McCown’s somewhat
erratic appearances and disappearance. In 1897 Macoun (1909)
“Observed a number at Calgary, Alta., on June 19”; and Salt and
Wilk (1958) report “Eggs * * * (Calgary, May 28)”. Whether
these records are sporadic appearances, a trait that seems charac-
teristic of this species, is intriguing in the light of an observation by
Timothy Myres of the University of Alberta at Calgary. Dr. Myres
writes in a letter (1965) that ‘there is nothing known on McCown’s
Longspur by local naturalists.”
Territory —As F. W. Mickey (1943) observed on the Plains of
Laramie, during the third week in April with large flocks of males
already present, the beginning of territorial selection soon became
evident. Alert to their behavior on first arriving in Fergus County,
Mont., Silloway (1903) writes:
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1575
This longspur appears in this locality late in April. At first the birds keep in
flocks, sitting on the ground so closely that an observer can get among them
without detecting their presence until he startles one or more almost under his
feet. Onsuch occasions the startled birds will fly a few feet, while the remainder
of the flock will continue to crouch upon the ground. As the days pass, the males
utter a low, trilling song, not greatly different from that of the horned larks.
Soon the longspurs scatter over the prairie and the peculiar flight-songs of the
males begin. Rising with twittering hurried chant after an ascent of a few yards,
they will drop downward with out-spread, unmoving wings, uttering their gush
of song, thus descending parachute-like to earth.
From shrubs, rocks and piles of stone as well as from the air, those
males early inclined toward the selection of territory fling their chim-
ing notes across the benches, proclaiming their chosen plots of prairie
habitat. Mickey (1943) describes the activity—I am indebted to her
“Breeding Habits of McCown’s Longspur,” a paper meaty with
information about this subject:
The male proclaimed his right to a territory chiefly by a characteristic flight-
song. In the early spring he was a persistent and exuberant singer. He mounted
into the air, spread his wings and floated downward, repeating over and over the
phrases of his song, see, see, see me, see me, hear me, hear me, see. Sometimes the
bird did not alight after one descent, but rose immediately for another song.
* * x
The first males to settle in a region claimed territories that were larger than
necessary. As more and more resident males arrived, they tried to establish
themselves on ground already claimed by others.
The result was increased tension among the males and a subsequent
“Squeezing” of available space into smaller and smaller units to ac-
commodate the most recent arrivals. ‘The newcomers that I
observed,’ Mickey continues, ‘‘succeeded in holding the territories
that they appropriated. As their territories decreased in size the
birds increased the vigor of their defense, in order to keep an area of
sufficient size around the nest from which the adults could secure the
large quantities of food needed by the young nestlings and still be able
to brood them for long periods.’’ Adjusted territories, in Mickey’s
judgment, were seldom less than 250 feet in diameter. But such close
proximity, wing by beak, as it were, was enough to increase the
possibility of tension and the necessity for defensive behavior.
“For the male longspurs, who held small territories in areas where
more birds congregated, the conspicuous flight-song and occasional
chasing of an intruder were not sufficient to hold their territories; they
often had to fight neighboring males. The bird defending a territory
challenged the trespasser by flying at him, singing and rapidly flutter-
ing his wings. Jf the intruding bird was easily intimidated, he was
chased off the territory; if not, the two males rose in the air fighting.”’
Thus high above the grass and the blue lupine, where earlier the birds
had performed in graceful solo, but now in fierce combativeness, “bill
1576 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
to bill, singing and fluttering their wings,” they disputed the patch of
prairie habitat which for each, holding dominantly a mate and a nest,
was “his.”
Mickey describes the progress of one of these conflicts:
An interesting situation arose early in June, 1938, when a new bird, M10,
attempted to encroach upon the territory of an established bird, M2, at the same
time and close to the same place that a nest was being constructed by M2’s mate.
M10 was an aggressive bird and finally succeeded in establishing himself in a small
area * * *, When he secured a mate, it so happened that she chose a site for her
nest close to the disputed boundary. On July 7, I watched these two pairs of
birds for an hour or more. M10 was engaged in flight-song within his own ter-
ritory when I arrived. After each descent, he hovered over the nest site, and then
flew directly over into M2’s territory, uttering a sharp tweet-twur on the way. M2
immediately flew toward M10, singing. They met head on and rose high in the
air; then, bill to bill, singing lustily and with wings beating vigorously, they
dropped to the ground, and each retired to his own territory. This performance
was repeated eight times within twenty minutes.
Once boundaries were firmly laid out and apparently recognized
by the adjoining claimants, an alert kind of truce apparently pre-
vailed, broken only now and again by aerial encounters. Not that
this put a stop to the singing. On the contrary. Writes Mickey,
“after longspurs settled on their territories, they sang from or over
these areas at intervals throughout the day and well into the evening.”
Thereafter apparently less and less energy was directed toward the
maintenance of defensive attitudes and more and more toward the
center of interest in the territory, the mate, and later the nest.
Courtship.—In its own way, the courtship display of McCown’s
longspur, while it does not have the drama of the parachute descent,
is in the terrestial world of buffalo stems, blue lupine and sage, a
spectacle in minature. In early June A. D. DuBois (1937b) came
upon a “very pretty demonstration” of this amatory manuevering:
“On the ground * * * a male McCown longspur pranced around his
mate in a circle about one foot radius, holding the nearer wing stretched
vertically upward to its utmost, like the sail of a sloop, showing her
its pure white lining, while he poured forth an ecstatic song.”
Tt is the unexpectedness of the behavior that intrigues the beholder.
The quick upraising of the dark wing and the sudden revelation of
the white lining, shining silver in contrast to the darker body, is a
rather astonishing performance, made all the more fanciful by the
comparative diminutiveness of the actors. It reminds me of the
courtship ballet of the buff-breasted sandpiper I saw in South Dakota
where the male, with both wings elevated almost like an upland
plover just alighting on the ground and the body held almost per-
pendicular, moved in a half-circle about the female, the white wing-
linings satin shiny beside the buff of the body.
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 507
On another occasion DuBois (1937b) ‘saw a male standing at rest
on a rock, holding one wing aloft and singing softly. Presumably
his mate was in the grass nearby. * * * The same day I saw a female
raise both wings and hold them quivering; and immediately her mate
ran past her, singing, and hoisting his white sail toward her.”
F. W. Mickey (1943) tells about a male that “was frequently seen
singing softly from the top of a small rabbitbrush, meanwhile making
little bows to the female in the grass below. Occasionally, he would
hold up one wing while he sang. At another time, while on the ground,
he raised the wing nearest the female and held its silver lining before
her. Then he ran over to the female; they both flew up and settled
in the grass some ten feet away.”
Sometimes what DuBois (1923) calls ‘‘a popular movie situation”
develops where a second male intrudes upon the domesticity of a
mated pair. One such incident occurred while nest building was still
going forward; another took place so late in the season that the mated
pair were brooding young.
Mickey relates how on May 20 she encountered a pair of McCown’s,
apparently a mated pair. They were:
feeding side by side at the edge of the field. The female flushed and was followed
by the male; as they settled in the grass, another male alighted beside them.
Both males rose fighting; finally one was driven off. The victorious male re-
turned to the female, which had remained on the ground, and started bowing to
her. The other male returned; again they fought and chased each other about
until the female flew a short distance into the field. One male followed and
dropped close beside her; the other perched on the nearby fence. On May 24,
the nest in this territory was practically finished, but the two males were still
fighting each other.
In this instance the affair ended somewhat inconclusively. Mickey
says that ‘‘two weeks later, this nest was destroyed and one of the
males disappeared.”
DuBois (1923) has an account of a Don Juan among the McCown’s
which apparently was undismayed by an advanced season or a female
attentive upon a nest of young. DuBois writes:
This morning, while she stood in the garden with a grasshopper in her bill, an
audacious stranger ran past her, making his bow with the wing nearer her. He
quickly made another advance with the evident intention of bowing to her again,
but she ran at him and drove him away. Her mate was on the nest, panting and
sweltering in the hot sun while bravely shading the young. He seemed in a posi-
tion to observe this attempted flirtation with his spouse, but he paid no attention
to it. I afterward saw the stranger again. * * * This time [he] came marching
into view ostensibly oblivious of the presence of the female which stood upon the
rock at the edge of the garden. He made no advances toward her * * *. But
she flew at him this time also, and he went away.
Nesting.—The nest J. A. Allen (Coues, 1874) discovered in North
Dakota, July 7, 1873, probably the first McCown’s longspur nest to
646-737—68—pt. 322
1578 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
be described, ‘‘was built on the ground and is constructed of decom-
posing woody fibre and grasses, with a lining of finer grasses.”
Grinnell (1875), who encountered the species southwest of Fort
Lincoln in North Dakota in 1874, found that the nest ‘‘resembles,
both in position and construction” that of the Chestnut-collared
longspur. In Minnesota Rolla P. Currie (1890) found two nests:
‘“‘Composed of fine round grasses and fine dried weed stems, lined
with very fine grasses a few horse-hairs. One nest was on the ground
in a clump of grass and the other in a small bush.’’ Currie’s observa-
tion is interesting; no where else have I found reference to McCown’s
building a nest above the ground.
In Nebraska M. A. Carriker (1902) located a nest in the dry hills of
the northwest corner of the state near the Wyoming line. The nest
was “sunken flush with the surface of the ground and made of dried
prairie grass blades and rootlets.’ There was ‘‘no attempt whatever
at concealment or protection by weed or tuft of grass.’””, DuBois (1935)
and Mickey (1943) also remark on nests where concealment was at a
minimum. DuBois writes that one such nest was placed ‘in a
grazed pasture” with “no standing grass about it—just three or four
scant shoots. At another the growing tufts nearby had been cropped
off by stock.”
Of a nest in Fergus County, Montana, Silloway (1903) writes,
“The site was a depression among grass-blades, open above. The
nest was made of dried grass felted at the bottom with a few downy
pistils, the style of architecture being very similar to that followed by
the horned lark. The cavity was two and one-half inches in diameter
and two inches in depth”. In Saskatchewan the Mocouns (1909)
came upon a nest that was ‘‘a rather deep hole in the prairie, lined
with a little dried grass.’”’ And Barnes, quoted by Ferry (1910),
took a nest on June 4 near Regina. ‘It was located in a depression
near the road on the open prairie where there was practically no
grass. It had been run over by a wagon, crushing the nest out of
shape. The bird, however, was on the nest and the eggs were
uninjured.”
DuBois (1935) speaks of the oddity of nests “placed near old dried
heaps of horse droppings; one was a foot away, one was quite close,
one was at the edge of such a point of vantage, while another was
in the midst of a scattered pile which had become very dry and
weathered.”
In Wyoming Mickey (1943) found that of a group of 40 nests,
‘nineteen were beside grass clumps, fifteen beside rabbitbrush, five
beside horsebrush and one between rabbitbrush and horsebrush.”
In Montana Silloway (1902, 1903) found nests in shallow depressions
at the base of small Coronilla bushes. ‘A very common site,” he
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1579
adds, “and one most generally selected by this longspur.’”’ In Colo-
rado Bailey and Niedrach (1938) found them frequently ‘beautifully
placed near prairie asters, phlox, or flowering cactus.”
Where the advance of the plow has turned the short buffalo grass
and blue-joint and sage into wheat and legumes, McCown’s longspur
clings somewhat precariously to the transitional areas or edges.
DuBois (1935) found a nest ‘in a narrow strip of sod between two
wheat fields, at the extreme edge of the grass, against the bare dirt
turned over by the plow; another was found in a strip between a wheat
field and new breaking, while another, though in the prairie grass, was
near the edge of the wheat field. Even more notable was a nest on a
narrow dead furrow of prairie sod, missed by the breaking plows, in
the middle of a field of winter wheat.’”’ On the basis of such observa-
tions in Montana DuBois (1935) concludes, ‘no nests were found on
cultivated ground.”’ However, C. G. Harrold (1933), reporting his
experiences in the Lake Johnston region south of Moose Jaw, Sas-
katchewan, during April and May, 1922, writes that the bird is
“found chiefly in stubble fields on high ridges.”
Roberts (1932) says that in the last reports of the species in western
Minnesota McCown’s nested ‘“‘only in the high parts of wheat fields.”’
He quotes a letter from A. D. Brown who writes that after 1899 ‘‘only
a few were seen, even when quite numerous, as it hid most of the
time in the growing grain.” Margaret Belcher (1961), reviewing the
opinions held by a number of writers that McCown’s prefers “the
drier and more sparse prairie vegetation,’ notes, “It is interesting
that McCown’s longspurs in the Regina area nest regularly in the
cultivated fields.” And in a letter (1964) she calls my attention to
the report of George Fairfield on the breeding bird census conducted
‘fn a 28-acre field of uncultivated prairie grassland at Moose Jaw.’’
G. Fairfield (1963), in commenting on ‘the McCown’s preferred
nesting habitat,”’ says that no horned larks ‘‘or McCown’s were seen
on the census plot, but a few of both species had territories on the
plowed (summer-fallow) fields close by.”
Mickey (1943) found that ‘“The majority of the nests were con-
structed entirely of grasses, the body consisting of coarse stems and
blades, and the inner lining of finer grasses.’’ As exceptions, however,
occasional nests contained bits of lichen, “shredded bark of horse-
brush and rabbitbrush’’, down feathers and tag-ends of wool, with
one nest “lined entirely with wool.’? Comments Mickey: “Very
likely the nests constructed entirely of grass represented the primitive
type of material used for nests before sheep, horses, and cattle were
introduced into this region. However, when such materials as wool
and hair became available, the birds made use of them.’’ She
notes too that the birds collected “bits of wool which clung to the
1580 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
barbed-wire fence bordering the territories in which these nests were
located.”
Not only does the female gather the nesting material within the
territory but occasionally she helps to scrape out a shallow depression
for the nest when such excavation seems necessary (Mickey, 1943;
Silloway, 1902). ‘‘A new nest was constructed for each brood,”
writes Mickey, ‘“‘usually at some distance from the old one, either
within the previous boundaries of the territory or close enough to it
so that, in uncrowded portions of the field, adjustments in the
boundaries could easily be made.”
Bailey and Niedrach (1938) found that “It is an easy matter to
locate nests * * * after the song perches have been discovered, for
the females are almost sure to be tucked away in the near vicinity,
and it is only a matter of walking about until they flush from under
foot.”” But, as they found, this is the beginning, not the end of the
problem. Nests are hard to locate, they learned. ‘Even when in
the open, cut by only a few blades of wiry grass, they are difficult to
see.” To which Mr. Bent (1908) and DuBois (1937b) agree. In
DuBois’ opinion, ‘“Typical nests are not effectively hidden by grasses;
but * * * a nest may be effectively camouflaged by scant grass-clusters
slanting over the top of it, or by dry blades of grass hanging loosely
over it. It is surprising how few such blades are necessary to make
an effective camouflage.”
Parasitism of the nests by cowbirds does occur although apparently
only a few instances have been recorded. Currie (1890) in Minnesota
found a cowbird’s egg in a nest from which he had removed four
McCown’s eggs the previous day. And John Macoun (1909) in
Saskatchewan, in April 1894, discovered a cowbird egg in a nest of
four longspur eggs.
Eggs.—The usual number of eggs per clutch is three or four, occa-
sionally five, though Sclater (1912) mentions six. Walter Raine
(1892) says that in the nests he discovered at Rush Lake, southwest
Saskatchewan, “the number of eggs to a clutch is usually five, some-
times only four. In my collection I have seven clutches of five eggs,
and four clutches of four.” Farther west at Crane Lake Macoun
(1904) found two nests with four eggs each. Brown (Roberts, 1932)
reported 11 sets gathered in Minnesota between 1891 and 1899, of
which 6 sets numbered three eggs each and 5 held four eggs each. Of
52 nests DuBois (1935) studied in Montana between 1915 and 1918,
24 had sets of three eggs, 26 had sets of four eggs and 2 contained sets
of five eggs. In Oklahoma M. M. Nice (1931) found one nest with
five eggs and one with six eggs.
Average size of eggs seems to vary from .80 by .65 inch, as re-
ported by G. B. Grinnell (1875) from North Dakota, to .81 by .57
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1581
inch as measured by Brown (Roberts, 1932) of 11 sets in Minnesota.
The 72 eggs Mickey (1943) recorded in Wyoming averaged .8089 by
.6086 inch. Harris gives the average measurements of 100 eggs as
20.4 by 15.0 millimeters, with eggs showing the four extremes measur-
ing 22.9 by 15.9, 18.8 by 14.6 and 19.8 by 13.7 millimeters.
Egg size and weight within a clutch may vary somewhat, according
to Mickey (1943). At one nest she found that ‘‘one large egg was
deposited the first day, followed on the second and third days by
lighter, smaller eggs.’”” Concerning the egg weight Mickey (1943)
writes: ‘Fresh eggs varied in weight from 2.3 to 2.5 grams; the
average of six was 2.4. Eggs weighed the day before hatching varied
from 1.7 to 2.15 grams; the average of seven was 1.914 grams. * * *
The average total weight of a three-egg set was 7.21 grams as compared
to 9.5 for a four-egg set and to 11.4 for the one five-egg set weighed.”
There seems to be some geographical variation in the ground
color of the eggs. Raine (1892) found that in the eggs near Rush
Lake in Sasketchewan ‘‘the ground colour varies from white to greyish
white, pinky white, clay and greyish olive, usually boldly spotted
with umber and blackish brown; many of the eggs are clouded over
with dark purple grey which almost conceals the ground colour, and
many of the eggs have scratches and hair-like streaks of brown.”
The ground color of the eggs in the Brown (Roberts, 1932) collection
from Minnesota is a “pale greenish-white of varying intensity, more
or less obscured in three of the eleven sets by a buffy tinge.” In
Wyoming Mickey (1943) discovered that ‘The ground color * * *
varied from white to pale olive. The markings consisted of various
combinations of lines, scrawls, spots, and speckles of lilac, rusty-
brown, mahogany, and in one case black.” In general, Harris writes
that “the ground may be grayish white or a very pale green such as
‘tea green.’ There is considerable variation in coloring and pattern.”
Raine (1892) found one set near Rush Lake in Saskatchewan which
‘Gs remarkable in having all the markings at the larger end of the egg
where they form a zone.”
The earliest date for full clutches of eggs is May 9 in a listing by
DuBois (1935) for Montana, the latest being July 28. In the same
state near Lewistown, Silloway (1903) reports a nest of three fresh
eggs on May 29. In Wyoming, McCreary (1937) quotes Neilson as
finding “full sets of 4 eggs near Wheatland by May 20.” Near
Laramie, Mickey (1943) came upon a nest with one egg on May 20
and a full complement of four on May 25. She reports the latest date
for a full clutch as August 6. In Saskatchewan, Raine (1892) “flushed
a McCown’s longspur from its nest and five eggs’ on June 10, 1891.
Brown (Roberts, 1932) collected “five sets of eggs, all nearly fresh”
in early June 1891 in Minnesota.
1582 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 8
Apparently eggs are laid early in the morning. In a nest DuBois
(1937a) visited “both morning and evening, they were laid before
6:00 or 7:00 a.m.’’ Mickey (1943) writes:
On July 8, 1939, at 7 a.m. I observed F18 flying about in small circles just
above the top of the grass in the vicinity of her nest. When I came into the
territory, she flew away. Then her mate flew around me as if he were trying
to drive me off; so I walked a short distance away and sat down. About five
minutes later the pair returned to the nest site; the female dropped into the grass,
the male perched on top of a nearby rabbitbrush. After a while he dropped
down and fed. I walked over and flushed the female from her nest, which con-
tained one warm egg.
Incubation —DuBois (1937a) states that “the eggs are deposited
at the rate of one each day” and “incubation begins when the last
ege is laid.”” There seems to be room for latitude here, for Mickey
(1943) sees it differently. ‘‘It seemed to me that the birds were
somewhat erratic in this respect; for I found that the eggs of a com-
plement were not always deposited on successive days, nor did the
female always wait for the completion of the clutch before starting to
incubate.”
Incubation seems to be the duty of the female. DuBois (1937a)
writes, ‘‘I have never seen a male on the nest before hatching time,”’
and Mickey (1943) concurs: “I did not at any time flush a male from
a nest containing eggs.”
Information on the length of the incubation period is confined to
the detailed observations of Mickey (1943) who states, ‘‘I have data
on two pairs that were successful in hatching more than one brood.
Nests 3 and 23 were thought to be those of the same pair * * *. The
length of the incubation period was twelve days. This was calculated
from the laying of the last egg until the time of its hatching, from
June 22 to July 4, at nest 3.”’ While the female incubates, ‘‘she turns
around very often in the nest, and sometimes erects the feathers of
her crown,” writes DuBois (1923). He adds, ‘‘the female sometimes
sings at her nest when the male is approaching.”
During this period, writes Mickey,
the male longspur spent a great deal of time (a) guarding the nest from some
nearby rock or shrub, (b) engaging in flight-song, or (ec) defending his territory,
particulary if nests were close together.
Sometimes the male was seen guarding the nest during the female’s absence;
at other times neither bird was near the nest. M4 was never in the vicinity of
of the nest when the female was absent. M6 was usually on guard from a pile
of stones close to the nest, not only while the female was off the nest, but also
while she incubated. He often sang from this stone pile. Whenever I came near
the nest * * * he either flew about over the nest or circled about in the grass
nearby, making some pretense of collecting food.
* Ok OK
Male longspurs sang during the incubation period, but with less intensity than
prior to mating.
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1583
On one occasion DuBois (1923) watched while ‘‘a male came to the
nest and presumably fed the female, for she was on the nest.”
On the hatching of the eggs Mickey (1943) writes:
On July 5, 19388, at 6:30 a.m., after flushing the female from nest 9, I found that
her eggs were in the process of hatching. One young bird had already emerged
from the shell; its down was still wet and clinging to the body. There was a large
hole in the side of a second egg, through which could be seen the bill and part of
the head of its occupant. A small, circular, cracked area, not yet broken through,
was observed in the side of a third egg. Sounds and faint tappings could be
detected coming from the fourth egg. When I visited the nest the following
morning, all four had successfully hatched.
DuBois (1923) observes that during the early stages of the second
nesting young birds are sometimes seen near the nest. On June 28
he discovered ‘‘a young bird, fully grown and ‘on the wing’”’ on the
ground near an incubating female, ‘presumably her offspring, from
an earlier nest, although no more definite evidence could be secured
to prove this assumption.’”’? On June 29 at a second nest from which
the female had been flushed, ‘‘Two birds, able to fly, were in the grass
near her; the nest contains four eggs which are apparently incubated.”’
These eggs hatched on July 5.
In her studies on the Laramie Plains, Mickey (1943) found that
climatic conditions might effect hatching success to a considerable
degree, as might an increase in the number of predators in the area.
During a three-year period, 11 of 45 nests were completely suc-
cessful, 16 were partially successful, and 18 were failures. ‘A total
of 153 eggs were deposited in 45 nests, averaging 3.4 eggs per nest.
Of these 92, or 60 percent of the total number laid, were hatched;
71 birds, representing 46.4 per cent of the eggs laid, were fledged,
giving an average of 1.58 birds per total nest, or 3.5 birds per suc-
cessful nest.”
Young.—Details concerning the young have been chronicled
discerningly by DuBois (1937a) and Mickey (1943), especially by
the latter who writes:
The young were hatched blind but not entirely naked, for the dorsal feather
tracts were covered with long, buffy down. The skin appeared dark where it
was stretched over the body, yellowish where it lay in loose folds. The light,
tan-colored egg-tooth was very prominent on the grayish bill. The egg-tooth
was shed the fifth day. * * *
The nestlings were blind for two days. Occasionally on the third day they
momentarily opened their tiny, slit-like eyes. By the fourth day they could keep
their eyes open for several minutes, although, if undisturbed, they rested quietly
in the bottom of the nest with eyes closed. On the fifth day they appeared
much more alert for even though they sat quietly in the nest, they peered over
the rim with bright, beady eyes.
When eight days old, the nestlings were no longer content to sit quietly
in the nest, but moved about considerably, preening, stretching their necks,
1584 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
raising themselves up and fluttering their wings. By the ninth day, fear instinct
was evident. Before this they had not been much disturbed at the weighing
process but now they either crouched on the scale with neck drawn down between
the scapulars, or fluttered about trying to escape, cheeping constantly. At this
the adults became quite alarmed and circled low over the box containing the
scales, uttering sharp alarm notes.
Regarding the progressive increase in the growth of feathers, ©
DuBois (1937b) has this to say:
The newly hatched young, as soon as dry, are protected above by fluffy natal
down, about one-fourth inch long, of a whitish buff or pale dead—grass color
similar to that of young Desert Horned Larks. The invisibility afforded by this
covering is truly marvelous. The skin is light-colored but reddish. The tongue
and inside of the mouth are of a strong pink color, without spots or marks of any
kind. This distinguishes them from young of Desert Horned Larks.
When the nestlings are four days old, the feathers of their underparts become
well sprouted, forming a longitudinal band along each side. When six days old,
the natal down of the upper parts has been pushed out on the feather tips so that
the covering is a combination of down and feathers. The young are well feathered
at the age of eight or nine days.
Mickey adds:
By the sixth day, the feather tips had broken from all sheaths except those on
the capital tract. Another day was needed for the head feathers to emerge,
otherwise, on the seventh day the bird appeared well feathered. Down still
clung to the head and occasionally to some of the back feathers on the eighth
day. * * *
The wing feathers developed at a slightly different rate from those on the body
proper. The developing flight feathers, enclosed in their sheaths, appeared on
the wings on the second day. These sheaths grew from one-sixteenth of an inch
on the third day to one-fourth of an inch by the fifth day. On the sixth day,
feather tips had broken from the sheaths of the primary coverts and on the
inner margins of the secondaries. * * * By the time the bird was ready to
leave the nest, the feathers of the secondaries protruded one-half an inch beyond
the end of the sheaths and those of the primaries one-fourth of an inch. The
primary feathers of a bird captured when eighteen days old measured two inches
in length.
The caudal feathers were the slowest of all to grow. The nestlings were six
days old before the tail feathers could be measured. * * * The tail of an eighteen-
day-old bird measured one inch in length. At this time the characteristic color
pattern of the tail was clearly indicated.
Early dates for the discovery of young in the nest appear in a
tabulation by DuBois (1935) for Teton County, Montana. May 22
appears to be the earliest, other dates being May 26, 27, and 31.
In the same state for Chouteau County, A. A. Saunders (1921) has
May 23 as the first day on which young were found, but, he adds,
“the young were already half grown,” which suggests a hatching date
as early as May 18 or 19.
Care of the young is assumed by both male and female, especially
during the nestling period. ‘“The female brooded most of the first
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1585
two days after the young hatched,” observes Mickey (1943), “but
she was relieved at intervals by the male. From the third day on,
more and more time was spent by both adults gathering food for the
young and less time brooding them. During showers the female
brooded the nestlings even after they were well feathered. At nest
22, where the female had either deserted or been killed while away
from the nest, the male fed the young, but apparently failed to brood
them during a downpour, for the young were found wet and dead
after the rain.”
The young were shielded not only against the rain but against the
heat of the July prairies also. DuBois (1923) has several notations
regarding this behavior.
July 8. * * * The mother bird stood in the nest sheltering the young from
the sun, but she left every few minutes to go for food for them * * *,
As the parent stands on the nest in the hot sun, she usually keeps her mouth
open, panting. Her breathing is rapid, and when there is no wind her puffing is
audible * * *,
The male, as well as the female, goes on the nest after feeding and stands with
his wings partly spread, if the sun is hot, until his mate comes with more food
to relieve him. She then takes his place and remains until he returns * * *.
July 12. This evening after supper I watched for awhile from the tent-blind.
Both parents were feeding hastily and in rapid succession. A thunder shower
was brewing, night was coming on, and drops of rain, striking the nestlings made
them stretch up their heads and open their mouths when both parents were away.
The female sat on the nest a few minutes between meals, and the thunder did
not seem to startle or disturb her * * *,
The position of the male while brooding is to stand astride the nest with a foot
on each side, at the rim, the young filling the cavity between. Once, while the
female was brooding, the male came with food which he fed to the young at her
side. At another time under similar circumstances he gave the food to his mate
and she fed it to the young under her breast, the food being nearly always grass-
hoppers. On one occasion, after feeding, the female stood at the edge of the nest
facing the young, and, stooping over them, sang a little warble close to their
heads while the male was approaching with another ration. She was obviously
tired and sleepy, as she frequently yawned and dozed while brooding in the
short intervals between feedings.
At another nest on July 8, DuBois (1923) found “at noon the male
standing in the nest with his feathers all ‘fluffed up’, shading the
young from the hot, penetrating rays of the noonday sun.” Mickey
(1943) observed a similar position in the female which straddled
“the nest while brooding. She placed one foot on either side of the
rim of the nest.”
For about half of their nestling life the young are brooded at night
also, as Mickey learned:
On the night of July 10, 1938, my husband and I visited the field at ten o’clock.
We had previously marked the nests so that they could be found easily in the dark.
When a nest was located, a flashlight was turned on it. The young birds in
nest 9, which were five days old, were being brooded. The adult bird left the
1586 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
nest, but the young birds did not open their eyes. The seven-day-old nestlings
in nest 3 were not being brooded. The adults were on the ground in the immediate
vicinity. The male, evidently disturbed, sang a short snatch of song. From
this night visit it seems that the young birds are brooded at night until they are
well feathered, or until about six or seven days old.
Both DuBois (1923) and Mickey (1943) agree that the young are
fed insects from the very start and that the food is not regurgitated.
Both parents feed the young. ‘Moths and grasshoppers furnished '
the bulk of the food,” says Mickey. In addition to this menu Du-
Bois includes larval worms. On one occasion, he adds, “I thought I
recognized a spider as it went into one of the throats.’ He declares
the female gives as a food call “a brief twitter. The young, which
must be less than twenty-four hours old, have a note which can be
easily heard from the tent: it is a clear ‘peep.’ They frequently
give utterance to it while their mother is standing in the nest shading
them.” As they grew, “the food call of the young longspurs,”’
Mickey notes, “‘changed from the continuous chippering of the nestling
to the shriller intermittent call of the fledgling.”
Mickey (1943) weighed and tabulated the young from 13 nests.
The minimum weight of nestling at hatching was 1.6 grams, the
maximum was 2.9 grams, while the average was 2.03 grams. Some-
times a nestling had to cope with the drawback of hatching out a day
later than its nest mates. ‘“‘A nestling never overcame such a handi-
cap,” states Mickey; ‘in fact, it often did not make normal daily
gains in either weight or length. * * * The chances of the survival
of these underlings were closely associated with the amount of food
that they received. In cases where the adults did not respond readily
to their weaker food calls, they died either before leaving the nest
(as in the nests 24 and 28), or shortly afterward (as the one from
nest 3, which was found dead six inches from the nest).
Sanitation of nests is maintained by both parents. ‘The nests
are kept quite clean until the last two days of nest life,’ reports
Mickey. ‘By this time the young so filled the nest cavity that
an occasional excrement sac was often overlooked. * * * Ants
were omnipresent. From the observation blind at nest 13, the female
was seen picking them from the young and out of the nest.” Du-
Bois (1923) has these additional notes on sanitation: ‘The excrement
is sometimes swallowed and sometimes carried away, the two methods
in about equal proportions. * * * At this state of the development
of the young (age six days) the parents begin carrying the excrement
away from the nest, after one feeding the male being observed to
fly away with it, but at the next trip he swallowed it asformerly. * * *
The practice of swallowing excrement has been entirely discontinued.
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1587
It is being carried away and is usually dropped while the bird is on
the wing.”
The solicitude of the male and the female for the young increases
as the nestlings become more and more feathered. DuBois (1937a)
writes:
When I caught a fledgling near nest 59, on the day it left, * * * its father
flew at my head, excitedly singing the trio of notes that is so characteristic. One
day I managed to catch a youngster that was an excellent runner. Upon turning
it loose I gave forth the most distressing squeaks of which I was capable. Quickly
five adults appeared upon the scene and tried to lead me away. They alighted
approximately in a row, well deployed, as though for battle; and when I followed,
they all ran through the grass ahead of me, in company front, in a manner that
was very amusing.
Mickey (1943) found that
an incubating female would normally leave the nest and settle in the grass some
distance from her nest during my visit to it. The brooding female would leave
the nest if disturbed, but fed close by. By the time the nestlings were nine days
old, both adults kept close to the nest during my visit, alternately feeding nearby
and circling low over the nest, uttering sharp calls. On the day the young left
the nest, both adults continually flew about me calling, chip-pur-r-r-r chip-pur-r.
They were just as excited at my intrusion on the following day, although later
than this I did not notice any anxiety on the part of the adults, unless I accidentally
flushed a young bird.
In their Montana and Wyoming observations, DuBois (1935) and
Mickey determined that, with some exceptions, the normal period of
nestling life was 10 days. At that time the nestlings ‘‘can run at a
lively rate, fluttering their wings if pursued,” says DuBois. ‘Two
days later (age 12 days), as observed at nest 59, they are able to fly
for short distances.”’ One bird in Mickey’s study area, an 11-day-old
fledgling, had a very weak flight but ‘in another day it could fly
thirty feet or more.” A fledgling DuBois (1923) caught 6 feet from the
nest on the 10th day, when released scrambled “over the ground at a
lively rate, fluttering its wings as it runs, although it is not very large.”’
Two days later he concluded his notations with: “The young longspurs
are now able to fly for short distances.”’
Plumages.—The following descriptions appear in Ridgway (1901):
Tail (except middle pair of rectrices) white, broadly tipped with dusky.
Adult male in summer.—Forehead and anterior portion of crown, more or less
distinct rictal streak, and crescentic patch across chest, black; posterior portion
of pileum and hindneck pale brownish gray, streaked with dusty, especially the
former ; back and scapulars, pale wood brown, or pale buffy brown, broadly streaked
with dusky; rump and upper tail-coverts grayer (especially the latter), less
distinctly streaked; more anterior lesser wing-coverts ash gray with dusky (mostly
concealed) centers; posterior lesser coverts and middle coverts chestnut; rest of
wing grayish dusky with pale brownish gray edgings, the primaries narrowly
edged with white (outer web of first primary almost entirely white), the greater
coverts and secondaries rather broadly (but no distinctly) tipped with white;
1588 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
middle pair of rectrices dusky grayish brown margined with paler; rest of tail
white, broadly tipped with dull black, except outermost rectrices, where the
blackish, if present, is very much reduced in extent; under parts (except chest)
white, tinged with pale gray laterally, the plumage deep gray beneath the surface;
bill brownish, dusky at tip; iris brown; tarsi brown; toes dusky.
Adult male in winter.—Black areas concealed by broad tips to feathers, brown
on pileum, buffy on chest; otherwise not essentially different fromsummer plumage.
Adult female in summer.—Above, light buffy brown (pale wood brown or isabella.
color), streaked with blackish, the streaks broadest on back and scapulars; wings
dusky, with light buffy brown edgings (broadest on greater coverts and tertials,
narrower, paler and grayer on primaries, and primary coverts), the middle coverts
broadly tipped with buffy, the lesser coverts pale brownish gray; tail as in adult
male; sides of head (including broad superciliary stripe) light dull buffy, relieved
by a rather broad postocular streak of brownish; under parts pale buffy, passing
into white on abdomen and under tail-coverts; a brown or dusky streak (submalar)
along each side of throat.
Adult female in winter.—Similar to summer plumage, but dusky streaks on back,
ete., narrower and less distinct, and under parts rather more strongly tinged with
buffy.
Young.—Back, scapulars, and rump dusky, with distinct pale buffy margins
to the feather; pileum and hindneck streaked with dusky and pale buffy; middle
wing-coverts broadly margined, and greater coverts broadly tipped with pale
buffy or buffy whitish; chest rather broadly streaked with dusky; otherwise much
like adult female.
Food.—The principal items in the diet of McCown’s longspur,
according to Roberts (1932), consists of weed seed: pigweed, ragweed,
bindweed, goosefoot, wild sunflower, sedges, foxtail, and other grass
seeds; grain; grasshoppers, beetles, and other insects. On their
wintering grounds in New Mexico A. L. Heermann (1859) says that
the birds include berries in their diet. Richard H. Pough (1946)
states that “Grasshoppers are generally their staple summer food,
seeds of grasses and weeds at other seasons.” DuBois (1937) con-
siders the food of the young to be principally grasshoppers “‘with now
and then a moth or a caterpillar.” Mickey (1943) lists the grass-
hoppers which seemed to predominate in the bulk of the food: Arphia
pseudonietanus, Gamnula pellucida, Melanoplus femur-rubrum, and
Trimerotropts sp.
From such data one can only conclude that economically McCown’s
longspur is to be counted among the beneficial species of birds, despite
the comment of Arthur L. Goodrich, Jr. (1946) on wintering birds in
Kansas: “It is reported that this race and other longspurs may be
responsible for the destruction of large quantities of winter wheat in
some areas of the west.” Perhaps the subject has not yet been
sufficiently investigated.
Behavior.—The following account by Grinnell (Ludlow, 1875) sug-
gests the kind of mate attachment in McCown’s attributed to the
mated Canada goose and the bald eagle pair. He writes:
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1589
The male and female manifest an unusual degree of attachment for one another.
While watching them feeding in the early morning, for they were very unsuspi-
cious and would allow me to approach within a few yards of them, I noticed that
they kept close to one another, generally walking side by side. If one ran a few
steps from the other to secure an insect or a seed, it returned to the side of its
mate almost immediately.
On one occasion, a pair were startled from the ground while thus occupied, and
I shot the female. As she fell, the male which was a few feet in advance, turned
about, and flew to the spot where she lay, and, alighting, called to her in emphatic
tones, evidently urging her to follow him. He remained by her side until I shot
him.
Nest tenacity, developed to a high degree in the female of this
species, is described by Raine (Macoun, 1908), DuBois (1937a) and
Mickey (1943). ‘The female is a close sitter, not leaving the nest
until the intruder has stepped close up to it,’’ declares Raine.
Mickey (1943) remarks on the bird’s awareness of the human gaze.
“T was standing less than a foot from the incubating bird when I saw
her. Not until I looked directly at her did she fly.”
DuBois (1937b) describes a female apparently employing pretended
food hunting as a distraction display. ‘After I had flushed her from
the eggs, and had been seated for some time at the nest, she approached
and deported herself very much as do the larks, running in the grass
and pretending to hunt food, while she watched me.”
Both male and female sometimes display remarkable intrepidity.
DuBois (1923), taking pictures and having his camera set up near
the nest, was surprised at the male’s lack of concern. ‘He now per-
mits me to sit at the camera, which is only three or four feet from him,
as he stands or sits on his brood.”
At a pond in north central Montana in 1911 Saunders (1912)
found horned larks and McCown’s longspurs feeding about the edge,
“the longspurs walking daintily over the green scum at the edge and
eating the small insects that swarmed there. Several young long-
spurs, barely able to fly, were here with their parents, and one such
had evidently come to grief in its efforts to imitate its parents’ example,
and was drowned in the midst of the scum.”
In eastern Alberta, A. L. Rand (1948) saw McCown’s longspurs fly in
“commonly to drink at the irrigation reservoirs, along with horned
larks and the chestnut-collared longspurs.”’
G. B. Grinnell (Ludlow, 1875) asserted that he “did not see these
birds hop at all. Their mode of progression was a walk rather hur-
ried, and not nearly so dignified as that of the cow-bunting [brown-
headed cowbird].”
Where Grinnell in 1874 found this species ‘‘unsuspicious” and fairly
easy to approach on the prairies of southwestern North Dakota, Bailey
and Niedrach (1938) in 1936 and 1937 found them ‘extremely wild”
in northeastern Colorado.
1590 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2:37 PART 3
Vowe.—To the dweller on the north central great plains, few
experiences after a long hard winter equal the pleasure and the promise
of the song bursts of certain early spring birds. Chaucer had his
“smale foule” which ‘‘maken melodie” but the prairie-dweller has his
horned larks and Sprague’s pipits with their spectacular singing flights
high aloft, seemingly cloud-high, and their dizzy plummeting to earth.
He has his lark buntings and chestnut-collared longspurs with their
less spectacular but more graceful and butterfly-like descent to earth,
bubbling with sound. With them McCown’s forms a trio in the grace
and musical quality of the aerial performances.
Writes P. M. Silloway (1902) of Montana:
In a wagon trip across many miles of prairie in the last week of May 1899 I
was regaled by the well-known flight-songs of the males of this species. Numbers
of them were frequently seen in the air at one time, some of them mounting
upward in irregular, undulating, star-like lines of movement, pouring forth their
hurried bursts of song; others could be seen floating downward with out-spread,
elevated wings, uttering their ecstatic measures as they slowly floated to earth
without moving a feather.
E. S. Cameron (1907) recalls that near Terry, Montana, “On
June 22, 1894, I had ample opportunity for observing this species, as,
my horse having run away, I was compelled to walk home, ten miles
across the prairie. My way was enlivened by the handsome males,
which hung above me, before sinking into the grass with a burst of
song.”
One of the earliest to describe the song of McCown’s longspur was
George Bird Grinnell (Ludlow, 1875). Traveling as zoologist with
the Custer Expedition into the Black Hills in 1874, on observing the
bird near Fort Lincoln (present day Bismarck) in North Dakota, he
calls it “by far the most melodious songster”’ on “the high dry plains.
It rises briskly from the ground, after the manner of C. bicolor until
it attains a height of 20 or 30 feet, and then, with outstretched wings
and expanded tail, glides slowly to earth, all the time singing with the
utmost vigor.”
In July of 1911, Aretas A. Saunders (1912) took a horseback ride
“nearly across the State of Montana’’—one of those adventures which
the more sedentary only dream about. In the flat open prairie of
Broadwater County where the ‘principal vegetation was buffalo-grass
and prickly pear,” he found McCown’s longspur
in full song, a charmingly sweet song, that tinkled across the prairie continually
and from all sides. The song has been compared to that of the Horned Lark, but
to my mind it is much better. The quality is sweeter and richer; the notes are
louder and clearer, and above all, the manner in which it is rendered is so different
from that of the lark or of any other bird, that the lark passes into insignificance
in comparison. The song is nearly always rendered when in flight. The bird
leaves the ground and flies upward on a long slant till fifteen or twenty feet high,
then spreads both wings outward and upward, lifts and spreads its white tail
McCOWN’S LONGSPUR 1591
feathers, erects the upper tail coverts and feathers of the lower back, and bursting
into song, floats downward into the grass like an animated parachute, singing all
the way.
In Teton County, Montana, DuBois (1937b) also noted the para-
chute-like descent as well as ‘‘the usual song,” which he says,
is a variety of warbles, clear and sweet. It is a joyous song. In the height of
the nesting season it ripples through the air from many directions. It is usually
delivered in course of a special flight.
The song-flight is a charming feat of grace. The male bird flies from the
ground, in gradual ascent, to a height of perhaps six or eight yards, then spreads
his white-lined wings, stretching them outward and upward, and floats slowly
down to earth like a fairy parachute made bouyant with music. He continues
to pour forth his song all the way down into the grass, and seems to swell with
the rapture of his performance. Sometimes the descent is perfectly vertical.
The song is delivered both while fluttering the wings and while making the para-
chute descent. The birds let their legs hang down beneath them while in flight.
The floating descent was unique in my experience with birds, for though the
Chestnut-collared Longspur also has a songflight, it lacks the parachute descent.
In two records DuBois (1923, 1937a) describes a characteristic
feature of the song: “Occasionally, while the bird is in the air, he
utters a trio of staccato notes, each of decidedly different pitch, and
separated by equal time intervals. The three notes are louder than
the usual song; they are so short and clear, and have so pronounced
a pause between them that the effect is very striking.”
In the Prairie Provinces of Canada Raine (1892) seems to be the
first to mention the song of this longspur. In June of 1891 near a
slough north of Moose Jaw, he found the song “very cheering * * *
the male always sings as he descends to the ground with outstretched,
motionless wings.” Mr. Bent (1908), investigating the prairies in the
vicinity of Maple Creek in southwestern Saskatchewan in 1905-06,
considered McCown’s song similar to the chestnut-collared longspur’s
“but somewhat louder and richer’. The male “rises slowly and
silently to a height of 10 or 15 feet and then floats downward, on
outstretched wings and widespread tail, pouring out a most delightful,
rich, warbling, bubbling song.”” But Harrold (1933), while mention-
ing the “remarkable butterfly-lke flight’’, says that the song “‘consists
of only a few notes one of them having a peculiar squeaky sound
quite unlike that of any other bird in tune.”
Olin S. Pettingill, Jr., (Sibley and Pettingill, 1955) describes the me-
chanics of the flight, comparing it with the chestnut-collared long-
spur’s:
The flight songs of typical McCown’s and Chestnut-collared longspurs differ
in movements and in song pattern. Both species fly gradually upward, their
wings beating rapidly. From the peak of the ascent McCown’s proceeds to
sail downward abruptly with wings held stiffly outstretched and raised high above
the back. The Chestnut-collared, after reaching the peak of the ascent, prolongs
the flight by circling and undulating, finally descending with the wings beating
1592 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
as rapidly as before. Both species sing after the ascent, but the song of the
McCown’s is louder with the notes uttered more slowly.
During the peak of breeding intensity, as calculated by Mr. Bent
(1908), “‘the male makes about three song flights per minute, of about
8 or 10 seconds duration, feeding quietly on the ground during the
intervals of 10 or 12 seconds.”
A. A. Saunders, remembering his days in Montana, writes in a note’
that the general quality of the song is ‘‘sweet and musical, and is a
broken warble, that is a group of several rapid, connected notes, then
a short pause and another group, and so on to the end of the song.
In this the song differs from the Chestnut-collared Longspur, whose
song is continuous, without a break. It also differs in that the general
pitch is maintained at about the same level throughout the song, where
that of the Chestnut-collared grades downward in pitch.”
DuBois (1923) seems to be the only observer to record singing in the
female. In Teton County, Montana, from a tent which served as a
blind, he kept a series of nests under surveillance. On July 2, 1917,
watching a female incubating, he notes, “I was surprised to hear her
begin to sing. She sang a very pleasing little song.” On July 5
when the male approached, “she again sang a little twittering, musical
song.” DuBois takes into consideration that at each of these occur-
rences the male was near. In the first instance, at the close of the song
he saw the male drop suddenly into view; ‘‘he walked up to her and
gave her a large insect, apparently a grasshopper with amputated
legs.’ In his detailed study of 61 nests over three seasons (1915,
1916, 1917) Dubois mentions the female singing only in this one
instance.
Though Saunders’ (1922) observation lead him to believe that this
species “sings from a perch only rarely” and that ‘the Chestnut-
collared Longspur * * * sings from a perch more frequently than
McCown’s, but still rarely,’ he writes in a later note that occasionally
McCown’s will sing from “‘a wire fence or a stone.” Salt and Wilk
(1958) note in Alberta, that in its choice of song sites McCown’s is
similar to the chestnut-collared longspur’s. ‘Both prefer low perches
either on the ground or on a fence but not on bushes.” The last part
of the observation is interesting in its difference from the experience of
Mickey (1943) who found in her Wyoming study that perches included
shrubs as well as rocks and in one instance the top of a stone pile.
She mentions the rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus sp.?) specifically.
In Montana, DuBois (1923) discovered that a favorite singing spot
was often a rock. Apparently some individuals are more concerned
about its actual location than in the kind of perch they choose. Thus
DuBois noted that the male of one nest under observation “has an
habitual perch on an old kettle which has lodged at the edge of the
McCOWN’'S LONGSPUR 1593
garden some twenty feet from the nest. The kettle and Longspur
combination, although perhaps picturesque, struck me as rather
incongruous and I replaced the kettle by a rock which pleased me
better and seemed to suit the Longspur just as well. He came re-
peatedly to perch there after descending from his song flight or return-
ing from an absence * * *.”
In May 1899 in Montana, Silloway (1902) found the longspurs
singing from the ground. A concentration remained hidden by the
blending of their coloration with the background of bare gray ground
and last year’s dead vegetation:
When * * * about sixty yards to one side of their position, I was attracted
by a series of strange songs, uttered with unusual force. Walking in the direction
of the unfamiliar music, I found that the Longspurs were the authors, and for
many minutes I watched different songsters twittering their pretty little songs.
The performance was a continuous chatter, having some resemblance to portions
of Meadowlark music. It was quiet similar to the continuous, hurried measures
of the Horned Larks, though louder and clearer. In some instances the performer
uttered the act of singing while pecking for seeds among the dead herbage, thus
showing a further resemblance in habit to the Horned Larks. A _ noticeable
feature of the performance was the movements of the white throats as the spirited
measures bubbled forth.
Field Marks.—Silloway (1903) describes the male as: ‘‘Upper parts
chiefly grayish brown, streaked with darker; top of head, and large
crescent on breast, black; wing coverts reddish-brown; lower parts
grayish white.” DuBois (1937b) has this description of the female:
The upper surface of the head is uniformly covered with faint, fine, wavy streaks
* * *, The face has a buffy appearance, with a line over the eye that is more
whitish. * * * The throat is white. There is just a faint suggestion of darker
gray on the breast where the black patch adorns the male. The wrist of her wing
shows a little of the reddish brown “shoulder” patch worn by her mate. * * *
When the bird takes flight, she shows, conspicuously, an almost black T-shaped
design at the end of the white spread tail. The sexes are alike in this tail pattern,
which constitutes the best field mark.
Enemies.—V arious plundering marauders play havoc with the nests
and eggs of McCown’s longspurs. DuBois (1937a) relates that in
Montana “carcasses of [Longspur] fledglings were seen at a Short-
eared Owl’s nest, and at a nest of Swainson Hawks’’ but concludes
that raptores were in general ‘‘almost neglible factors in the lives of
the longspurs at this place.’ Among the mammals considered
predatory, DuBois points his finger at the weasel and the skunk. He
adds, “‘Punctured eggs or broken shells showing tooth marks, noted
in several instances, were thought to be the work of the common
ground squirrels [the thirteen-lined (Citellus tridecemlineatus) and
Richardson’s (C. richardsonii)], though I have never caught one of
these rodents in the act of plundering a nest. Whenever a ground
squirrel approached a nest, the longspurs drove him away by swooping
646-737—68—pt. 3——23
1594 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
at him repeatedly, sometimes actually striking his back.” Adds
Mickey (1943), “On several occasions the birds were seen hovering
over a ground squirrel, chirping and darting at it in an effort to drive
it away from the nest site,” suggesting that the birds recognize these
animals as predators.
While the elements and the animal predators undoubtedly take a
yearly toll of McCown’s longspurs, the species has been subject to’
their onslaughts for millenia with little evidence of any serious
reduction of the population. The real threat, whether recognized,
minimized, or ignored, as DuBois (1936), states, is man—‘“‘man whose
poisoned baits set out for ground squirrels apparently kills more
birds than spermophiles.”” Man with his plow and his agricultural
achievements: ‘Many nests were of course plowed under by the
breaking plows of pioneer farmers,’’ DuBois remembers. ‘TI have seen
one or two go over with the turning sod, when it was too late to
prevent it.”
To DuBois’ list of enemies Mickey (1943) adds the cat, the badger
(Taxidea taxus), and among birds the prairie falcon and western crow.
“A pair of Swainson’s Hawks, Buteo swainsoni, and a pair of Marsh
Hawks, Circus hudsonius, were frequent visitors to this field. They
swooped over the field in search of rodents, quite indifferent to the
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Index
(Page numbers of principal entries are in italics)
A
Abbott, C. C., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1481, 1486
Abbott, Charles H., on rufous-winged
sparrow, 906
Abbott, Clinton G.,
goldfinch, 384
on house finch, 312
Abbott, J. M., on eastern white-crowned
sparrow, 1283
Abeillé (or hooded) grosbeak, 251
abeillei, Hesperiphona, 251
aberti, Pipilo, 548, 606, 632
Pipilo aberti, 632, 633, 634, 635,
636, 637
Abert’s towhee, 606, 629, 632, 917
Abreojos Savannah sparrow, 720
Acadian sharp-tailed sparrow, 789
Acanthis, 447
flammea cabaret, 411
flammea flammea, 400, 405, 407
flammea holboellii, 423
flammea rostrata, 421
holboellii, 421, 422
hornemanni, 406, 418
hornemanni exilipes, 400, 409, 422
hornemanni hornemanni, 405
Accipiter gentilis, 197, 1066
nisus, 197
striatus, 740
velox, 1067
Acord, I. D., on clay-colored sparrow,
on European
1188
Actitis macularia, 733
Adams, A. Leith, on white-winged
crossbill, 528, 531, 537
Adams, Ernest, on house finch, 294
Adams, Lowell, on Oregon junco, 1061
Adney, E. T., on European goldfinch,
385, 387
aédon, Troglodytes, 98
aestivalis, Aimophila, 903, 970, 973, 974
Aimophila aestivalis, 960, 963, 970
Peucaea, 972
affinis, Pooecetes gramineus, 883, 884
Agelaius phoeniceus floridanus, 844
Agersborg, G. S., on lark sparrow, 893
Aiken, Charles E. H., on Baird’s bun-
ting, 746
on black rosy finch, 366
on brown-capped rosy finch, 380
381, 382
on house finch, 298
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
924, 928, 929
Aiken, Charles E. H., and Warren,
Edward R., on gray-headed
junco, 1106
on house finch, 291, 292
aikeni, Junco, 1021, 1051, 1075, 1076
Aimophila aestivalis, 903, 970, 973, 974
aestivalis aestivalis, 960, 963, 970
aestivalis bachmani, 956, 970, 971,
973
aestivalis illinoensis, 972
botterii, 975
botterii arizonae, 976
carpalis, 980
carpalis carpalis, 902, 924, 927, 929,
930
cassinii, 916, 981
petenica, 976
ruficeps australis, 927
ruficeps canescens, 933, 937, 940,
942, 943, 954, 955, 956
ruficeps eremoeca, 919, 926, 928,
929, 939
ruficeps lambi, 954
ruficeps obscura, 937, 940, 951
ruficeps ruficeps, 924, 931, 940, 941,
942, 943, 944, 946, 950, 951, 952,
953, 954, 955
ruficeps rupicola, 930
ruficeps sanctorum 954
ruficeps scottii, 919, 920,921, 923,
930, 955
ruficeps sororia, 937, 943, 955
ruficeps tenuirostra, 919
texana, 976
1799
1800
Alabama towhee, 480
Alameda song sparrow, 1547
alascensis, Calearius lapponicus, 1608
Pinicola enucleator, 338, 343
Alaska longspur, 349, 678, 1608, 1630
pine grosbeak, 338
Smith’s longspur, 1628
alaudinus, Passerculus sandwichensis,
702, 704, 712, 716, 717
Alberta fox sparrow, 1418
albicaudatus, Buteo, 848
albicollis, Fringilla, 1365
Pipilo, 634
Zonotrichia, 560, 1364, 1498
albigula, Pipilo, 620
Pipilo fuscus, 620, 634
Alcorn, J. R., on Oregon junco, 1053
Aldrich, John W., on Cape Sable sparrow
862
on dickcissel, 161
on southern swamp sparrow, 1476
Aldrich, John W., and Nutt, D. C., on
white-winged crossbill, 530
Aleutian rosy finch, 350
Savannah sparrow, 705
song sparrow, 1533
Allard, H. A., on rufous-sided towhee
574
Allen, Amelia S., on Bendire’s crossbill,
516
on eastern fox sparrow, 1404
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1359
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1084,
1089
Allen Arthur A., on clay-colored sparrow,
1200
on eastern goldfinch, 464
on eastern song sparrow, 1506
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1278, 1284
on Harris’ sparrow, 1255
on indigo bunting, 85, 86, 87, 95, 98
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 494
on red crossbill, 501
Allen, C. A., on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 931, 933, 937
Allen, David, on clay-colored sparrow,
1200
Allen, Francis H., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 333
on common redpoll, 417
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1176, 1178
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Allen, Francis H.—Continued
on eastern evening grosbeak, 229
on eastern field sparrow, 1229
on eastern goldfinch, 449
on eastern purple finch, 268, 274
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 685
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 805
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1283
on lark bunting, 648
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1452
on northern slate-colored junco,
1036, 1037
on pine siskins, 425
on red crossbill, 510
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 41, 46
on rufous-sided towhee, 574
on white-winged crossbill, 532, 545
Allen, G. M., on eastern and Canadian
chipping sparrows, 1172
on eastern evening grosbeak, 208
on rufous-sided towhee, 566
on southern swamp sparrow, 1476
Allen, H. C., on snow bunting, 1668
on white-winged crossbill, 535
Allen, J. A., on Baird’s sparrow, 746
(in Scott), on desert black-throated
sparrow, 997
on eastern purple finch, 264
on lark bunting, 648, 649, 653
(in Coues), on MeCown’s longspur,
1568, 1577
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
815
Allen, J. A., and Brewster, W., on Ore-
gon junco, 1063
Allen, Robert P., on eastern and Cana-
dian chipping sparrows, 1172
Allen, W. T., on indigo bunting, 89
alleni, Pipilo erythrophthalmus,
563, 564, 567, 569, 580
Albert E., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 331, 335
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1441
Allison, A., on southern swamp sparrow,
1483
altera, Ammospiza caudacuta, 794, 808,
814, 817
alticola, Junco, 1133
Melospiza lincolnii, 1467
altivagans, Passerella iliaca, 1392, 1418
Altmann, 8S. A., on eastern song sparrow,
1507
562,
Allin,
INDEX
aluco, Strix, 198
Amadon, Dean, and Eckleberry, Don R.,
on olive sparrow, 545, 547
Amadon, Dean, and Phillips, A. R., on
Texas black-throated sparrow,
991
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 24
Amak song sparrow, 1533
amaka, Melospiza melodia, 1533
American bittern, 790
crossbill, 503
finch, 1434
goldfinch, 393, 394, 417, 442, 447,
472, 475, 527
pipit, 1387
americana, Spiza, 158
Ammodrami, 719
Ammodramus, 746, 756, 757, 795, 827,
850
bairdii, 657, 745
halophilus, 720
savannarum, 725, 756, 757, 761
savannarum ammolegus, 725, 726,
727, 742, 745
savannarum australis, 771
savannarum floridanus, 725, 726,
735, 736, 745
savannarum perpallidus, 699, 725,
727, 731, 734, 744
savannarum pratensis, 725, 726,
Gal, (oo, 7142
ammolegus, Ammodramus savannarum,
(25, (20, (2h (42, 040
Ammospiza, 1826
caudacuta altera, 794, 808, 814, 817
caudacuta becki, 817
caudacuta caudacuta, 791, 792, 793,
795, 813, 816, 817, 818
caudacuta diversa, 797, 808, 812
caudacuta nelsoni, 794, 803, 808,
809, 814, 815
caudacuta subvirgata, 789, 797,
799, 808, 809, 813, 814, 815, 817
lecontei, 756
maritima, 803, 838, 841, 850, 854,
860
maritima fisheri, 841, 842, 844, 848,
864
maritima juncicola, 838, 840, 841,
851, 864
maritima macgillivraii, 831, 835,
841, 864
maritima maritima, 819, 831, 864
646-787—68—pt. 3——36
1801
Ammospiza—Continued
maritima mirabilis, 860
maritima pelonota, 835, 841, 844,
846, 850, 851, 857
maritima peninsulae, 838, 840, 841,
851
maritima sennetti, 841, 842, 844,
848, 865
mirabilis, 851, 859
nigrescens, 838, 849, 860, 864
amoena, Passerina, 106, 108, 125
Amphispiza belli, 999
belli belli, 1014, 1015, 1019, 1020
belli canescens, 1011, 1013, 1018,
1020
belli cinerea, 1020
belli clementeae, 1019
belli nevadensis, 1004, 1013, 1014,
1018
bilineata bangsi, 1001, 1004
bilineata belvederei, 1001
bilineata bilineata, 990, 992
bilineata carmenae, 1004
bilineata deserticola, 992, 993, 1001,
1002
bilineata grisea, 992
bilineata opuntia, 992
bilineata tortugae, 1003
amplus, Carpodacus, 316, 318, 319
Anderson, Anders H., on Arizona pyr-
rhuloxia, 25
on rufous-winged sparrow, 913
Anderson, Anders H., and Anderson,
Anne, on house finch, 292
Anderson, Roy C., on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1461
on white-throated sparrow, 1386
Anderson, Rudolph Martin, on dick-
cissel, 166, 167
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 780
Andrews, Edward B., on western eve-
ning grosbeak, 242
anna, Calypte, 1065
Anna hummingbird, 1065
annectens, Junco, 1093
Passerella iliaca, 1392, 1419
anthinus, Passerculus sandwichensis,
690, 700, 711
Anthony, A. W., on brown-capped rosy
finch, 378, 379
on canyon brown towhee, 625
on Cassin’s sparrow, 989
1802
Anthony, A. W.—Continued
on desert black-throated sparrow,
999
on eastern painted bunting, 152
on Guadalupe house finch, 321
on indigo bunting, 105
on large-billed Savannah sparrow,
722
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1462
onMcCown’s longspur, 1571
onMcGregor’s house finch, 318
on Oregon junco, 1056, 1059, 1060
on San Benito Savannah sparrow,
719
on Townsend’s Oregon junco, 1092,
1093
Anthony, E. A., on common redpoll, 416,
417
Anthony’s brown towhee, 616
Anthus spinoletta, 370, 1105
spragueii, 757
anulus, Passerculus sandwichensis, 717,
720
Aphelocoma coerulescens coerulescens,
564
Apollonio, Spencer, on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1273
Appalachian song sparrow, 1521
Appleton, J. S., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1210
arborea, Spizella, 1137
Spizella arborea, 1137
Arctic tern, 672
towhee, 681
arcticus, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 581
arenacea, Spizella pusilla, 1235
Argus brown towhee, 604
aripolius, Pipilo fuscus, 619, 620
Arizona black-chinned sparrow, 1241
cardinal, 19
grasshopper sparrow, 726, 745
junco, 1120, 1128
pyrrhuloxia, 22, 25
arizonae, Aimophila botterii, 976
Spizella passerina, 1167, 1184
Arkansas goldfinch (see Lesser gold-
finch), 471
Arlton, A. V., on white-throated spar-
row, 1378
Arnold, John P., on Cassin’s finch, 285
Arremonops rufivirgata rufivirgata, 644
artemisiae, Molothrus ater, 1460
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Arthur, 8. C., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1486
Arvey, Dale, on Cassin’s finch, 284
Arvey, M. D., on western chipping
sparrow, 1185
Ash-throated flycatcher, 977
Ashy rufous-crowned sparrow, 943
Asio otus, 198
ater, Molothrus, 88, 559, 741, 762,
829, 1027, 1121, 1203, 1505, 1550
Molothrus ater, 232, 629, 1460
Atkinson, George E., on eastern fox
sparrow, 1405
Atkinson, Neil, on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1442, 1443, 1447, 1449
Atkinson, Scott, on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1443
Atkinson, W. L.,
goldfinch, 485
Atlantic song sparrow, 1152
atlantica, Melospiza melodia,
1505, 1508, 1512
atrata, Leucosticte, 365, 377, 382
atratus, Passerculus sandwichensis, 719,
724
atricapilla, Sylvia, 1683
Zonotrichia, 560, 1352
atrogularis, Spinites, 1241
Spizella, 590, 598, 1236
Spizella atrogularis, 1248
atronitens, Volatinia jacarina, 1457
Attwater, Harry P., on dickcissel, 166
on lesser goldfinch, 472
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
on green-backed
1492,
922
Atwater, W. G., on Cape Sable spar-
row, 867
Audubon, John James, on Acadian
sharp-tailed sparrow, 794
on Bachman’s sparrow, 956, 957,
960
on Baird’s sparrow, 745, 751, 759,
760
on clay-colored sparrow, 1188
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1166, 1178, 1180
on eastern blue grosbeak, 69
on eastern fox sparrow, 1401, 1405
on eastern painted bunting, 141,
142, 147, 149, 150
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
810
INDEX
Audubon, John James—Continued
on Harris’ sparrow, 1250
on indigo bunting, 102
on lazuli bunting, 118, 126
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 765
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1434, 1435,
1451, 1456
on MacGillivray’s seaside sparrow,
831, 834
on northern seaside sparrow, 826
on Smith’s longspur, 1628
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 779
Audubon, Maria R., on Baird’s sparrow
746
auduboni, Dendroica, 1088
Audubon’s warbler, 1021, 1076, 1088
Aughey, Samuel, on lark bunting, 646
aurita, Sporophila, 456
Austin, O. L., Jr., on Alberta fox spar-
row, 1418
on arctic towhee, 581
on Bahama black-faced
grassquit, 156
on Cape Sable sparrow, 860, 861,
862, 866
on Cassiar slate-colored junco, 1049
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 256
on clay-colored sparrow, 1205
on common redpoll, 411, 417
on eastern fox sparrow, 1403
on eastern gulf coast seaside spar-
row, 838
on eastern rustic bunting, 1684
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1278, 1285
on European goldfinch, 384
on fox sparrow, 1392, 1419, 1424
on Hornemann’s redpoll, 397
on house finch, 290
on Japanese hawfinch, 199, 203
on Labrador Savannah sparrow,
675, 676
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1127
on montane Lincoln’s_ sparrow,
1467
on Newfoundland crossbill, 498
on northwestern Lincoln’s sparrow,
1472
on olive sparrow, 544
on Oregon towhee, 593
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 42, 43,
46
1803
Austin, O. L., Jr.—Continued
on rufous- sided towhee, 568
on Sacramento towhee, 595
on San Francisco towhee, 596
on Scott’s and Wakulla seaside
sparrow, 838
on Smyrna seaside sparrow, 835
on tree sparrow, 1139
on white-winged crossbill, 531
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1415
Austin, O. L., Jr., and Kuroda, N., on
eastern rustic bunting, 1684
Austing, Ronald, and Johnstone, Ed-
ward, on Smith’s longspur, 1633
australis, Aimophila ruficeps, 927
Ammodramus savannarum, 771
Leucosticte, 371, 373, 377
Averill, C. K., on Abert’s towhee, 633
Avery, W. C., on Bachman’s sparrow,
961, 962, 963
Axelrod, D. I., on San Francisco brown
towhee, 605
Harold, on
sparrow, 1380
B
Bachman, John, on Bachman’s sparrow,
957, 960
on eastern painted bunting, 141
on MacGillivray’s seaside sparrow,
831
bachmani, Aimophila aestivalis, 956,
970, 971, 973
Bachmani, Fringilla, 956
Bachman’s finch, 1452
pine woods sparrow, 958
sparrow, 956
warbler, 831
Baepler, Donald Henry,
bunting, 103
on lark sparrow, 886
Baerg, W. J., on dickcissels, 163
Bagg, Aaron Clark, and Eliot, Samuel
Atkins, Jr., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 794
on eastern evening grosbeak, 234
on southern swamp sparrow, 1476,
1486
Aaron M.,
sparrow, 1188
on indigo bunting, 101
on snow bunting, 1669
Bahama black-faced grassquit, 156
Axtell, white-throated
on indigo
on clay-colored
Bagg,
1804
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Bailey, A. M., on Alaska longspur, 1615 | Bailey, Florence Merriam—Continued
on fox sparrow, 1420
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1354
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 352
on northwestern Oregon junco,
1080, 1081, 1082
on western evening grosbeak, 246
on white-winged crossbill, 534
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1416
Bailey, A. M., Baily, A. Lang, and
Niedrach, R. J., on Bent’s
crossbill, 522
Bailey, Alfred M., and Niebrach,
Robert J., on house finch, 295,
299
on lark bunting, 641
on McCown’s longspur, 1568, 1579,
1580, 1589
Bailey, Florence Merriam, on Abert’s
towhee, 633, 636
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1243
on Arizona pyrrhuloxia, 26, 27, 30,
33, 34
on California purple finch, 278
on canyon brown towhee, 628, 629
on Cassin’s finch, 285, 286
on Cassin’s sparrow, 982, 983
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1647
on clay-colored sparrow, 1205
on desert black-throated sparrow,
995, 996, 998, 999, 1000
on dickcissels, 163
on gray-crowned rosy finch, 358
on gray-headed junco, 1106, 1108,
1114, 1115, 1116
on green-tailed towhee, 525, 555,
556, 557
on house finch, 296
on indigo bunting, 94
on lark bunting, 640, 654
on lark sparrow, 889, 895
on lazuli bunting, 117, 127, 128
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 710
on pine siskin, 430
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
921, 922
on Rocky Mountain black-headed
grosbeak, 55, 56
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
924
on Texas towhee, 590, 591
on western blue grosbeak, 76, 78
on western chipping sparrow, 1186
on western evening grosbeak, 237
on western painted bunting, 155
on western vesper sparrow, 883
Bailey, Harold H., on Cape Sable spar-
row, 861
on eastern blue grosbeak, 67
on lesser goldfinch, 472
on rufous-sided towhee, 567
on southern sharp-tailed sparrow,
813
Bailey, Vernon, on Texas towhee, 591
Baillie, James L., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 208
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1459
Baillie, James L., and Harrington, Paul,
on eastern vesper sparrow, 872
on pine siskin, 433, 435
on white-winged crossbill, 530
Baily, A. Lang, on indigo bunting, 83,
85
Baird, James, on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1241
on Churchill Savannah sparrow,
898
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 678
on Labrador Savannah sparrow, 675
Baird, James, and Nisbet, Ian C. T., on
eastern Savannah sparrow, 691
Baird, Spencer Fullerton, on Abert’s
towhee, 635
on Baird’s sparrow, 745
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 256, 257, 258
on rufous-winged sparrow, 910
on San Lucas brown towhee, 620
on southern swamp sparrow, 1475
Baird, Spencer F., Brewer, Thomas
Mayo, and Ridgway, Robert, on
Abert’s towhee, 636, 637
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 680,
681
on lark bunting, 647, 648, 649
on lazuli bunting, 114, 116
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 251
on rufous-sided towhee, 563, 572
on San Lucas brown towhee, 621
on Smith’s longspur, 1629, 1630
on southern swamp sparrow, 1480
on varied bunting, 133
on white-winged crossbill, 528, 534,
537
INDEX
bairdi, Junco, 1133
bairdii, Ammodramus, 657, 745
Emberiza, 746
Baird’s bunting, 746, 759
junco, 1133
Savannah sparrow, 746
sparrow, 657, 745, 795, 1187, 1189,
1650
Baker, Bernard, and Walkinshaw, L H.,
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 768
Balch, T. E., on Gambel’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1336
Baldwin, Donald R., on Baird’s sparrow,
762
Baldwin, P. H., and Reed, E. B., on
hoary redpoll, 400, 402, 403, 404,
405
Baldwin, S. P., and Kendeigh, 8. C., on
eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1179
Ball, Stanley C., on dickcissel, 164
Baltimore oriole, 517
Bancroft, Griffing, on Arizona cardinal,
20
on Brown’s song sparrow, 1563
on desert black-throated sparrow,
995, 996
on green-backed goldfinch, 478
on large-billed Savannah sparrow,
722
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1460
on San Lucas house finch, 316
on San Luis cardinal, 22
on Scammon Lagoon Savannah
sparrow, 717, 718
Band-tailed pigeon, 245
Bangs, Outram, on Bangs’ and Cerralvo
black-throated sparrows, 1001
on Louisiana cardinal, 17
Bangs’ black-throated sparrow, 1001
bangsi, Amphispiza bilineata, 1001, 1004
Banks, Nathan, on dickcissel, 181
Banks, R. C., on Baird’s junco, 1133
on Bangs’ and Cerralvo_ black-
throated sparrows, 1001
on Carmen black-throated sparrow,
1004
on desert black-throated sparrow,
993, 995
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1275
on Guadalupe black-throated spar-
row, 992
1805
Banks, R. C.—Continued
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1339
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1292, 1305
on Texas black-throated sparrow,
990
on Tortuga black-throated sparrow,
1003
Barbour, Thomas, on indigo bunting,
99, 103
Bard, Fred G., on Baird’s sparrow, 753
Barkalow, Frederick S., Jr., on eastern
cardinal, 4
Barlow, Chester, on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 933, 934, 935,
937, 939
on Cassin’s finch, 288
on lazuli bunting, 127
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1300
on Oregon junco, 1054
on Sacramento towhee, 595
Barlow, J. C., on lark sparrow, 888
Barnes, Claude T., on green-tailed
towhee, 558
on pale goldfinch, 467
Barnett, Henry J. M., on western
evening grosbeak, 239
Barrows, B. H., on rufous-sided towhee,
566
Barrows, W. B., on eastern evening gros-
beak, 220
on eastern fox sparrow, 1405
on eastern goldfinch, 450
on indigo bunting, 86, 87
on pine siskin, 435
on white-throated sparrow, 1369
Bartholomew, G. A., on lazuli bunting,
125
Bartholomew, G. A., Jr., and Cade,
Tom Joe, on house finch, 309
Bartlett, Katherine, on gray-headed
junco, 1108, 1109, 1114
Bartram, William, on southern swamp
sparrow, 1475
Bassett (in Mierow), on pine siskin, 435,
439
Bassett, Frank N., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1359
Batchelder, C. F., on canyon brown
towhee, 627
on Oregon junco, 1068
1806
Bates, Clara, on eastern painted bunt-
ing, 144, 146, 151, 152
Bates, John M., on clay-colored spar-
row, 1205
Batts, H. Lewis, Jr., on eastern gold-
finch, 453, 459
on indigo bunting, 99
on pine siskin, 442
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 44
Baumgarten, Henry E., on lark bunt-
ing, 638
Baumgartner, A. M., on Harris’ spar-
row, 1249
on tree sparrow, 1137
Baumgartner, F. M., and Baumgartner,
A. M., on lark bunting, 646, 652
Baynard, Oscar, on eastern gulf coast
seaside sparrow, 839
Bay-winged bunting, 868
Beal, F. E. L., on Abert’s towhee, 635
on black-headed grosbeak, 63, 65
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 937
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1358
on green-backed goldfinch, 480
on Heermann’s song sparrow, 1555
on house finch, 306, 308
on Ipswich sparrow, 666
on Oregon junco, 1060
on Point Pinos Oregon junco,
1087
on San Francisco brown towhee,
610
on tree sparrow, 1153
on willow goldfinch, 470
Beal, F. E. L., McAtee, W. L., and
Kalmbach, E. R., on eastern
painted bunting, 148
Beals, M. V. (in Gabrielson and Lin-
coln), on Pribilof snow bunting,
1676
on rufous-sided towhee, 577
Bean, T. H., on fox sparrow, 1419
(in Gabrielson and Lincoln), on Pri-
bilof snow bunting, 1675
Bean-cracker (see Japanese hawfinch),
199, 202
Bean-mouth (see Japanese hawfinch),
202
Bean-shrike (see Japanese hawfinch),
202
Bean-spinner (see Japanese hawfinch),
202
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Beardslee, Clark §., on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1276
Beck, Rollo H., on western evening
grosbeak, 240, 244
Becker, G. B., and Stack, J. W., on
eastern song sparrow, 1502
on southern swamp sparrow, 1481
beckhami, Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, 22
becki, Ammospiza caudacuta, 817
Beckie, P. L., on McCown’s longspur,
1574
Beckman, C. W., on lazuli bunting, 113
Bee, J. W., on Alaska longspur, 1615,
1626
on western Savannah sparrow, 701,
703
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1416
Bee, R. C., and Hutchings, J., on spurred
towhee, 585
Beebe, C. W., on tree sparrow, 1151
Beecher, William J., on Cape Sable
sparrow, 860
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,796
on indigo bunting, 82
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
816
on northern seaside sparrow, 820
on southern swamp sparrow, 1481
Beer, J. R., Frenzel, L. D., and Hansen,
N., on Dakota song sparrow,
1523, 1524
Behle, W. H., on desert black-throated
sparrow, 994
on gray-headed junco, 1100, 1115
on green-tailed towhees, 550
on lazuli bunting, 112
on Oregon vesper sparrow, 885
on western vesper sparrow, 882, 883
Behle, W. H., Bushman, J. B., and
Greenhalgh, C. M., on desert
black-throated sparrow, 994
Behrend, Fred W., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 221
Behrens, H., on white-winged junco,
1027, 1028
Beidleman, on gray-headed junco, 1101,
1120
Belcher, Margaret, on Baird’s sparrow,
748, 750
on chestnut collared sparrow, 1640
on McCown’s longspur, 1572, 1579
INDEX
Belding, Lyman, on Baird’s junco, 1133,
1134
on California purple finch, 278
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 939
on Oregon junco, 1067
on San Lucas pyrrhuloxia, 36
beldingi, Passerculus sandwichensis, 714,
417,719, 720; 722
Belding’s Savannah sparrow, 714
Bell, John G., on Baird’s sparrow, 746
Bell, Ralph, on eastern white-crowned
sparrow, 1281
Bell sparrow, 477, 999, 1004, 1245
belli, Amphispiza, 999
Amphispiza belli, 1014, 1015, 1019,
1020
Bell’s sage sparrow, 1015
belvederei, Amphispiza bilineata, 1001
Benckeser, Harold R., on lark bunting,
642, 643
Bendire, C. E., on Abert’s towhee, 633,
634, 635, 637
on Bachman’s sparrow, 959, 961,
962, 967
on canyon brown towhee, 624, 625,
636
on fox sparrow, 1424, 1426, 1427,
1428, 1430, 1431
on rufous-winged sparrow, 902, 904,
908, 910, 911, 912, 916, 917, 918
on tree sparrow, 1153
Bendire thrasher, 629
bendirei, Loxia curvirostra, 498, 413,
520, 521, 526
Melospiza melodia, 1559
Bendire’s crossbill, 513
Bennett, F. M., on indigo bunting, 98,
100
Bennett, G. F., on white-throated
sparrow, 1386
Bennett, G. F., and Fallis, A. M., on
white-throated sparrow, 1387
Bent, A. C., on Arizona pyrrhuloxia, 25,
26, 27, 31, 33,35
on Bahama black-faced grassquit,
157
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 331
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1635
on common Lapland longspur, 1605
on common redpoll, 411, 413, 416,
417
1807
Bent, A. C.—Continued
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1178
on eastern evening grosbeak, 207,
212, 214, 216, 220, 221, 224, 225,
226, 228, 229, 233, 234
on eastern painted bunting, 147
on eastern rustic bunting, 1681
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 685,
688
on eastern song sparrow, 1503
on eastern vesper sparrow, 873, 878
on green-tailed towhee, 550
on hoary redpoll, 401
on Hornemann’s redpoll, 397
on indigo bunting, 83, 85, 87, 89,
91, 93, 95, 98, 104, 105
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1453
on McCown’s longspur, 1580, 1591,
1592, 1595
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 253
on Newfoundland crossbill, 498, 499
on Olive sparrow, 544, 546, 547
on Smith’s longspur, 1628, 1632
on snow bunting, 1668
on tree sparrow, 1140
on western evening grosbeak, 238,
240
on western painted bunting, 154
on white-throated sparrow, 1386
on white-winged crossbill, 535, 537
benti, Loxia curvirostra, 497, 520, 525,
540
Bent’s crossbill, 620
Bequaert, J. C., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 232
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1461
on western evening grosbeak, 249
on white-throated sparrow, 1386
Berger, Andrew J. on eastern and Can-
adian chipping sparrows, 1178
on eastern cardinal, 5, 13
on eastern goldfinch, 450, 451, 457
on eastern song sparrow, 1495
(in Friedmann), on eastern song
sparrow, 1506
on eastern vesper sparrow, 868, 878
on indigo bunting, 86, 88
Bergman, Sten, on Cassin’s bullfinch,
260
on Japanese hawfinch, 200, 205
1808
Bergtold, W. H., on gray-headed junco,
1110
on house finch, 291, 293, 296, 297,
299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 305, 308,
310, :311;:312;, 313
on lazuli bunting, 120
on McCown’s longspur, 1568
Berry, G. H., on western Henslow’s
sparrow, 780
Norman, on mountain song
sparrow, 1525
bewickii, Thryomanes, 590
Bewick’s wren, 590, 1512
Biaggi, Dr. Virgilio, Jr., on Bahama
black-faced grassquit, 157
Bicknell, Eugene P. (in Chapman), on
eastern fox sparrow, 1410
on red crossbill, 502, 505
on southern swamp sparrow, 1482
bicolor, Calcarius, 1590
Tiaris bicolor, 165
Bicolored blackbird, 244
Betts,
bilineata, Amphispiza bilineata, 990,
992
Binford, L. C., on clay-colored sparrow,
1198, 1199
Bird, C. G., and Bird, E. G., on snow
bunting, 1672
Bird hawk, 1159
Birtwell, Francis J., on western evening
grosbeak, 242
Bischoff’s song sparrow, 1633
Bishop, Louis B., on Baird’s sparrow,
763
on Dakota song sparrow, 1523, 1524
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1354
on Oregon junco, 1059
on Rocky Mountain black-headed
grosbeak, 55
on southern sharp-tailed sparrow,
812
on southern swamp sparrow, 1480
Bittern, American, 790
Black duck, 799
phoebe, 295
rosy finch, 365, 382
Blackbird, 227, 294, 638, 655, 848
bicolored, 244
Brewer’s 76, 485
red-winged, 79, 254, 766, 780, 790,
837, 856, 864, 1202, 1409, 1476,
1560
white-winged, 638
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Black-breasted lark-bunting, 1565
longspur, 1565, 1567
Blackburnian warbler, 217, 1400
Blackeap, 1683
Black-capped chickadee, 1026, 1283
Black-chinned sparrow, 590, 598, 977
Black-headed grosbeak, 48, 44, 56, 48,
212, 240, 244, 346
Black-poll warbler, 1189, 1400
Black-throated bunting (see dickcissel) ,
158, 185, 1567
sparrow, 909, 917, 918, 919, 977
Blackwelder, Eliot, on pink-sided
Oregon junco, 1074
Blain, Alexander W., on easterm cardi-
nal, 14
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
Blair, H. M.S., on brambling, 194
Blake, Charles H., on common redpoll,
416
on eastern goldfinch, 459, 462
on eastern purple finch, 264, 268,
269, 270
on eastern song sparrow, 1501
on Guadalupe house finch, 321
on Newfoundland pine grosbeak,
336
on Newfoundland purple finch, 263
on olive sparrow, 544, 546
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 44
on western painted bunting, 154
on Worthen’s sparrow, 1238
Blanchard, Barbara D., on eastern
white-crowned sparrow, 1277
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1295, 1300, 1304, 1305, 1310,
1317
on Puget Sound white-crowned
sparrow, 1347, 1350
Blanchard, Barbara D., and Erickson,
Mary M., on Gambel’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1334
Blatchley, Lew, on canyon brown tow-
hee, 627
Bleitz, Don, on indigo bunting, 88, 108
on Oregon junco, 1067
Blincoe, B. J., on Bachman’s sparrow,
961
Blue grosbeak (see California and
eastern blue grosbeaks), 67, 99,
100, 119, 176, 977
jay, 13, 41,47, 225, 249, 327, 395,
426, 1231
INDEX
Bluebird, 230, 1076, 1115
mountain, 370
Blue-black grassquit, 1457
Boat-tailed grackle, 858, 1409
Bobolink, 72, 574, 638, 640, 648, 654,
678, 766, 776, 780, 790
Bobwhite, 171
Bohemian waxwing, 229, 340
Bohlman, H. T., on Oregon junco, 1055
Bolander, Louis, on Nuttall’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1299, 1300
Bole, B. P., Jr., on northern slate-
colored junco, 1032
Bombycilla cedrorum, 246
Bonaparte, Charles Lucian, on Arizona
pyrrhuloxia, 25
on eastern evening grosbeak, 207
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 22
Bond, G. M., and Stewart, R. E., on
coastal plain swamp sparrow,
1490
Bond, James, on Bahama black-faced
grassquit, 155
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 327
on white-winged crossbill, 530, 532
Bond, Richard M., on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 699
on northern sage sparrow, 1011
Bond, Richard R., on indigo bunting,
81, 103
Bone, George I., on western evening
grosbeak, 243
Bonhote, J. Lewis, on Bahama black-
faced grassquit, 156
Boreal shrike, 1362
Borell, A. E., on green-tailed towhee, 559
boreophila, Spizella passerina, 1166
Borror, Donald J., on chestnut-collared
longspur, 1648
on clay-colored sparrow, 1201
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1177, 1178
on eastern song sparrow, 1503,
1504
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1284
on indigo bunting, 94
on white-throated sparrow, 1380
Borror, Donald J., and Gunn, William
W. H., on Baird’s sparrow, 761
on clay-colored sparrow, 1202
on white-throated sparrow, 1378,
1379, 1380, 1381
1809
Borror, Donald J., and Reese, Carl R.,
on western Henslow’s sparrow,
784
Botteri, Matteo, on Botteri’s sparrow,
976
botterii, Aimophila, 975
Botteri’s sparrow, 975
Bouteiller, James, on eastern fox spar-
row, 1399
Boutillier, R. 8., on Ipswich sparrow,
668
Bowdish, B. S., on eastern goldfinch,
463
on tree sparrow, 1160
Bowles, C. W., on pine siskin, 431, 432,
433, 435
Bowles, J. H., on dwarf Savannah
sparrow, 699
on large-billed Savannah sparrow,
722
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1460
on Oregon vesper sparrow, 885
on pine siskin, 435
on western vesper sparrow, 883
Bowman, C. W., on Nelson’s sharp-
tailed sparrow, 817
Boyd, E. M., on eastern song sparrow,
1507
brachyrhynchos, Corvus, 829
Brackbill, Hervey, on eastern cardinal,
6, 11
on eastern evening grosbeak, 234
on eastern goldfinch, 459
on eastern purple finch, 270, 272
on eastern song sparrow, 1493,
1502
on indigo bunting, 93
on white-throated sparrow, 1374
Bradley, Hazel L., on eastern and Cana-
dian chipping sparrows, 1169,
1173
on indigo bunting, 85, 87, 88
Bradt, Glenn, on Lawrence’s goldfinch,
487
Brambling, 191
Brand, Albert R., on eastern cardinal,
12
on eastern field sparrow, 1230
on eastern goldfinch, 463
on grasshopper sparrow, 737
on indigo bunting, 96
Brand, Charles, on European goldfinch,
395
1810
Brandt, Herbert, on Abert’s towhee,
U.S.
633
on Alaska longspur, 1615, 1616,
1617
on Arizona pyrrhuloxia, 26, 29, 30,
34
on canyon brown towhee, 624
on Cassin’s sparrow, 985
on common redpoll, 408, 410, 411
on desert black-throated sparrow,
993, 995, 996
on hoary redpoll, 401
on lesser goldfinch, 473
on McKay’s bunting, 1679, 1680
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 255
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1128 S1134, L132
on Nuttall’s white-crowned sparrow,
1315
on rufous-winged sparrow, 909
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 24
on Tucson song sparrow, 1560
on varied bunting, 135
on western evening grosbeak, 245,
247, 248, 250, 252, 254
on western Savannah sparrow, 701
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1416
Braund, Frank W., and Aldrich, John W.,
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1460
Braund, Frank W., and McCullagh, E.
Perry, on eastern fox sparrow,
1401
on Labrador Savannah sparrow,
676
Breckenridge, W. J., on eastern Savan-
nah sparrow, 690
on indigo bunting, 107
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 771
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
818
Breckenridge, W. J., and Kilgore, W..,
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
816
Breiding, G. H., on rufous-sided towhee,
570, 571
Breninger, G. F., on Abert’s towhee, 632
Brereton, E. L., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 221
brevicauda, Passerella iliaca, 1393, 1424
Brewer, T. M., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1208
(fide Fitch), on indigo bunting, 82
on rufous-winged sparrow, 910
NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
breweri, Spizella, 1198, 1208
Spizella breweri, 1208
Brewer’s blackbird, 76, 485
sparrow, 599, 918, 1000, 1007, 1197,
1203, 1206, 1208
Brewster, William, on Abert’s towhee,
632, 633, 635, 637
on Acadian sharp-tailed sparrow,
790, 792
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
952
on Baird’s junco, 1134, 1135
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 931, 933, 935, 937
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 334,
335
on canyon brown towhee, 624
on Carolina slate-colored junco,
1044
on common redpoll, 416
on desert black-throated sparrow,
997
on eastern fox sparrow, 1397, 1401,
1405, 1409
on eastern goldfinch, 458, 461
on eastern Henslow’s sparrow, 776
on eastern painted bunting, 144,
145, 147
on eastern purple finch, 264, 267
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 797,
800, 801, 802, 805, 806, 807, 809
on grasshopper sparrow, 736, 737
on greater redpolls, 422
on indigo bunting, 83, 84, 99
on Ipswich sparrow, 659
on lazuli bunting, 124
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 773
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1437, 1452
on McCown’s longspur, 1574
on pine siskin, 435, 438
on red crossbill, 503, 509
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 39
on San Benito Savannah sparrow,
719
on San Lucas brown towhee, 621
on San Lucas cardinal, 21
on San Lucas house finch, 315
on San Lucas pyrrhuloxia, 36
on southern swamp sparrow, 1483,
1485, 1486
on tree sparrow, 1153
on varied bunting, 136
on white-winged crossbill, 537
INDEX
1811
Bridgwater, D. D., on Harris’ sparrow, | Broun, Maurice, on common redpoll, 416
1270
Brigham, E. M., Jr., on Lincoln’s spar-
row, 1462
Brimley, C. S., on eastern blue grosbeak,
67
British bullfinch, 259, 260
goldfinch, 395
brittanica, Carduelis carduelis, 384, 386
Broad-winged hawk, 1459
Brockman, C. F., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1352
Brodkorb, Pierce, om rock rufous-
crowned sparrow, 922
Bronzed cowbird, 19
grackles, 1668
Brooks, A. B., on Bachman’s sparrow,
966
Brooks, Allan, on dickcissel, 164
on dwarf Savannah sparrow, 699
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1357
on gray-headed junco, 1120
on lazuli bunting, 114
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1459
on McCown’s longspur, 1574
on Mexican evening grosbeaks, 252
on Queen Charlotte pine grosbeak,
342
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 23
on western evening grosbeak, 244,
245, 248
Brooks, Allan, and Swarth, H. S., on
lazuli bunting, 114
Brooks, Earle A., on white-winged cross-
bill, 537
Brooks, Maurice G., on Bachman’s
sparrow, 957, 958, 959, 961, 962,
963, 964, 965, 966, 968
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 331
on eastern cardinal, 9
on grasshopper sparrow, 727
on indigo bunting, 84
on lark sparrow, 893
on pine siskin, 437
on southern swamp sparrow, 1482
on white-winged crossbill, 535, 536
Brooks, Ronald, on white-throated spar-
row, 1380
brooksi, Hesperiphona vespertina, 237,
255
Passerculus sandwichensis, 698,
706
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1171
on eastern evening grosbeak, 224
on eastern song sparrow, 1505
on hoary redpoll, 406
Brown, A. D., on McCown’s longspur,
1568, 1579
Brown creeper, 1123
Brown (in Thayer), on Worthen’s spar-
row, 1236, 1237, 1238
Brown, Herbert, on Abert’s towhee,
633, 634, 636, 637
on rufous-winged sparrow, 902
Brown, N. C., on eastern Henslow’s
sparrow, 776
on McCown’s longspur, 1571
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
920
Brown, Ruth,
1461
Brown thrasher, 576, 959, 1407, 1515
towhee, 294, 548, 603, 604, 605,
606, 607, 609, 610, 611, 616,
617, 622, 626, 630, 634, 635,
636, 952, 977, 1237
Brown, V. H., on eastern goldfinch, 463
Brown, W. W., on Baird’s junco, 1135
Brown, William J., on eastern fox spar-
row, 1400, 1402, 1403
Brown, Woodward H., on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1282
Brown-capped finch, 360
rosy finch, 371, 373
Brown-headed cowbird, 88, 443, 559,
629, 690, 762, 763, 786, 818,
918, 929, 991, 1011, 1067, 1089,
1121, 1215, 1231, 1245, 1385,
1431, 1484, 1505, 1506
nuthatch, 958
Browning, Ralph, on Bahama black-
faced grassquit, 156
Brown’s song sparrow, 1663
Bruce, Mary Emily, on eastern gold-
finch, 450
Bruner, Lawrence, on dickcissel, 179
brunnescens, Passerculus sandwichensis,
711
Brush sparrow, 1137
Bryant, Harold C., on Abert’s towhee,
637
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1212
on dickcissel, 165
on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1812
Bryant Harold C.—Continued
on Marin song sparrow, 1546
on Modoc song sparrow, 1532
Bryant, Walter E., on Bangs’ and
Cerralvo black-throated spar-
rows, 1002
on Guadalupe house finch, 320, 321
on Guadalupe junco, 1094, 1095,
1096, 1097, 1098
bryanti, Passerculus sandwichensis, 716
Bryens, Oscar M., on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1462
Bubo virginianus, 1066
Buckalew, John H., on eastern Savan-
nah sparrow, 680
Buckley, Paul A., on clay-colored spar-
row, 1205
Buffalo-bird, 638
Bull, John L., on common Lapland
longspur, 1605
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1287
bullatus, Pipilo fuscus, 603
Bullfinch, 25, 215, 256, 257, 258, 259,
260, 261, 262
British, 259, 260
cardinal, 25
Cassin’s, 256
European, 259, 260, 261
Japanese, 259, 260, 261, 262
Bullis, Harvey R., Jr., on indigo bunt-
ing, 101
Bunting, 652
Baird’s, 746, 759
bay-winged, 868
black-throated (see dickcissel), 158,
185, 1567
corn, 1278
eastern indigo, 111
eastern painted, 137
eastern rustic, 1681
indigo, 50, 72, 73, 80, 114, 126, 127,
147, 153, 875, 966, 973, 1218
lark, 638
lazuli, 93, 98, 106, 107, 108, 111,
135, 940, 952
Le Conte’s, 772
McCown’s, 1567
McKay’s, 1675, 1677
painted, 50, 94, 108, 135, 137
Pribilof snow, 349, 1675
rufous-winged lark, 1567
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Bunting—Continued
snow, 1596, 1599, 1603, 1604, 1605,
1652
Townsend’s, 176
varied, 132
western painted, 154
white-winged, 638, 655
Buntling, clay-coloured, 1188
Burgess, Thornton W., on eastern even-
ing grosbeak, 224
Burleigh, Thomas D., on Atlantic song
sparrow, 1512
on Bachman’s sparrow, 968
on Bendire’s crossbill, 517
on California purple finch, 278
on Carolina slate-colored junco,
1048
on Cassin’s finch, 281
on dickcissel, 159
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows 1167, 1170, 1176, 1181
on eastern field sparrow, 1217
on eastern fox sparrow, 1408, 1411
on eastern goldfinch, 450
on eastern painted bunting, 138, 141
on eastern song sparrow, 1493
on indigo bunting, 80, 81, 86, 94,
100, 103
on lazuli bunting, 114, 128
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 773
on Mississippi song sparrow, 1521
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1300
on Oregon junco, 1055, 1056
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
919
on southern swamp sparrow, 1485
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 787
Burleigh, T. D., and Lowery, G.H., Jr.,
on Guadalupe black-throated
sparrow, 992
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 24
on Texas towhee, 591
on Worthen’s sparrow, 1236
Burleigh, Thomas D., and Peters,
Harold Seymour, on Newfound-
land purple finch, 263
Burns, Franklin Lorenzo, on eastern
goldfinch, 457
on lazuli bunting, 120
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 40
on rufous-sided towhee, 568, 585
on white-throated sparrow, 1372
INDEX
1813
Burroughs, John, on eastern goldfinch, | Calearius—Continued
448, 463
on McKay’s bunting, 1679
Bush, Clarence H., on eastern goldfinch,
450
Bushman, J. B., on western vesper spar-
row, 883
Bush-tit, 425, 477, 1063, 1237
Butcher bird, 231
buteo, Buteo, 197
Buteo albicaudatus, 848
buteo, 197
swainsoni, 1594
Butler, Amos W., on dicksissel, 178, 181
on eastern evening grosbeck, 207,
227, 229, 234
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 680
on indigo bunting, 92
on rufous-sided towhee, 563, 575
buvryi, Cocecothraustes coccothraustes,
199
Buzzard, 197, 654
Byrd, EK. E., and Denton, J. E., on
white-throated sparrow, 1386
Cc
Cabanis, J., on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1241
cabaret, Acanthis flammea, 411
Cabot, Samuel, Jr., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1480
Cactus wren, 1000
Cadbury, John W., on white-winged
crossbill, 538
Cade, Tom J., on common redpoll, 414
Cade, T. J., and Shaller, G. B., on hoary
redpoll, 401, 402
caerulea, Guiraca, 67, 75, 103
Guiraca caerulea, 67, 79
Cahn, A. R., on Aleutian Savannah
sparrow, 705
(in Gabrielson and Lincoln), on
Pribilof snow bunting, 1676
Cairns’ warbler, 958
Calamospiza melanocorys, 638
Calcarius, 1568
bicolor, 1590
lapponicus, 757
lapponicus alascensis, 1608
lapponicus coloratus, 1609, 1610
lapponicus lapponicus, 1568, 1595,
1597, 1609, 1610
lapponicus subcalcaratus, 1610
ornatus, 757, 1568, 1635
pictus, 1628, 1668
calendula, Regulus, 1063
California black-chinned sparrow, 1246
blue grosbeak (see blue grosbeak),
79
brown towhee, 615, 629, 917
evening grosbeak, 285
house-finch, 72
pine grosbeak, 344
purple finch, 278, 280, 285, 286, 287
rufous-crowned sparrow, 931
sage sparrow, 1013, 1016
woodpecker, 294
yellow warbler, 127
californica, Hesperiphona vespertina,
238
Pinicola enucleator, 342, 344
californicus, Carpodacus purpureus, 278
Geococcyx, 637
Callin, Manley, on Baird’s sparrow,
748, 753
Calypte anna, 1065
Cameron, E. S., on arctic towhee, 582
on lark bunting, 640, 643, 644, 652,
653
on lark sparrow, 892, 893
on McCown’s longspur, 1566, 1572,
1573, 1590
Camp, R. D., on varied bunting, 136
Campbell, L. W., on eastern vesper
sparrow, 869
Camras, Sidney, on Chihuahua Savan-
nah sparrow, 711
cana, Spizella atrogularis, 1246, 1248
Canada flycatcher, 147
warbler, 147, 217
canadensis, Pinicola enucleator, 340, 344
Wilsonia, 147
Canadian chipping sparrow, 1166
evening grosbeak, 225
pine grosbeak, 326, 336, 338
Canary, 147, 261, 442, 443, 14384
canaster, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 562,
563, 564, 580
canescens, Aimophila ruficeps, 943
Amphispiza belli, 1011, 1013, 1018,
1020
Passerella iliaca, 1393, 1424
canicaudus, Richmondena cardinalis, 18
caniceps, Junco, 1060, 1069, 1072, 1076,
1098, 1129
1814
caniceps, Junco—Continued
Junco caniceps, 1098
Junco cinereus “‘variety,’’ 1099
Junco oreganus, 1099
Struthus, 1099
eanora, Tiaris, 156
canorus, Cuculus, 198
Canyon brown towhee, 622
towhee, 622, 623, 626, 627, 629
Cape Colnett towhee, 601
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
carolinensis,
Carpenter,
PART 3
Junco hyemalis, 1039,
1043
carpalis, Aimophila, 980
Aimophila carpalis, 902
N. K., on ashy rufous-
crowned sparrow, 947
on eastern song sparrow, 1507
on green-tailed towhee, 559
on song sparrow: Pacific Insular-
subsp., 1558
Sable seaside sparrow, 859, 862, 866 | Carpodacus, 280, 296
Sable sparrow, 859
capensis, Zonotrichia, 1375
Caprimulgus ridgwayi, 902
Cardiff, Eugene, on San Diego towhee,
599
Cardinal, 10, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31,
34, 146, 227, 629, 650, 875, 959,
1263, 1502
Arizona, 19
bullfinech, 25
eastern, 1, 16, 21
Florida, 16
gray, 25
gray-tailed, 18, 23
Louisiana, 17
redbird, 1
San Lucas, 21
Santa Gertrudis, 20
Texas, 22
cardinalis, Cardinalis, 18
Cardinalis cardinalis, 17, 19
Richmondena cardinalis, 1
Cardinalis cardinalis, 18
cardinalis cardinalis, 17, 19
cardinalis floridanus, 17, 20
cardinalis igneus, 19, 21
sinuatus, 22
sinusatus, 22
carduelis, Carduelis, 384
Carduelis carduelis, 384
carduelis brittanica, 384, 386
carduelis parva, 384
flammea, 191
Carleton, G., on common Lapland long-
spur, 1605
carlottae, Pinicola enucleator, 342
Carmen black-throated sparrow, 1004
carmenae, Amphispiza bilineata, 1004
carolae, Pipilo fuscus, 603
Carolina dove, 19
slate-colored junco, 1043
wren, 1, 959
amplus, 316, 318, 319
cassinii, 280, 304, 346
frontalis rhodocolpus, 320
megregori, 316, 318
mexicanus, 291
mexicanus clementis, 291, 292, 316
mexicanus frontalis, 290, 316, 317,
318
mexicanus grinnelli, 292
mexicanus mexicanus, 319, 321
mexicanus obscurus, 292
mexicanus potosinus, 314
mexicanus rhodocolpus, 314, 315
mexicanus ruberrimus, 316
mexicanus smithi, 292
mexicanus solitudinis, 292
purpureus, 263, 304, 537
prupureus californicus, 278
purpureus nesophilus, 263
purpureus purpureus, 264, 275
Carriger, H. W., on Nuttall’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1300
Carriger, Henry Ward, and Pemberton,
John Joy, on pine siskin, 430, 432
Carriker, Melbourne Armstrong, Jr.,
on dickcissels, 187, 188
on McCown’s longspur, 1568, 1578
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 48
Carter, Dennis, on white-winged junco,
1024
Carter, F., on lazuli bunting, 115, 126
Cartwright, Bertram W., Shortt, Ter-
ence M., and Harris, Robert D.,
on Baird’s sparrow, 746, 748,
750, 752, 753, 754, 755, 756, 758,
761, 763
Cary, Merritt, on lark bunting, 642, 644
on lazuli bunting, 113
Cassel, J. F., on gray-headed junco,
1101
Cassiar slate-colored junco, 1049, 1121,
1124
INDEX
Cassidix mexicanus, 858
Cassin, John, on Brewer’s sparrow,
1208
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 931, 938
cassinii, Aimophila, 916, 981
Carpodacus, 280, 304, 346
Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 256
Cassin’s bullfinch, 256
finch, 255, 280, 311
kingbird, 977
purple finch, 1115
sparrow, 977, 981
Castenholz, R. W.,
sparrow, 1205
Castle, G. B., on Oregon junco, 1066
Catbird, 10, 13, 146, 230, 417, 1407
Catesby, Mark, on rufous-sided towhee,
562, 563
caudacuta, Ammospiza caudacuta, 791,
792, 793, 795, 813, 816, 817, 818
caudacutus, Passerherbulus, 740, 765
Caudell, A. N., on dickcissel, 176
caurina, Melospiza melodia, 1533, 1540
Spizella atrogularis, 1247
Cedar waxwing, 225, 229, 246, 424, 1115
cedrorum, Bombycilla, 246
Centrocercus urophasianus, 646
Centronyx, 746, 756
ochrocephalus, 746
Centrophanes (Rhynchopanes) maccow-
ni, 1565, 1566
Cerralvo black-throated sparrow, 1001
Chadbourne, A. P., on western field
sparrow, 1235
Chaetura pelagica, 957
Chaffinch, 192, 193, 194, 196
Chamberlain, B. R., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 222, 226
Chamberlain, Montague, on dickcissel,
180
on Ipswich sparrow, 659
Chamberlin, W. J., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1352
Chambers, W. Lee, on green-backed
goldfinch, 480
on San Diego song sparrow, 1555
Chapman, Floyd B., on eastern gold-
finch, 459
Chapman, Frank M., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 791
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1211
on eastern cardinal, 10
on clay-colored
1815
Chapman, Frank M.—Continued
on eastern painted bunting, 145
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 687,
689
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 802
on gray-tailed cardinal, 18
on green-tailed towhee, 554
on indigo bunting, 86, 89, 90, 94, 96
on lark bunting, 645
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 770
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 254
on olive sparrow, 546
on rufous-sided towhee, 564, 567,
572
on rufous-winged sparrow, 908
Chapman, Herman, on McCown’s long-
spur, 1566
Chat, 651
long-tailed, 651
yellow-breasted, 547, 638
Chestnut-collared longspur, 641, 752,
757, 762, 1568, 1569, 1591, 1592,
1635
Chestnut-sided warbler, 1631
Chickadee, 44, 447, 1063
black-capped, 1026, 1283
mountain, 1076
plumbeous, 1262
Chicken, 588, 646
greater prairie, 780
prairie, 772
Chihuahua Savannah sparrow, 711
Childs, Henry E., Jr., on Anthony’s
brown towhee, 616
on Argus brown towhee, 604
on California brown towhee, 615
on Oregon brown towhee, 603
on Sacramento brown towhee, 603
on San Francisco brown towhee, 605
Chimney swift, 381, 957
Chipping sparrow, 93, 99, 115, 547, 738,
785, 917, 918, 979, 1000, 1021,
1026, 1039, 1063, 1076, 1113,
1117, 1120, 1182, 1137, 1155,
1187, 1197, 1200, 1203, 1205,
1209, 1215, 1217, 1230, 1231,
1233,'.1237; 1312, 4387, 1455,
1460, 1481
chloris, Chloris, 195
Chloris chloris, 195
chlorura, Chlorura, 547, 1063
Fringilla, 547
1816
Chlorura chlorura, 647, 1063
maculatus, 557
Chondestes, 127
grammacus, 886
grammacus grammacus, 886
grammacus strigatus, 76, 886
Christy, Bayard H., on eastern cardinal,
9
on eastern evening grosbeak, 209
chrysoloema, Eremophila, 1595
Churchill, George, on European gold-
finch, 387
Churchill Savannah sparrow, 696
cineracea, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 258
cinerea, Amphispiza belli, 1020
Melospiza melodia, 1536
cinereus, Junco, 1099
Circus cyaneus, 740, 829, 1196
hudsonius, 1594
ciris, Passerina, 108, 120
Passerina ciris, 137
cismontanus, Juneco hyemalis, 1039,
1049, 1121
Clabaugh, Ernest Dwight, on Cassin’s
finch, 287
on green-backed goldfinch, 481
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1323
on Oregon junco, 1062
on Puget Sound white-crowned
sparrow, 1345
Clapper rail, 799, 831
Clark, H. W., on golden-crowned spar-
row, 1359
on green-backed goldfinch, 475
on green-tailed towhee, 551
Clark, J. H., on lark bunting, 647
Clark, Oscar F., on rufous-winged spar-
row, 910
Clarke, C. H. D., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 232
Clark’s nutcracker, 370
Clay, C. I., on rufous-winged sparrow,
916
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1539
Clay, Marcia B., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 228
Clay-colored sparrow, 195, 759, 1030,
1186, 1215, 1218, 1230, 1265,
1569
Clay-coloured buntling, 1188
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
Clement,
PART 3
Roland, C., on Acadian
sharp-tailed sparrow, 790
on common redpoll, 407
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1273
on Labrador Savannah sparrow, 675
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 14388, 1453
clementeae, Amphispiza belli, 1019
Melospiza melodia, 941, 1557
Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 600
clementis, Carpodacus mexicanus, 291,
292, 316
cleonensis, Melospiza melodia,
1544, 1545, 1546
Cleveland, Lillian, on indigo bunting, 86
Cleveland, Nehemiah, on European
goldfinch, 384
Cliff swallow, 294, 295, 371, 383
Coale, H. K., on Abert’s towhee, 632, 637
on lark bunting, 649
on McCown’s longspur, 1571, 1596
Coastal plain swamp sparrow, 1490
Savannah sparrow, 712
Coatney, G. Robert, and West, Evaline,
on clay-colored sparrow, 1204
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1461
coccothraustes, Coccothraustes, 199, 204
Coccothraustes coccothraustes, 200
Coccothraustes coccothraustes, 199, 204
coccothraustes buvryi, 199
coccothraustes coccothraustes, 200
coccothraustes humii, 199
coccothraustes japonicus, 199
coccothraustes nigricans, 199
Cockrum, E. L., on clay-colored spar-
row, 1200
on dickcissel, 176
coelebs, Fringilla, 192
coerulescens, Aphelocoma coerulescens,
564
Coffey, Ben B., Jr., on Smith’s longspur,
1632
Cogswell, H. L., on ashy rufous-crowned
sparrow, 943, 944, 945
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 931
on golden-crowned sparrow, 13860
on Laguna rufous-crowned sparrow,
955
on Santa Cruz rufous-crowned
sparrow, 940
on Todos Santos rufous-crowned
sparrow, 954
1505,
INDEX
Collared towhee, 548
Colorado brown towhee, 630
coloratus, Calcarius lapponicus, 1609,
1610
Coluber flagellum, 999
columbarius, Falco, 192, 197
columbiana, Nucifraga, 370
Comby, Julius H., on green-backed
goldfinch, 482
Common crossbill, 497, 541
Lapland longspur, 1568, 1595, 1597,
1609, 1614, 1615, 1616, 1622,
1628, 1630, 1631, 1632, 1656,
1668, 1670, 1671
redpoll, 400, 401, 405, 406, 407,
423
“Common snowbird,”’ 1029
Commons, Marie A., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1481, 1483
confinis, Pooecetes gramineus, 882, 884,
885
Congdon, R. T., on pine siskin, 426, 430
Congreve, William M., on brambling,
194
Congreve, William Maitland, and Blair,
Hugh Moray Sutherland, on
brambling, 191
consobrinus, Pipilo erythrophthalmus,
601
Cook, H. J., on lark buntings, 653
Cook, Mrs. Horace B., on eastern
cardinal, 13
Cooke, May T., on eastern song sparrow,
1505
on rufous-sided towhee, 577
Cooke, W. W., on Alaska longspur, 1627
on Colorado brown towhee, 631
on dickcissel, 185
on eastern purple finch, 265
(in Bailey), on gray-headed junco,
1102
on gray-headed junco, 1109
on green-tailed towhee, 549
on Harris’ sparrow, 1250, 1251
on indigo buntings, 100, 101
on lark bunting, 640, 654
on McCown’s longspur, 1595
on mountain song sparrow, 1525
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 709
on northern sage sparrow, 1005
on Texas towhee, 591
on tree sparrow, 1139
646—-737—68—pt. 3———37
1817
Cooley, R. A., and Kohls, G. M., on
white-throated sparrow, 1386
Cooper, James G., on desert black-
throated sparrow, 996
on lazuli bunting, 118, 119
on Santa Cruz rufous-crowned
sparrow, 940, 942
Cooper, William A.,
purple finch, 279
on eastern evening grosbeak, 206,
230
cooperi, Melospiza melodia, 1505, 16665,
1558, 1563
Cooper’s hawk, 47, 231, 255, 484, 495,
576, 1231, 1362, 1650
Copeland, E., on eastern cardinal, 4
Coppery-tailed trogon, 251
Corn bunting, 1278
cornix, Corvus, 198
Coronados song sparrow, 1557
coronata, Zonotrichia, 1315, 1357
coronatorum, Melospiza melodia, 1557
Corrington, J. D., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1483
Cortopassi, A. J., and Mewaldt, R. L.,
on eastern white-crowned spar-
row, 1275, 1276, 1286
Corvus brachyrhynchos, 829
cornix, 198
ossifragus, 829
Cottam, Clarence, on eastern and
Canadian chipping sparrows
1180
on Harris’ sparrow, 1261
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1308
Cottam, Clarence, and Knappen,
Phoebe, on Botteri’s sparrow,
978
on large-billed Savannah sparrow,
723
Coturniculus, 746, 756
Couch, D.N., on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1241
Coues, Elliott, on Abert’s towhee, 632,
635, 636, 637
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1241
on Baird’s sparrow, 746, 747, 760
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1648
on clay-colored sparrow, 1190
on dickcissel, 180
on eastern evening grosbeak, 207
on California
1818
Coues, Elliott—Continued
on lark bunting, 638, 648, 649
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 765
on McCown’s longspur, 1565, 1567,
1568
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
crissalis, Pipilo fuscus, 605, 615, 620,
634
Crooks, M. P., on eastern field sparrow,
1218, 1222, 1224, 1226, 1227,
1229, 1231, 1232
on mountain white-crowned spar-| Crossbill, 25, 255, 286, 355, 424, 428,
row, 1341
on rufous-winged sparrow, 911
on Smith’s longspur, 1630
Court, E. J., on Cape Sable sparrow,
861, 862
Cowan, Ian M., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1209, 1214
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1355,
1362
on house finch, 290
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1460
on Oregon junco, 1067
Cowbird, 13, 47, 73, 89, 99, 108, 129,
136, 168, 231, 274, 311, 324,
395, 426, 451, 464, 576, 577, 582,
637, 653, 689, 741, 763, 772, 786,
809, 829, 877, 878, 898, 929, 967,
999, 1027, 1038, 1067, 1089, 1121,
1160, 1166, 1178, 1194, 1203,
1204, 1223, 1227, 1231, 1232,
1245, 1285, 1460, 1518, 1519,
1520, 1550, 1650, 1651
bronzed, 19
brown-headed, 88, 443, 559, 629,
690, 762, 763, 786, 818, 918, 929,
991, “0L1;°1067;1089, 1121,
1215, 1231, 1245, 1385, 1431,
1484, 1505, 1506
Nevada, 577
Cox, D. G., on eastern evening gros-
beak, 230
Crandall, R. H., on rufous-winged
sparrow, 906, 907
Crawford, F. G., on Gambel’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1334, 1335
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1323
Creeper, 255
brown, 1123
Criddle, Norman, on Baird’s sparrow,
758
on dickcissel, 164
on western vesper sparrow, 883
Criddle, Stuart, on Baird’s sparrow,
750, 758, 762
on clay-colored sparrow, 1200, 1203
Crissal thrasher, 629
497, 499, 501, 508, 509, 513, 516,
517
American, 503
Bendire’s, 613
Bent’s 620
common, 497, 541
Grinnell’s, 624
Mexican, 625
Newfoundland, 498
red, 440, 441, 499, 600, 521, 531,
534, 537, 538, 540
red-winged, 1115
Sierra, 285
Sitka, 618
white-winged, 407, 440, 499, 527,
1115, 1452
Crouch, James
towhee, 598
Crow, 192, 689, 729, 1160, 1231, 1459,
1594
fish, 829
hooded, 198
Cruickshank, Allan D., on Acadian
sharp-tailed sparrow, 789
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
796
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1287
on European goldfinch, 386, 388,
396
on grasshopper sparrow, 728
on Ipswich sparrow, 673
on MecCown’s longspur, 1571
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
817
on northern seaside sparrow, 820,
822, 829
on southern swamp sparrow, 1485,
1486
Cuban or melodious grassquit, 156
Cuckoo, 198
yellow-billed, 545
Cuculus canorus, 198
Culbertson, A. E., on Lawrence’s gold-
finch, 394
Curlew, long-billed, 977
currucoides, Sialia, 370
E., on San Diego
INDEX
Currie, Rolla P., on McCown’s long-
spur, 1568, 1578, 1580
Curry, Ruby, on Bendire’s crossbill, 515
curtatus, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 592
Curve-billed thrasher, 23, 629, 977
curvirostra, Loxia, 498
Loxia curvirostra, 497
Cuthbert, Nicholas L., on eastern vesper
sparrow, 876
cyanea, Passerina, 80, 120, 143, 147,
966
eyaneus, Circus, 740, 829, 1196
cyanocephala, Euphagus, 76
D
Daggett, Frank S., on Nuttall’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1316
Dakota song sparrow, 1523
Dale, E. M.S., on dickcissel, 164
on white winged crossbill, 539
Dales, Marie, and Bennett, W. W., on
pine siskin, 430, 434
William H., on Aleutian rosy
finch, 350
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 256, 257
(in Gabrielson and Lincoln), on
Pribilof snow bunting, 1675
Dall, William H., and Bannister, Henry
M.., on Cassin’s bullfinch, 256
Danforth, Charles G., on Nuttall’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1307
Danforth, Stuart T., on Bahama black-
faced grassquit, 157
Daubenmire, R. F., on western vesper
sparrow, 882
Davenport, A. B., on grasshopper spar-
row, 737
Davie, Oliver, on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1241
on Baird’s sparrow, 754
on desert black-throated sparrow,
996
on Guadalupe black-throated spar-
row, 992
on indigo bunting, 86
on lazuli bunting, 119, 131
on Nuttall’s white-crowned sparrow,
1301, 1302
Davis, B. S., on Abert’s towhee, 637
Davis, Clifford V., on Baird’s sparrow,
749
on western evening grosbeak, 242
Dall,
1819
Davis, E. R., on pine siskins, 425, 426,
427, 441
Davis, Frederick W., on rufous-sided
towhee, 565, 567, 570, 571, 572,
577
Davis, John, on Abert’s towhee, 632,
634, 635
on Anthony’s brown towhee, 616,
619
on Argus brown towhee, 604, 505
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1018
on canyon brown towhee, 626
on Colorado brown towhee, 630
on Harquahala brown towhee, 630
on Lagunarufous-crowned sparrow,
955, 956
on Oregon brown towhee, 603
on San Diego towhee, 599
on San Francisco brown towhee,
606, 609
on San Lucas brown towhee, 620
on San Pablo brown towhee, 619
on Texas brown towhee, 631
Davis, John M., on western evening
grosbeak, 240
Davis, L. Irby, on Botteri’s sparrow,
979, 980
on clay-colored sparrow, 1205
on olive sparrow, 546
on Sharpe’s seedeater, 322, 324,
325, 326
Davis, L. Irby, and Gill, C. T., on Bot-
teri’s sparrow, 977
Davis, William B., on Sacremento tow-
hee, 595
on Texas towhee, 591
on western vesper sparrow, 883
Dawson, W. L., on Arizona black-
chinned sparrow, 1242, 1244, 1245
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
949, 952, 953
on Belding’s Savannah sparrow,
715,2.716
on black-headed grosbeak, 60
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1214
on California purple finch, 278, 279
on California rufus-crowned spar-
row, 935, 938
on desert black-throated sparrow,
996
on dwarf Savannah sparrow, 699
on eastern song sparrow, 1500, 1504
on fox sparrow, 1430
1820
Dawson, W. L.—Continued
on green-backed goldfinch, 477
on green-tailed towhee, 547, 557
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 352
on indigo bunting, 94
on large-billed Savannah sparrow,
723
on lark bunting, 655
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 489
on lazuli bunting, 118, 120, 126
on Marin song sparrow, 1547
on Modoc song sparrow, 1532
on montane Lincoln’s sparrow,
1468, 1469, 1470
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1342
on northern sage sparrow, 1008
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1301, 1302, 1308
on Oregon towhee, 594
on Rocky Mountain pine grosbeak,
343
on rufous-winged sparrow, 916, 917
on San Diego song sparrow, 1556
on Santa Cruz rufous-crowned
sparrow, 942
on Sierra Nevada rosy finch, 363,
364
Dawson, W. L., and Bowles, J. H., on
Bendire’s crossbill, 514
on Merrill’s song sparrow, 1530,
1531
Dawson, W. R., on Abert’s towhee, 632,
633, 637
on western evening grosbeak, 238
on willow goldfinch, 470
Dawson, W. R., and Evans, F. C., on
eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1173, 1174
dawsoni, Leucosticte tephrocotis, 362,
1063
Dean, H. R., on eastern evening gros-
beak, 228
Dean, R. H., on pine siskin, 442
Dearborn, Ned, on indigo bunting, 91,
103
Dearing, H. and Dearing, M., on indigo
bunting, 81, 87
De Groot, Dudley S., on Cassin’s finch,
287
on Oregon junco, 1055, 1056, 1057
on western evening grosbeak, 241
Deignan, H. G., on Baird’s junco, 1133
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 8
Delafield, Major, on eastern evening
grosbeak, 206, 207
Dementiev et al., on eastern rustic
bunting, 1681, 1683, 1684
Dendroica, 1099
auduboni, 1088
kirtlandii, 871
Dennis, John V., on common redpoll, -
415, 416
Denton, J. E., and Byrd, E. E., on
white-throated sparrow, 1386
DesBrisay, Rev. W. A., on Ipswich
sparrow, 658
de Schauensee, R. Meyer, on indigo
bunting, 103
Desert black-throated sparrow, 993
horned lark, 641, 646, 1584
song sparrow, 1562
deserticola, Amphispiza bilineata, 992,
998, 1001, 1002
Devitt, Otto E., on dickcissel, 164
DeWolfe, Barbara B., on Gambel’s
white-crowned sparrow, 1324
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1338
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1292
on Puget Sound white-crowned
sparrow, 1344
DeWolfe, Barbara B., and DeWolfe,
Robert H., on mountain white-
crowned sparrow, 1339
Dexter, R. W., on eastern song sparrow,
1493
Dice, Lee R., on common redpoll, 411,
413
on lazuli bunting, 114
on Modoc song sparrow, 1532
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1299
on Oregon junco, 1053
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1415, 1416
Dickcissel, 158, 185, 638, 641, 780
Dickerman, R. W., on desert song
sparrow, 1562
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1283
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 769
on rufous-winged sparrow, 910
on song sparrow, 1492
on Tucson song sparrow, 1559
Dickey, Donald R., on San Francisco
brown towhee, 610
INDEX
Dickey, Donald R., and van Rossem,
A. J., on dickcissel, 162
on eastern blue grosbeak, 73
on indigo bunting, 104
on Mexican crossbill, 526
on Santa Cruz _ rufous-crowned
sparrow, 940
dickeyae, Passerina versicolor, 132, 136
Dickinson, Joshua C., Jr., on rufous-
sided towhee, 562, 563, 570
Dickinson, Mrs. W. W., 10
difficilis, Empidonax, 1105
Dilger, William, on common redpoll,
409, 416
Dille, F. M., on Abert’s towhee, 632
on lark bunting, 649
on pine siskin, 430
Dilley, W. E., on gray-headed junco,
1124
diversa, Ammospiza caudacuta,
808, 812
Dixon, James B., on Alaska longspur,
1609
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1242
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1017
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1179
(9%,
on northern sage sparrow, 1007,
1008, 1010
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1086,
1087
on Sierra Nevada rosy finch, 363,
364, 365
on snow bunting, 1659
on western evening grosbeak, 240,
241
Dixon, James B., and Dixon, Ralph E.,
on Cassin’s finch, 287
on Oregon junco, 1066
Dixon, J. S., on Hepburn’s rosy finch,
352
on Kodiak pine grosbeak, 341
on lazuli bunting, 112
Dixon, Joseph, on grasshopper sparrow,
730
1821
Dove, 493, 669
Carolina, 19
ground, 146
mourning, 146, 171
Dovitt, O. E., on eastern cardinal, 2
Downer, Audrey, on indigo bunting, 106
Downs, Elizabeth Holt, on eastern
evening grosbeak, 210, 215, 217,
218, 219, 224, 232, 233
Downy woodpecker, 1066
Dresser, Henry E., on brambling, 193
on McCown’s longspur, 1571
Drew, Frank M., on brown-capped rosy
finch, 381
on lazuli bunting, 113
on lesser goldfinch, 471, 472
Driscoll, Dorothy, on eastern evening
grosbeak, 233
Drum, Margaret, on eastern goldfinch,
451, 452
Drummond, Thomas, on clay-colored
sparrow, 1187
Drury, W. H., on Alaska longspur, 1612,
1613, 1624
common Lapland longspur,
1598, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604
DuBois, A. Dawes, on Baird’s sparrow,
753
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1639,
1640, 1642, 1644, 1645, 1647
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1176
on eastern cardinal, 4
on indigo bunting, 87, 89
on lark bunting, 641
on McCown’s longspur, 1572, 1573,
on
1576, 1577, 1578, 1579, 1580,
1581, 1582, 1583, 1585, 1586,
1587, 1588, 1589, 1591, 1592,
1593, 1594
on Oregon junco, 1057
on pine siskin, 438
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 38
on snow bunting, 1672
Dixon, Keith L., on Texas towhee, 560| Duck, 1297
Donath, Rudolph, on eastern cardinal, 13
on house finch, 312
Doolittle, E. A., on dickcissel, 181
dorsalis, Junco caniceps, 1098, 1227,
1130
Junco phaeonotus, 1099
black, 799
hawk, 405
pintail, 790
Duffey, E., and Creasey, N., on Cali-
fornia rufous-crowned sparrow,
935
1822 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Dumas, P., on lazuli bunting, 114
on Oregon junco, 1051
on western vesper sparrow, 882
dumeticolus, Pipilo aberti, 632, 633,
634, 635, 637
DuMont, Philip A., on eastern cardinal,
1
Dusky seaside sparrow, 835, 849, 864
Dutcher, William, on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 691
on snow bunting, 1671
on Ipswich sparrow, 667
Dwarf Savannah sparrow, 698
Dwight, Jonathan, Jr., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 789, 790, 791,
792, 793
on Alaska longspur, 1619, 1620
on Baird’s sparrow, 757
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 328, 329
on common redpoll, 4138, 414
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1174, 1175
on eastern blue grosbeak, 69, 70
on eastern cardinal, 7
on eastern evening grosbeak, 218,
219, 221
on eastern field sparrow, 1227, 1228
on eastern fox sparrow, 1404
on eastern goldfinch, 458
on eastern painted bunting, 142
on eastern purple finch, 268, 269
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 683,
687, 689
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 803
on eastern song sparrow, 1497, 1498,
1499
on eastern vesper sparrow, 875
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1281
on grasshopper sparrow, 733, 734
on gray-headed junco, 1099
on Hanson Laguna Oregon junco,
1090
on indigo bunting, 89, 90, 91
on Ispwich sparrow, 658, 660, 662,
663, 664, 665, 666, 668, 670, 671,
672
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1450
on northern seaside sparrow, 825
on northern slate-colored junco,
1034
on pine siskin, 437
Dwight, Jonathan, Jr.—Continued
on red crossbill, 507
on Rocky Mountain black-headed
grosbeak, 55
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 42, 43
on rufous-sided towhee, 568, 569
on southern swamp sparrow, 1480,
1481
on tree sparrow, 1151, 1152
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 783
on white-throated sparrow, 1373
on white-winged crossbill, 532
Dwight, Jonathan, and Griscom, Lud-
low, on eastern blue grosbeak, 67
on western blue grosbeak, 75
Dyer, E. I., on San Francisco brown
towhee, 611
Dyer, William, on Lincoln’s sparrow
1449
E
Easterla, David A., on grasshopper
sparrow, 742
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 771
Eastern American goldfinch, 447
Asiatic grosbeak, 203
blue grosbeak (see blue grosbeak),
67
cardinal, 1, 16, 21
chipping sparrow, 1166
evening grosbeak, 206
field sparrow, 1217
fox sparrow, 1395
goldfinch, 447, 467, 470, 1680
grasshopper sparrow, 742
gulf coast seaside sparrow, 838
Henslow’s sparrow, 776
indigo bunting, 111
meadowlark, 977, 1237, 1283
painted bunting, 137
phoebe, 557
purple finch, 264, 278, 279, 286, 311
rose-breasted grosbeak, 58
rustic bunting, 1681
Savannah sparrow, 678
sharp-tailed sparrow, 795, 816
Siberian pine grosbeak, 337
song sparrow, 1492
towhee, 582
tree sparrow, 1162
vesper sparrow, 868
white-crowned sparrow, 1273
INDEX
Eaton, Elon Howard, on eastern eve-
ning grosbeak, 234
on eastern vesper sparrow, 871,
874, 877
on eastern goldfinch, 464
on eastern song sparrow, 1493,
1495, 1501, 1503, 1508
on European goldfinch, 385
on indigo bunting, 86
on northern slate-colored junco,
1037, 1039
on rufous-side towhee, 563, 575
on southern swamp sparrow, 1484
on tree sparrow, 1139
on white-throated sparrow, 1377
Eaton, Richard J., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 222
Eaton, S. W., on northern slate-colored
junco, 1029
Edward G., on white-throated sparrow,
1365
Edwards, Ernest P., and_ Lea,
Robert B., on indigo bunting,
103
Edwards, Howard Arden,
backed goldfinch, 485
on lazuli bunting, 129
Edwards, Mrs. Harlan H., on green-
backed goldfinch, 481
Edwards, K. F., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 233
Egan, Thomas J., on red crossbill, 503
on white-winged crossbill, 528
Eifrig, C. W. G., on eastern fox spar-
row, 1405
Eisenmann, Eugene, on common Lap-
land longspur, 1605
Eisher, Walter K., on Mendocino song
sparrow, 1545
Eliot, S. A., on green-tailed towhee, 560
Eliot, W. A., on lazuli bunting, 127, 128
Elliott, John Jackson, on European
goldfinch, 384
on Ipswich sparrow, 657, 660, 670
Ellison, L., on Oregon junco, 1061, 1063,
1064
Emberiza, 746
bairdii, 746
pallida, 1188
picta, 1628
rustica latifascia, 1681
shattuckii, 1188
on green-
1823
Emberizinae, 1008, 1278, 1282, 1502,
1569, 1683
Emberizine finches, 795
Embody, G. C., on green-tailed towhee,
560
Emerson, K. C., on white-winged junco,
1027
Emerson, W. O., on Point Pinos Oregon
junco, 1088, 1089
Emlen, John T., Jr., on Gambel’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1327
Empidonax difficilis, 1105
flaviventris, 745
England, M. A., on brambling, 194
English sparrow, 13, 163, 291, 294, 359,
461, 665, 668, 805, 1160, 1166,
1262, 1519
enucleator, Pinicola, 191, 369
Pinicola enucleator, 340
Eophona, 203
Epling, Carl, and Lewis, Harlan, on ashy
rufous-crowned sparrow, 943
eremoeca, Aimophila ruficeps, 919
Eremophila chrysoloema, 1595
eremophilus, Pipilo fuscus, 604, 607
Erickson, Mary Mariila, on lazuli bunt-
ing, 111
ericrypta, Melospiza georgiana, 1474,
1475, 1490
Erithacus rubecula, 1683
Errington, Paul L., on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 690
erythrophthalmus, Pipilo, 548, 557, 662,
581, 606, 635, 957
Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 562, 563,
568, 580, 585
eschatosus, Pinicola enucleator, 336
Esterly, C. O., on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 938
Euphagus cyanocephala, 76
euphonia, Melospiza melodia, 1496,
1497, 1503, 1504, 1505, 1508,
1518, 1523, 1526, 1530, 1542
European bullfinch, 259, 260, 261
goldfinch, 384
redstart, 1683
robin, 1683
Evans, F. C., on eastern vesper sparrow,
869, 872, 873, 874, 877
Evans, F. C., and Emlen, J. T., Jr., on
eastern Savannah sparrow, 687,
690
1824
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 8
Evans, F. C., and Emlen, J. T., Jr—Con.| Farner, D. S., on mountain white-
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1315
Evenden, Fred G., on house finch, 297,
299, 300, 301
on western evening grosbeak, 238
Evening grosbeak 206, 207, 208, 209,
210, 211, 213, 214, 215, 217, 222,
223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229,
230, 231, 232, 234, 237, 238, 239,
240, 241, 242, 245, 246, 247, 248,
249, 250, 251, 252, 254, 255, 427,
441, 443, 518, 541
Evermann, B. W., on Japanese hawfinch
199
evura, Spizella, 1241
Spizella atrogularis, 1241, 1247
Ewan, Joseph, on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1245
on Oregon junco, 1055
Ewing, H. E., on rufous-sided towhee,
576
exilipes, Acanthis hornemanni, 400, 409,
422
Eyster, Marshall B., on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1275
F
Fairfield, George M., on chestnut-
collared longspur, 1635
on McCown’s longspur, 1579
falcifer, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 696
falcinellus, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 595
Falco columbarius, 192, 197
columbarius richardsoni, 381
columbarius suckleyi, 1067
mexicanus, 1594
sparverius, 646
Falcon, 349, 654
peregrine, 1266, 1671
prairie, 355, 654, 977, 1594
fallax, Melospiza melodia, 1505, 1526,
1569, 1562, 1563
Fallis, A. M., on eastern evening gros-
beak, 233
Falls, J. Bruce, on white-throated spar-
row, 1364
Fargo, William G., on Bachman’s spar-
row, 960
Farley, Frank L., on common redpoll,
408
on Harris’ sparrow, 1254
on pine siskin, 427, 443
crowned sparrow, 1339
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1299
on pine siskin, 440
on rufous-winged sparrow, 907
Farner, D. S., and Buss, I. O. on
Nevada Savannah sparrow, 708 ©
Faxon, Walter, on eastern sharp-tailed
sparrow, 807
Fay, F. H., and Cade, T. J., on Alaska
longspur, 1609
Ferry, John F., on McCown’s longspur,
1578
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 709
on pine siskin, 438
on white-winged crossbill, 534
Fichter, Edson, on pink-sided Orgeon
junco, 1073, 1074
Field sparrow, 685, 870, 875, 968, 1137,
1180, 1189, 1197, 1200, 1215,
1217, 1236, 1238, 1239
Fieldfare, 192
Finch, 544, 557, 761, 1434
Aleutian rosy, 350
American, 1434
Bachman’s, 1452
black rosy, 365, 382
black-headed, 156
brown-capped, 360
brown-capped rosy, 371, 373
California purple, 278, 280, 285,
286, 287
Cassin’s, 255, 280, 311
Cassin’s purple, 1115
eastern purple, 264, 278, 279, 286,
311
grass (see sharp-tailed sparrow),
795, 868
gray-crowned, 356
gray-crowned rosy, 356, 3458, 371,
382, 1063
gray-headed rosy (see Hepburn’s
rosy finch), 352, 356
gray-headed snow, 1099
Guadalupe house, 319
Hepburn’s rosy, 352, 359, 360, 371,
382
Hollywood (see house finch), 291
house, 278, 280, 285, 286, 287,
290, 319, 320, 486, 607, 1237
Lincoln’s, 1435
McGregor’s house, 318
INDEX
Finch—Continued
Mexican house, 291, 321
Mourning, 1249, 1250
Newfoundland purple, 263
painted (see eastern painted bunt-
ing), 137
Pribilof rosy, 347
purple, 47, 72, 154, 217, 263, 264,
265, 267, 270, 271, 274, 275, 278,
280, 286, 287, 306, 310, 311, 333,
406, 424, 427, 443, 537, 540, 1452,
1453, 1470, 1504
rosy, 347, 348, 349, 350, 353, 354,
355, 356, 362, 363, 364, 366, 369,
370, 371, 376, 378, 379, 380, 383
San Clemente house, 316, 321
San Lucas house, 316
San Luis house, 314
seaside (see northern seaside spar-
row), 819, 826
Sierra Nevada rosy, 362
song, 1475
Tom’s 1434
Wallowa rosy, 362
Finkel, Edward, on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 327
Finley, W. I., on lazuli bunting, 120
Fischer, R. B., and Gill, G., on white-
throated sparrow, 1387
Fish crow, 829
Fisher, A. K., on European goldfinch,
385
on green-tailed towhee, 551, 558
Fisher, W. K., on lazuli bunting, 114
fisherella, Melospiza melodia, 1505,
1531
fisheri, Ammospiza maritima, 841, 842,
844, 848, 864
Fiske, E. H., on western evening gros-
beak, 240
Fisler, G. F., on eastern song sparrow,
1506
Fitch, Henry S., on indigo bunting, 82,
96
on Oregon junco, 1066
on San Francisco brown towhee,
614, 615
flagellum, Coluber, 999
flammea, Acanthis, 418
Acanthis flammea, 400, 405, 407
Carduelis, 191
flammula, Pinicola enucleator, 340
flaviventris, Empidonax, 745
1825
Fleisher, Edward, on dickcissel, 161
Fleming, J. H., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 212, 214
on eastern fox sparrow, 1399
Flicker, 12, 210, 320, 622
Florida cardinal, 16
grasshopper sparrow, 726, 727, 730,
737, 740, 742, 745
floridana, Richmondena cardinalis, 16
floridanus, Agelaius phoeniceus, 844
Ammodramus savannarum,
726, 735, 736, 746
Cardinalis cardinalis, 17, 20
Flycatcher, ash-throated, 977
Canada, 147
least, 99
olive-sided, 789
scissor-tailed, 890
Traill’s, 780, 1476
western, 1105
yellow-bellied, 745, 1400
Forbes, A. A., on dickcissel, 178, 179
Forbes, 8. A., on indigo bunting, 91
Forbush, Edward H., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 329, 332, 334
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1166, 1177, 1178, 1180
on eastern evening grosbeak, 207,
219, 226
on eastern fox sparrow, 1403
on eastern goldfinch, 459, 460
on eastern purple finch, 271, 275
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 679,
690
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 803
on eastern song sparrow, 1492, 1493,
1494, 1495, 1496, 1497, 1501,
1502, 1503, 1504, 1507
on eastern vesper sparrow, 870, 873,
874, 875
on grasshopper sparrow, 727
on indigo bunting, 86, 87, 92, 98
on Ipswich sparrow, 659, 669
on lark bunting, 646
on Lincoln’s sparrow 1459
on northern slate-colored junco,
1032, 1038
on pine siskin, 432, 435, 439, 441
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 39, 43
on rufous-sided towhee, 563, 571,
572, 574, 576
on snow bunting, 1666, 1668, 1669
725,
1826
Forbush, Edward H.—Continued
on southern swamp sparrow, 1475,
1479, 1481
on white-throated sparrow, 1374
on white-winged crossbill, 531
Forbush, Edward H., and May, J. B.,
on white-throated sparrow, 1369,
1371, 1372
Ford, Edward R., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 228
on Sharpe’s seedeater, 323
Fox, Elmer T. (in Belcher), on chestnut-
collared longspur, 1636
Fox, Glen A., on Baird’s sparrow, 762
on clay-colored sparrow, 1189, 1192,
1193, 1194, 1195, 1203
Fox sparrow, 332, 405, 416, 551, 558,
574, 1030, 1082, 1262, 1266, 1283,
1284, 1331, 1392, 1487, 1523
Franklin, John, on clay-colored spar-
row, 1187
Frazar, Marston Abbott, on San Lucas
brown towhee, 621
on San Lucas cardinal, 21
on San Lucas pyrrhuloxia, 36
Frazer, A. C., on tree sparrow, 1139
Freeland, Beatrice, on mountain white-
crowned sparrow, 1341
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1341
French, Norman R., on black rosy
finch, 365, 366, 370
on gray-headed junco, 1116
on Rocky Mountain pine gros-
beak, 343
Frey, John W., on gray-headed junco,
1115
Friedmann, Herbert, on Abert’s Towhee,
637
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1245
Arizona pyrrhuloxia, 35
Bachman’s sparrow, 967
Baird’s sparrow, 763
Brewer’s sparrow, 1215
canyon brown towhee, 629
Cassin’s bullfinch, 257
Cassin’s sparrow, 989
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1651
on clay-colored sparrow, 1203
on desert black-throated sparrow,
999
on
on
on
on
on
on
on
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Friedmann, Herbert—Continued
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1178
on eastern cardinal, 13, 35
on eastern goldfinch, 464
on eastern purple finch, 274
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 690
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 809 |
on eastern song sparrow, 1505, 1506
on eastern vesper sparrow, 877
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1285
on fox sparrow, 1430
on grasshopper sparrow, 741
on gray-headed junco, 1121
on green-tailed towhee, 559
on indigo bunting, 89
on lark bunting, 653
on lark sparrow, 898
on lazuli bunting, 129
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 772
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1460
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
818
on northern sage sparrow, 1011
on northern seaside sparrow, 829
on northern slate-colored junco,
1039
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1316
on olive sparrow, 545
on Oregon junco, 1067
on pine siskin, 443
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
on rufous-sided towhee, 576, 577
on southern swamp sparrow, 1484
on Texas black-throated sparrow,
991
on varied bunting, 136
on white-throated sparrow, 13885
Friedmann, Herbert, Griscom, Ludlow,
and Moore, Robert, T., on indigo
bunting, 103
on song sparrow, 1491
Fringilla albicollis, 13865
bachmani, 956
chlorura, 547
coelebs, 192
georgiana, 1475
harrisii, 1250
iliaca, 1895
Lincolnii, 1435
montifringilla, 191
INDEX
Fringilla—Continued
oregana, 1052
palustris, 1475
psaltria, 471
querula, 1249, 1250, 1263
Fringillidae, 1, 148, 757, 968, 987, 989,
1457, 1523, 1684
Frith, H. J., on rufous-winged sparrow,
907
frontalis, Carpodacus mexicanus, 290,
316, 317, 318
Frost, Herbert, H., on spurred towhee,
587
Fuertes, L. A., on red crossbill, 501
fuliginosa, Passerella iliaca, 1392, 1419
Fuller, A. B., and Bole, B. P., on Brewer’s
sparrow, 1211
on lazuli bunting, 129
Fuller, Mrs. Forrest, on Puget Sound
white-crowned sparrow, 1346,
1347
fulva, Passerella iliaca, 1393, 1424
fulvescens, Junco, 1133
Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, 23, 25
fuscus, Pipilo, 548, 606, 620, 621, 634,
635
G
Gabrielson, Ira N., on Alaska longspur,
1621
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 330
on eastern fox sparrow, 1410
on hoary redpoll, 404
on McKay’s bunting, 1677
on Oregon vesper sparrow, 885
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 40
on snow bunting, 1666
on western evening grosbeak, 246,
249
on western vesper sparrow, 883
Gabrielson, Ira Noel, and Jewett, Stan-
ley G., on Cassin’s finch, 281, 282,
288
on dwarf Savannah sparrow, 699
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1352
on green-tailed towhee, 555
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 356
on lazuli bunting, 113
on northern sage sparrow, 1005,
1006, 1008, 1010
on northwestern goldfinch, 468
on Oregon brown towhee, 603
on Oregon junco, 1062
1827
Gabrielson, Ira Noel, and Jewett, Stan-
ley, G.—Continued
on Oregon towhee, 593, 594
on Rocky Mountain pine grosbeak,
343
on rusty song sparrow, 1543, 1544
on Sacramento towhee, 596
on western chipping sparrow, 1184
on western Savannah sparrow, 703
Gabrielson, Ira N., and Lincoln, F. C.,
on Alaska longspur, 1616, 1619,
1620, 1623
on eastern rustic bunting, 1681
on fox sparrow, 1419
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1353,
1359, 1361
on montane Lincoln’s sparrow,
1468, 1470
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1302
on Pribilof snow bunting, 1675
on Smith’s longspur, 1628
on snow bunting, 1657, 1661, 1667,
1672
on song sparrow, 1491
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1533, 1534, 1535, 1536, 1537,
1538
on sooty song sparrow, 1540
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1415, 1416,
1417
gaigei, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 590
Pipilo maculatus, 560
Galati, Robert, on eastern and Canadian
chipping sparrows, 1171
Gale, D., on gray-headed junco, 1106,
1120
Gambel sparrow, 560, 1206, 1266
gambelii, Zonotrichia leucophrys, 560,
1292, 1293, 1294, 13800, 1304,
IBt2 esi’ 1315, 13211322,
1323, 1324, 1839, 1340, 1357
Gambel’s white-crowned sparrow, 1293,
1296, 1297, 1301, 1302, 1306,
1307, 1308, 1309, 1310, 1312,
1314, 1315, 1816, 1317, 1321,
1323, 1324, 1339, 1352, 1361,
1362
Gammell, Mrs. Robert, on Baird’s spar-
row, 747, 749, 751
Gammell, Robert, on McCown’s long-
spur, 1570
1828
Gander, F. F., on Cassin’s finch, 288
on pine siskin, 438
Ganier, Albert F., on Bachman’s spar-
row, 962
on eastern cardinal, 14
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1282
Ganier, Albert F., and Buchanan, F.
W., on white-throated sparrow,
1369
Gatell, Mrs. Lydia, on dickcissel, 183
Gates, Eugenia W., on rufous-winged
sparrow, 910, 911
James M., on rufous-winged
sparrow, 910, 911
Gatke, Heinrich, on brambling, 196
Gaylord, H. A., on Guadalupe junco,
1095
gentilis, Accipiter, 197, 1066
Geococcyx californicus, 637
George, John L., on eastern vesper spar-
row, 870, 871, 873, 874, 878
George, John L., and Mitchell, Robert
T., on eastern song sparrow,
1507
georgiana, Fringilla, 1475
Melospiza, 546
Melospiza georgiana, 1474, 1476,
1490
Gerbracht, J. H., on lark bunting, 639,
652
Giant song sparrow, 1533
Gier, H. T., on lark sparrow, 890
Gila woodpecker, 629
Gilliard, E. T., on rufous-winged spar-
row, 908
Gilman, M. F., on Abert’s towhee, 633,
637
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1650
on lazuli bunting, 113, 130
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1076
on San Diego towhee, 599
Gilpin, Dr., on Ipswich sparrow, 657
Glaucidium gnoma, 1066
Glegg, W. E., on European goldfinch,
386
gnoma, Glaucidium, 1066
Godfrey, W. Earl, on Baird’s sparrow,
748
on dickcissel, 161, 164
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1166
on Ipswich sparrow, 659, 667, 668
Gates,
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 8
Godfrey, W. Earl—Continued
on McCown’s longspur, 1572
on northern swamp sparrow, 1474
Godfrey, W. Earl, and Wilk, A. L., on
Churchill Savannah sparrow, 696
Godwit, 678
Golden-crowned kinglet, 217
sparrow, 560, 607, 1214,
1325, 1352, 1471
Goldfinch, 94, 95, 98, 226, 294, 332,
333, 384, 406, 424, 442, 443, 448,
456, 458, 460, 467, 468, 473, 474,
475, 494, 509, 517, 540, 1263,
1452
American, 393, 394, 417, 442, 447,
472, 475, 527
Arkansas, (see Lesser goldfinch),
471
British, 395
eastern, 447, 467, 470, 1680
eastern American, 447
European, 384
green-backed, 474, 487, 493, 1088
Lawrence, 475, 484, 486
Lesser, 103, 471
northwestern, 468
pale, 467
willow, 469, 483, 484, 952
Goldman, E. A., on Hanson Laguna
Oregon junco, 1090
on lark bunting, 655
Goldstein, Harry B., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 327
Golsan, L. S., and Holt, E. G., on indigo
bunting, 83
Good, H. G., and Adkins, T. R., on
white-throated sparrow, 1387
Goodrich, A. L., Jr., on Alaska long-
spur, 1627
on indigo bunting, 87
on McCown’s longspur, 1588
Gorrions (see Guadalupe house finch), 321
Goshawk, 197, 248, 287, 1066
Goss, N. S., on Cassin’s sparrow, 982,
987
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
816, 818
on northern sage sparrow, 1010
Gould, Patrick J., on Arizona pyrrhu-
loxia, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34
on rufous-winged sparrow, 908, 912
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
928
1321, |
INDEX
gouldii, Melospiza melodia, 1505, 1546,
1550
Govan, Ada Clapham, on eastern
evening grosbeak, 227, 231
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
Graber, Jean W., on western Henslow’s
sparrow, 779, 785
Graber, Richard R., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 791
on Baird’s junco, 1134
on Baird’s sparrow, 756, 763
on Botteri’s sparrow, 978
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1211
on Carolina slate-colored junco,
1047
on Cassin’s sparrow, 986
on clay-colored sparrow, 1197, 1198
on coastal Savannah sparrow, 714
on eastern fox sparrow, 1404
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 681
on eastern song sparrow, 1506
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1280
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1356
on grasshopper sparrow, 733
on gray-headed junco, 1112
on lark sparrow, 894
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1450
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1130
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
818
on northern seaside sparrow, 825
on northwestern Oregon junco, 1081
on Oregon junco, 1058
on Oregon vesper sparrow, 885
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1075
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
926
on snow bunting, 1664
on southern swamp sparrow, 1475,
1480
on western vesper sparrow, 882
on white-winged junco, 1025
Graber, Richard R., and Graber, Jean,
on Baird’s sparrow, 749, 758
on lark bunting, 640
gracilis, Melospiza lincolnii, 1472
Grackle, 47, 395
boat-tailed, 858, 1409
bronzed, 1668
graminea, Melospiza melodia, 1557
1829
gramineus, Pooecetes, 557, 882
Pooecetes gramineus, 868, 885
grammacus, Chondestes, 886
Chondestes grammacus, 886
Grass finch (see sharp-tailed sparrow),
795, 868
sparrow, 746, 760
Grasshopper sparrow, 699, 726, 753,
760, 761, 771, 772, 776, 780, 782,
785, 786, 795, 804, 865, 960, 965,
977, 980
Grassquit, Bahama (see Bahama black-
faced grassquit), 157
Bahama black-faced, 155
Black-faced, 155
blue-black, 1457
Cuban or melodious, 156
Grater, R. K., on green-tailed towhee,
559
Hannah R.,
sparrow, 1200
on lazuli buntings, 121, 122
Gray, Neland, on clay-colored sparrow,
1205
Gray bird (see Ipswich sparrow), 657, 658
cardinal, 25
jay, 1021, 1459
partridge, 1649
sage sparrow, 1020
Gray-crowned finch, 356
rosy finch, 356, 358, 371, 382, 1063
Gray-headed junco, 1027, 1060, 1072,
1076, 1098, 1127
rosy finch (see
finch), 352, 356
snow finch, 1099
Gray’s thrush, 50
Gray-tailed cardinal, 18, 23
Greater prairie chicken, 780
redpoll, 398, 421, 423
yellowlegs, 333
Greely, A. W., on snow bunting, 1654
Green-backed goldfinch, 474, 487, 493,
1088
Greene, Earle R., on eastern painted
bunting, 150
on indigo bunting, 100
Greene, H. O., on eastern sharp-tailed
sparrow, 801
Greenfinch, 195, 394
Greenhalgh, C. M., on western vesper
sparrow, 883
Greenland wheatear, 1656
Gray, on clay-colored
Hepburn’s rosy
1830
Green-tailed towhee, 647, 1063, 1425
Greulach, V. A., on northern slate-
colored junco, 1033, 1034
Griffee, W. E., on Oregon junco, 1055
Griffee, W. E., and Rapraeger, E. F.,
on Oregon junco, 1056
Griffin, Homer, on gray-headed junco,
1102
Grimes, Samuel A.,
sparrow, 863
on pine-woods
row, 971
on rufous-sided towhee, 572
Grinnell, Joseph (in Ludlow), on
McCown’s longspur, 1588, 1589
on Abert’s towhee, 632
on Alaska longspur,
1623
on Alaska pine grosbeak, 338, 339
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
944
on Bangs’ and Cerralvo_ black-
throated sparrows, 1001, 1002
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1212
on Brown’s song sparrow, 1563
on California blue grosbeak, 79
on California purple finch, 278
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 931, 932, 934, 937, 938
on California sage sparrow, 1013,
1014
on Cape Colnett towhee, 601
on Carmen black-throated sparrow,
1004
on Cassin’s finch, 281, 282, 283, 286
on desert black-throated sparrow,
993, 1000
on desert song sparrow, 1562
on fox sparrow, 1419, 1420, 1421,
1429
on green-backed goldfinch, 483
on green-tailed towhee, 551, 553,
555, 559
on Hanson Laguna Oregon junco,
1091
on Heermann’s song sparrow, 1554,
1555
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 352
on hoary redpoll, 405
on house finch, 304
on Kodiak pine grosbeak, 341
on large-billed Savannah sparrow,
722
U.S.
on Cape Sable
Bachman’s spar-
1610, 1616,
NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN
237 PART 3
Grinnell, Joseph—Continued
on large-billed towhee, 602
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 494
on lazuli bunting, 114, 119, 126, 127,
128
on Marin song sparrow, 1546
on McCown’s longspur, 1578, 1580
on Modesto song sparrow, 1553
on montane Lincoln’s sparrow, 1470
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 709,
710
on Nevada towhee, 592
on northwestern Lincoln’s sparrow,
1472, 1473
on northwestern Oregon junco, 1080
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1299, 1300
on Oregon vesper sparrow, 885
on pine siskin, 443, 444
on San Clemente sage sparrow, 1020
on San Clemente towhee, 600
on San Diego towhee, 599
on Sierra Nevada rosy finch, 362
on Sitka crossbill, 518
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1535, 1539
on song sparrow: Pacific Insular
subsp., 1558
on song sparrow: San Francisco Bay
marsh subsp., 1550
on Townsend’s Oregon junco, 1093
on western evening grosbeak,238
on western Savannah sparrow, 701
on western vesper sparrow, 882
on white-winged crossbill, 527, 529,
531, 539, 541
on willow goldfinch, 469
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1416
Grinnell, Joseph, and Daggett, Frank S.,
on song sparrow: Pacific Insular
subsp., 1557, 1558
Grinnell, Joseph, Dixon, Joseph, and
Linsdale, Jean Myron, on Ben-
dire’s crossbill, 510
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1209, 1212,
1214
on Cassin’s finch, 280, 282, 285
on desert black-throated sparrow,
993
on green-backed goldfinch, 477
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1340
INDEX
1831
Grinnell, Joseph, and Linsdale, Jean| Grinnell, Joseph, and Miller, A. H—Con.
Myron, on house finch, 296, 309
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1315
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1083,
1085, 1086, 1087, 1088
Grinnell, Joseph, and Miller, A. H., on
Alberta fox sparrow, 1418
on Aleutian Savannah sparrow, 707
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1241, 1244
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
944, 945
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1015
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1209
on California black-chinned spar-
row, 1247
on California blue grosbeak, 79
on California sage sparrow, 1013
on coastal Savannah sparrow, 713
on desert black-throated sparrow,
993, 1000
on desert song sparrow, 1562
on fox sparrow, 1421, 1425, 1426,
1431
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1352,
1363
on green-tailed towhee, 549, 550,
559
on Heermann’s song sparrow, 1554
on lazuli bunting, 112
on Marin song sparrow, 1546
on Mendocino song sparrow, 1545
on Merrill’s song sparrow, 1531
on Modesto song sparrow, 1553
on Modoc song sparrow, 1532
on Montane Lincoln’s sparrow,
1468, 1471
on mountain song sparrow, 1527
on Nevada towhee, 592
on northern sage sparrow, 1010
on northwestern Oregon junco,
1079, 1082
on Oregon junco, 1053
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1084,
1087
on rusty song sparrow, 1544
on Sacramento towhee, 595
on San Clemente sage sparrow, 1019
on San Clemente towhee, 600
on San Diego song sparrow, 1555
on San Francisco black-chinned
sparrow, 1248
on San Francisco towhee, 596
on Santa Cruz _ rufous-crowned
sparrow, 940
on song sparrow, 1491
on song sparrow: Pacific Insular
subsp., 1557
on western chipping sparrow, 1184
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1417
Grinnell, Joseph, and Storer, Tracy I.,
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1018
on black-headed grosbeak, 64, 65
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 932, 934, 938
on Cassin’s finch, 282, 285, 286
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1358,
1360, 1363
on green-backed goldfinch, 484
on green-tailed towhee, 549, 555,
557, 558, 559, 560
on house finch, 297, 308
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 495
on lazuli bunting, 116, 118, 127, 129
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1340
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1308, 1311
on Sierra Nevada rosy finch, 363,
364
Grinnell, Joseph, and Swarth, H. 8., on
Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1241
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1016
on Cape Colnett towhee, 601
on desert black-throated sparrow,
994, 995
on green-tailed towhee, 551, 554
on San Diego towhee, 599
Grinnell, Joseph, and Swarth, T. I., on
lazuli bunting, 119
Grinnell, J.. and Wythe, M. W., on
California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 931, 933, 934
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1363
on lazuli bunting, 119
on Oregon junco, 1069
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1086,
1088
on San Francisco brown towhee, 609
Grinnell, L. I., on common redpoll, 410,
411, 412, 413, 414, 417, 418
grinnelli, Carpodacus mexicanus, 292
Loxia curvirostra, 624, 525
1832
Grinnell’s crossbill, 524
Griscom, Ludlow, on Bendire’s crossbill,
513
on Bent’s crossbill, 520, 521
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1215
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 334
on Cape Sable sparrow, 860
on common crossbill, 497
on dickcissels, 187
on dusky seaside sparrow, 851
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1166
on eastern fox sparrow, 1405
on eastern painted bunting, 153
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 680,
690
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
796, 798
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1283, 1287
on European goldfinch, 385
on grasshopper sparrow, 736
on Grinnell’s crossbill, 524
on hoary redpoll, 406
on indigo bunting, 105
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1436, 1462
on Mexican crossbill, 525, 526
on Newfoundland crossbill, 499
on red crossbill, 500, 507, 511
on San Luis house finch, 314
on Sitka crossbill, 518
on Smyrna seaside sparrow, 835
on Texas black-throated sparrow,
991
on western seaside sparrow, 841,
848
on white-winged crossbill, 537, 540,
541
Griscom, Ludlow, and Crosby, Maunsell
S., on Texas black-throated spar-
row, 991
on varied bunting, 133
Griscom, Ludlow, and Emerson, Guy,
on Acadian sharp-tailed sparrow,
793
Griscom, Ludlow, and Folger, Edith V.,
on Acadian sharp-tailed sparrow,
793
on grasshopper sparrow, 737
Griscom, Ludlow, and Snyder, Dorothy
E., on Acadian sharp-tailed spar-
row, 789, 794
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 796
U.S. NATIONAL
MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 8
Griscom, Ludlow, and Synder, Dorothy
E=— Continued
on grasshopper sparrow, 737, 742
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1462
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
817
grisea, Amphispiza bilineata, 992
griseiventris, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 258, -
259, 260, 262
griseonucha, Leucosticte tephrocotis,
347
Grosbeak, 294, 334, 335, 340, 638
Abeillé (or hooded), 251
Alaska pine, 338
black-headed, 43, 44, 56, 58, 212,
240, 244, 346
blue (see California and eastern
blue grosbeaks), 67, 99, 100, 119,
176, 977
California blue (see blue grosbeak),
79
California evening, 285
California pine, 344
Canadian evening, 225
Canadian pine, 326, 336, 338
eastern Asiatic, 203
eastern blue (see blue grosbeak), 67
eastern evening, 206
eastern rose-breasted, 58
eastern Siberian pine, 337
European west Siberian, 337
evening, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210,
211, 213, 214, 215, 217, 222, 223,
224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230,
231, 232, 234, 237, 238, 239, 240,
241, 242, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249,
250, 251, 252, 254, 255, 427, 441,
443, 518, 541
Kamchatka pine, 337
Kodiak pine, 340
Mexican evening, 251
Newfoundland pine, 336
pine, 191, 226, 326, 327, 328, 329,
331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 338, 343,
346, 369, 540, 541, 1115
purple, 264
Queen Charlotte pine, 342
red-breasted, 211
Rocky Mountain black-headed (see
Rocky Mountain grosbeak), 64
Rocky Mountain pine, 342
rose-breasted, 36, 56, 58, 65, 66, 215,
230
INDEX
Grosbeak— Continued
western blue, 75
western evening, 237
Groskin, Horace, on eastern purple
finch, 265, 271
Gross, Alfred O., on dickcissel, 158, 179
on eastern goldfinch, 451, 452, 457
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1278, 1285
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 357
on indigo bunting, 85
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1127
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 22
Ground dove, 146
lark, 1567
Grouse, sharp-tailed, 646
Guadalupe black-throated sparrow, 992
house finch, 319
junco, 1094
towhee, 601
Guiraca caerulea, 67, 75, 103
caerulea caerulea, 67, 79
caerulea interfusa, 75
caerulea lazula, 79
caerulea salicaria, 79
Gull, 799
Gullion, G. W., on Hepburn’s rosy
finch, 355
on lazuli bunting, 120
on Oregon junco, 1058
on Oregon towhee, 594
on rusty song sparrow, 1543
Gullion, G. W., Pulich, W. M., and
Evenden, F. G., on desert black-
throated sparrow, 993, 1000
Gunn, W. W. H., on Baird’s sparrow,
761
on eastern evening grosbeak, 227
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1284
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1453
on white-throated sparrow, 1379
guttata, Hylocichla, 965
guttatus, Passerculus sandwichensis,
715, 717, 719, 720, 721
Gyrfalcons, 349
H
Hadley, N. F., on gray-headed junco,
1107, 1109, 1110
on Montane Lincoln’s sparrow,
1469
646—737—68—pt. 3——-38
1833
Haftorn, Svein, on brambling, 194
Hagar, J. A., on James Bay sharp-
tailed sparrow, 815
Hagen, Yngvar, on brambling, 197
Hagerup, Andreas Thomsen, on greater
redpoll, 421, 422
Haglund, Bertil, on eastern rustic
bunting, 1683
Hailman, Jack P., on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 686
on eastern song sparrow, 1501
on white-throated sparrow, 1384,
1385
Hairy woodpecker, 46
Hall, E. R., on northern sage sparrow,
1007
halophilus, Ammodramus, 720
Hamerstrom, F., on eastern song spar-
row, 1507
on eastern vesper sparrow, 877
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
Hamerstrom, F. N., andHamerstrom, F.,
on eastern song sparrow, 1506
on rufous-sided towhee, 576
Hamerstrom, F. N., Jr., on eastern ves-
per sparrow, 877
Hamerton, A. E., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 233
Hamill, Mrs. L. C., on eastern song
sparrow, 1494
Hamilton, W. J., Jr., on northern
slate-colored junco, 1038
on tree sparrow, 1154
Hammitt, 8. R., on gray-headed junco,
1116
Hand, R. L., on western evening
grosbeak, 249
Hanford, Forrest S., on Cassin’s finch,
287
on Oregon junco, 1055
Hann, H. W., on eastern vesper sparrow,
878
Hanna, G. Dallas, on Aleutian Savannah
sparrow, 707
on McKay’s bunting, 1679
on Pribilof rosy finch, 347, 348, 349
on white-winged crossbill, 533
Hanna, Wilson C., on Anthony’s brown
towhee, 619
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1242, 1243
on Belding’s Savannah sparrow, 716
on green-backed goldfinch, 480
1834
Hanna, Wilson C.—Continued
on green-tailed towhee, 553
on house finch, 295
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 489
on lazuli bunting, 119
on Oregon junco, 1057
on San Diego song sparrow, 1556
Hansman, Robert H., on rose-breasted
grosbeak, 44
Hanson Laguna Oregon junco, 1090
Harding, Mrs. K. C., on eastern song
sparrow, 1504
Hardy, Ross, on northern sage sparrow,
1006
Hare, F. Kenneth, on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1274
Hargrave, Lyndon L., on gray-headed
junco, 1103, 1104, 1108, 1109,
1112, 1114, 1118, 1121, 1122
on lazuli bunting, 125, 129
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1307
on Oregon junco, 1062
Harkins, C. E., on Harris’ sparrow,
1257, 1271
Harlow, Richard, on pine siskin, 428
Harper, Francis, on Botteri’s sparrow,
976, 977, 979, 980
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1277, 1280, 1281, 1284, 1285
on Labrador Savannah sparrow,
675, 677
on northern slate-colored junco,
1029
Harquahala brown towhee, 630
rufous-crowned sparrow, 9380
Harrier hawk, 759, 762
Harris, Edward, on Harris’ sparrow,
1250
Harris, Harry, on Harris’ sparrow, 1249
Harris, R. D., on Baird’s sparrow, 763
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1637,
1639, 1642, 1643, 1644, 1645,
1647, 1648, 1651
Harris sparrow, 9, 646, 647, 1262, 1416,
1462
Harris, W. G. F., on Abert’s towhee, 634
on Baird’s sparrow, 754
on Belding’s Savannah sparrow, 716
on canyon brown towhee, 625
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 681
on green-tailed towhee, 553
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Harris W. G. F.—Continued
on Guadalupe junco, 1096
on Ipswich sparrow, 664
on McCown’s longspur, 1581
on McKay’s bunting, 1679
on Newfoundland crossbeak, 500
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1302
on Oregon junco, 1057
on red crossbill, 506
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
920
on rufous-winged sparrow, 910, 911,
912
on Smith’s longspur, 1630
on western evening grosbeak, 244
on white-winged crossbill, 532
harrisii, Fringilla, 1250
Harris’ hawk, 916
sparrow, 1249, 1366
Harrison, E. N., on western painted
bunting, 155
Harrison, Richard C., on McGregor’s
house finch, 318
Harrold, C. G. (in Gabrielson and
Lincoln), on Pribilof snow bunt-
ing, 1675
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 257
on McCown’s longspur, 1573, 1579,
1591
Hartert, Ernst, on Kamchatka pine
grosbeak, 337
Hartman, F. A., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1481
Hartshorne, Charles, on Brewer’s spar-
row, 1214
Harvey, Gertrude Fay,
cardinal, 4, 6
Haskin, Leslie L., on Bendire’s crossbill,
517
Hasselborg, Allen, on song sparrow:
Alaskan subsp., 1537, 1539
Hatch, P. L., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1476, 1477
Hausman, Leon Augustus, on eastern
Savannah sparrow, 687
Hawbecker, Albert C., on eastern song
sparrow, 1506
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1315
Hawfinch, Japanese, 199, 202
on eastern
INDEX
Hawk, 183, 192, 203, 231, 287, 294, 395,
637, 672, 689, 690, 740, 741, 762,
772, 785, 807, 929, 1143, 1223,
1225, 1230, 1315, 1485, 1506,
1518, 1552, 1553, 1650, 1669
bird, 1159
broad-winged, 1459
Cooper’s, 47, 231, 255, 484, 495,
576, 1231, 1362, 1650
duck, 405
harrier, 759, 762
Harris’, 916
marsh, 740, 762, 780, 787, 799, 808,
829, 1196, 1266, 1362
pigeon, 355, 690, 1067, 1266, 1362,
1459
red-tailed, 977, 1076, 1507
sharp-shinned, 171, 188, 231, 495,
690, 740, 787, 1067, 1121, 1231,
1362, 1460
sparrow, 197, 646, 977, 1266, 1459
Swainson’s, 653, 1076, 1593, 1594
white-tailed, 848
Hawksley, Oscar, and McCormack,
Alvah P., 5
Haws, Travis G., and Hayward, C.
Lynn, on spurred towhee, 583
Hayward, C. L., on green-tailed towhee,
559
Hayward, W. J., and Stephens, Thomas
C., on pine siskin, 441
Headstrom, B. R., on western vesper
sparrow, 883
Heath, Harold, on fox sparrow, 1420
Heaton, Harry L., on ashy rufous-
crowned sparrow, 946, 948
Hebard, Frederick V., on eastern
painted bunting, 139, 145
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 806
on indigo bunting, 93, 98
Hebard, F. V., and Gardner, A. W., on
gray-headed junco, 1115
Heermann, A. L., on McCown’s long-
spur, 1588, 1595
heermanni, Melospiza melodia,
1532, 1550, 1554, 1556
Heermann’s song sparrow, 1654
Heintzelman, D. S., on eastern song
sparrow, 1506
Helme, A. H., on red crossbill, 502, 506
Helminen, Matti, on eastern rustic
bunting, 1681
1505,
1835
Helms, Carl H., on eastern song sparrow,
1493
Carl W., on white-throated
sparrow, 1384, 1885
Helms, Carl W., and Drury, W. H., Jr.,
on tree sparrow, 1162
Hen, sage, 646
Hendee, R. W., on green-tailed towhee,
553, 557
on northern sage sparrow, 1007
Henderson, Junius, on gray-headed
junco, 1101
Hendrickson, G. O., on clay-colored
sparrow, 1199
on eastern field sparrow, 1231
Henry, T. C., on gray-headed junco,
1099
on lazuli bunting, 120
Henshaw, Henry W., on Abert’s towhee,
632, 635, 636
on Bahama black-faced grassquit,
156
on Baird’s sparrow, 746
on Botteri’s sparrow, 976, 979
on Cassin’s finch, 288
on Cassin’s sparrow, 988
on gray-headed junco, 1101, 1116
on house finch, 294, 296, 312
on lazuli bunting, 120, 130
on mountain song sparrow, 1526
on northern sage sparrow, 1010
on Rocky Mountain blackheaded
grosbeak, 56
on rufous-winged sparrow, 902, 916
henslowii, Passerherbulus, 738, 757
Passerherbulus henslowii, 779
Henslow’s sparrow, 738, 739, 740, 760,
768, 770, 772, 773, 774, 776, 777,
779, 780, 781, 782, 784, 785, 786,
787, 788, 795, 804, 868, 875, 964,
965, 980
Hepburn’s rosy finch, 362, 359, 360, 371,
382
Hering, Louise, on gray-headed junco,
1101, 1104, 1105, 1115, 1116
on green-tailed towhee, 552
on Lesser goldfinch, 472
Herman, C., M., on eastern field spar-
row, 1232
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 690
on eastern song sparrow, 1507, 1508
on rufous-sided towhee, 576
Helms,
1836 UB.
Herman, C. M., Jankiewicz, Harry A.,
and Saarni, Roy W., on green-
tailed towhee, 559
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1316
on San Francisco brown towhee,
615
Hermit thrush, 539, 789, 965, 1406,
1409, 1452
Hersey, F. Seymour, on hoary redpoll,
401
Hersey, L. J., and Rockwell, R. R.,
on Cassin’s sparrow, 984, 985
Hesperiphona, 253
abeillei, 251
vespertina, 207, 238
vespertina brooksi, 237, 255
vespertina californica, 238
vespertina montana, 251
vespertina vespertina, 206, 254
vespertina warreni, 238
hesperophilus, Spinus psaltria, 474, 1088
Hess, I. E., on dickcissel, 165, 166
on southern swamp sparrow, 1477
Heydweiller, A. M., on tree sparrow,
1140, 1142, 1152, 1153, 1162
Hickey, Joseph J., on dusky seaside
sparrow, 857
Lawrence E.,
sparrow, 959, 968
on grasshopper sparrow, 741
on hoary redpolls, 406
Higgins, A. W., on eastern song spar-
row, 1494
Hilden, Olavi, on eastern rustic bunting,
1684
Hill, Harold M. and Wiggins, Ira L.,
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1019
on San Lucas brown towhee, 621
Hill, James Haynes, on white-winged
crossbill, 538
Hill, Norman P., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 789
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
Hicks, on Bachman’s
795, 799
on James Bay sharp-tailed sparrow,
814
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
815
on southern sharp-tailed sparrow,
812
Hinchliffe, Louise, on gray-headed
junco, 1124
NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Hind, Henry W., on McCown’s long-
spur, 1570
Hines, John Q., on Yukon fox sparrow,
1416, 1417
Hoary redpoll, 400, 409, 410, 411
Hodges, James, on dickcissel, 184
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
Hoffmann, Ralph, on ashy rufous-
crowned sparrow, 952
on Belding’s Savannah sparrow, 716
on Cassin’s finch, 285
on common redpoll, 417
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 688
on green-backed goldfinch, 483
on green-tailed towhee, 548, 555,
558, 560
on house finch, 292
on indigo bunting, 95
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 487
on lazuli bunting, 127
on northern sage sparrow, 1010,
1011
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1311
on pine siskin, 442
on western vesper sparrow, 883
on white-throated sparrow, 1387
Hofslund, P. B., on clay-colored sparrow,
1192, 1204
on white-winged crossbill, 536
holboellii, Acanthis, 421, 422
Acanthis flammea, 423
Holboell’s redpoll, 423
Holden, N., and Hall, W., on McCown’s
longspur, 1568
Holland, Harold M., on eastern cardinal,
5
on eastern goldfinch, 456
on house finch, 295
Hollywood finch (see house finch), 291
Holmes, Charles F., on gray-crowned
rosy finch, 359
Holt, E. G., on dickcissel, 160, 161
on rufous-sided towhee, 571
Holt, E. G., and Sutton, G. M., on Cape
Sable sparrow, 864, 866
Hooded crow, 198
Hope, C. E., on eastern evening gros-
beak, 213, 217, 218, 231
Horned lark, 517, 653, 669, 752, 758,
780, 977, 1076, 1254, 1395, 1567,
1593, 1604, 1605, 1635, 1668
owl, 249, 1011, 1066, 1266, 1507
INDEX
hornemanni, Acanthis, 406, 418
Acanthis hornemanni, 405
Hornemann’s redpoll, 397, 405
Horsey, Richard, E., on tree sparrow,
1139
Horton, John, on chestnut-collared long-
spur, 1649
Hostetter, D. R., on Carolina slate-
colored junco, 1045
Hough, John N., and Hough, Eleanor, on
gray-headed junco, 1121, 1123
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1077,
1078
House finch, 278, 280, 285, 286, 287, 290,
319, 320, 486, 607, 1237
California, 72
sparrow (see English sparrow), 10,
99, 160, 179, 188, 229, 230, 264,
265, 297, 311, 383, 384, 461, 546,
558, 654, 1361, 1463
wren, 13, 98, 929, 1231, 1434, 1452,
1453, 1470
Houston, C. 8S. on Baird’s sparrow, 748
on dickcissel, 164
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1168
on McCown’s longspur, 1569, 1572
Houston, C. 8., and Street, M. G., on
clay-colored sparrow, 1187
on Dakota song sparrow, 1523
on fox sparrow, 1431
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 768
on McCown’s longspur, 1572
on northern slate-colored junco,
1030, 1032, 1039
on white-throated sparrow, 1369,
1371
Howard, O. W., on Mexican evening
grosbeak, 253
Howell, A. B., on Abert’s towhee, 637
on eastern field sparrow, 1233
on green-backed goldfinch, 485
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1316
on San Clemente house finch, 317
on San Clemente sage sparrow,
1019
Howell, A. B., and van Rossem, A. J.,
on Santa Cruz rufous-crowned
sparrow, 942
1837
Howell, Arthur H., on Bachman’s
sparrow, 961, 963
on Cape Sable sparrow, 859, 861,
862, 863, 864, 865, 866
on dickcissel, 159
on dusky seaside sparrow, 856, 857
on eastern gulf coast seaside spar-
row, 839
on eastern painted bunting, 138,
141, 145, 148, 151, 152
on eastern seaside sparrow, 840
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
810
on eastern song sparrow, 1508
on Florida cardinal, 16
on Florida grasshopper sparrow,
727, 735
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 773
on northern seaside sparrow, 830
on pine-woods Bachman’s sparrow,
971
on rufous-sided towhee, 567
on Smyrna seaside sparrow, 835,
837, 838
on southern swamp sparrow, 1481,
1485
on western seaside sparrow, 847
on white-throated sparrow, 1376
Howell, Joseph C., on Cape Sable
sparrow, 862, 863
on Kodiak pine grosbeak, 341
on Smyrna seaside sparrow, 836
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1535
on western Savannah sparrow, 702
Howell, Joseph C., Laskey, Amelia R.,
and Tanner, James A., on indigo
bunting, 98
Howell, Thomas R.,
junco, 1094
Howell, Thomas R., and Cade, T. J.,
on Guadalupe junco, 1094, 1095
on Guadalupe towhee, 602
Hoxie, Walter, on Bachman’s sparrow,
960
Hoyt, J. S. Y., on eastern field sparrow,
1230
on eastern song sparrow, 1497
on rufous-sided towhee, 565
Hudson, G. E., on western vesper
sparrow, 883
hudsonius, Circus, 1594
on Guadalupe
1838
Huey, L. M., on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1243, 1244
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
944
on desert black-throated sparrow,
996, 1000
on gray sage sparrow, 1020
on green-tailed towhee, 555, 559, 560
on Hanson Laguna Oregon junco,
1090
on house finch, 292
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 487
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 255
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1340
on rusty song sparrow, 1544
on San Clemente sage sparrow,
1019
on Santa Gertrudis cardinal, 20
on white-winged crossbill, 542
Hughes, William M., on rusty song
sparrow, 1542, 1543
Hughes-Samuel, H. (in Macoun), on
eastern fox sparrow, 1399
Coccothraustes coccothraustes,
199
Hummingbird, Anna, 1065
Humphrey, P. §., on rufous-winged
sparrow, 914
Hunn, J. T. S., on desert black-throated
sparrow, 1000
Hunt, Chreswell J., on eastern gold-
finch, 461
Hunt, Richard, on California pine gros-
beak, 345
on Oregon junco, 1065
Hurley, H. B., on fox sparrow, 1431
Hurley, J. B., on Mexican evening gros-
beak, 253
Hussong, Clara, on clay-colored spar-
row, 1193, 1194
Hutchings, John, on western evening
grosbeak, 243, 244
Hyde, A. Sidney, on western Henslow’s
sparrow, 779, 780, 781, 782, 783,
784, 785, 786, 787, 788
hyemalis, Junco, 1099, 1102, 1110, 1118
Junco hyemalis, 1025, 1029, 1044,
U.S.
humii,
1047, 1048, 1049, 1051, 1052,
1054, 1057, 1059, 1060, 1069,
1082
Hylocichla guttata, 965
hyperboreus, Plectrophenax, 1677
\
NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN
237 PART 3
I
ignea, Richmondena cardinalis, 20, 21
igneus, Cardinalis cardinalis, 19, 21
iliaca, Fringilla, 1395
Passerella, 332, 1082, 1392
Passerella iliaca, 1266, 1392, 1395
illinoensis, Aimophila aestivalis, 972
Peucaea, 972
Illinois Bachman’s sparrow, 972
Ilnicky, N. J., on pine siskin, 443
Imhof, T. A., on eastern field sparrow,
1233
on indigo bunting, 86, 92, 103
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 774
on Smith’s longspur, 1632
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 788
Indigo bunting, 50, 72, 73, 80, 114, 126,
127, 147, 153, 875, 966, 973, 1218
inexpectata, Melospiza melodia, 1505,
1527, 1533, 1537
infaustus, Perisoreus, 198
Ingersoll, A. M., on fox sparrow, 1430
on Oregon junco, 1067
on western evening grosbeak, 240
insignis, Melospiza melodia, 1533
insularis, Junco, 1094
Passerella iliaca, 1392, 1419
interfusa, Guiraca caerulea, 75
Inyo fox sparrow, 1424
Ipswich sparrow, 657, 795, 804
Irving, L., on Alaska longspur, 1610,
1611
on Smith’s longspur, 1629, 1630
Ivor, H. Roy, on eastern evening gros-
beak, 212, 215, 217, 230, 231, 233
on eastern fox sparrow, 1409
onrose-breasted grosbeak, 37, 38,
39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46
Ixoreus naevius, 1063, 1082
J
Jacot, E., on gray-headed junco, 1103,
1108, 1109, 1114, 1116, 1118,
1125
on Mexican evening grosbeaks, 252
on rufous-winged sparrow, 902
Jaegers, 678
Jahn, Herman, on Japanese hawfinch,
200, 204
James Bay sharp-tailed sparrow, 814
James, Reginald F., on Mississippi song
sparrow. 1515
INDEX
Jameson, E. W., Jr., on indigo buntings,
92, 102
on northern slate-colored junco,
1032
Japanese bullfinch, 259, 260, 261, 262
hawfinch, 199, 202
japonicus, Coccothraustes coccothraus-
tes, 199
Jay, 1143, 1160
blue, 13, 41, 47, 225, 249, 327, 395,
426, 1231
Florida, 564
gray, 1021, 1459
long-crested, 253
pinon, 1026
scrub, 479, 485, 495, 607, 614
Siberian, 198
Steller, 607
white-tipped brown, 454, 456
woodhouse, 588
Jeeter, Horace H., on Smith’s longspur,
1631, 1632
Jefferson, Thomas, on McCown’s long-
spur, 1565
Jeffries, J. A., on green-tailed towhee,
552
Jeffries, W. A., on Ipswich sparrow, 672
Jehl, Joseph R., Jr., on Smith’s long-
spur, 1634
Jehl, Joseph R., Jr., and Russell, D. J.
T., on Harris’ sparrow, 1256
on Smith’s longspur, 1630
Jenkins, H. O., on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 932, 935
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1086
Jenks, Randolph, on green-tailed tow-
hee, 549
on lesser goldfinch, 472
Jensen, J. K., on gray-headed junco,
1116
on house finch, 294
on lazuli bunting, 118, 119, 126,
128
on lesser goldfinch, 473
on western evening grosbeak, 242,
243, 250
on western vesper sparrow, 883
Jewett, Stanley G., on lazuli bunting,
120, 128
on mountain song sparrow, 1527
on northwestern Oregon junco, 1080
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1299
1839
Jewett, Stanley G.—Continued
on Oregon junco, 1055, 1061
on Oregon vesper sparrow, 885
on rusty song sparrow, 1543, 1544
on western vesper sparrow, 882, 883
Jewett, Stanley G., and Gabrielson,
Ira N., on Oregon junco, 1059
Jewett, Stanley G., Taylor, Walter,
Shaw, William, and Aldrich,
John W., on fox sparrow, 1425,
1429
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1352,
1362
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 355, 356
on lazuli bunting, 128
on Merrill’s song sparrow, 1529,
1531
on Modoc song sparrow, 1532
on montane Lincoln’s sparrow,
1468, 1469, 1471
on northern sage sparrow,
1010
on Oregon towhee, 593
on rusty song sparrow, 1541, 1543
1544
on sooty song sparrow, 1541
on western chipping sparrow, 1184
on western Savannah sparrow, 703
on yellowhead or Riley song spar-
row, 1528
jewetti, Spinus tristis, 468
Johansen, H., on Alaska longspur, 1610
Johnson, C. W., on eastern song spar-
row, 1507
Johnson, D. H., Bryant, M., and
Miller, A. H., on Arizona black-
chinned sparrow, 1241, 1243,
1244
on Cassin’s finch, 288
on desert black-throated sparrow,
995, 996, 999, 1000
on northern sage sparrow, 1012
Johnson, John C., Jr., on Cassin’s
sparrow, 982, 986
Johnson, R. Roy, on Baird’s sparrow,
764
on western chipping sparrow, 1184
Johnson, Verna R., on eastern cardinal,
3
Johnston, David W., on Churchill
Savannah sparrow, 698
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 692
on grasshopper sparrow, 726
1006,
1840
Johnston, David W.—Continued
on indigo bunting, 82, 86, 90, 99,
102, 105, 106
on northern slate-colored junco,
1030
Johnston, David W., and Haines, T. P.,
on indigo bunting, 99
Johnston, David W., and Odum,
Eugene P., on Arizona grass-
hopper sparrow, 726
on indigo bunting, 82
Johnston, Richard Fourness, on Cape
Colnett towhee, 601
on coastal Savannah sparrow, 712,
713
on eastern song sparrow, 1501, 1506
on Guadalupe towhee, 601
on large-billed towhee, 602
on Marin song sparrow, 1546
on McCown’s longspur, 1568
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1089
on San Clemente towhee, 600
on San Diego song sparrow, 1556
on song sparrow, 1492
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1534, 1536
on song sparrow: San Francisco
Bay marsh subsp., 1547
Johnston, Verna R., on Nuttall’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1299
Johnstone, Walter B., on Cassin’s
finch, 283
Jones, Fred M., on Bachman’s sparrow,
960, 967
Jones, Lynds, on eastern field sparrow,
1226
on indigo bunting, 102
on southern swamp sparrow, 1478
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 780
Jouy, P. L., on grasshopper sparrow,
738
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 785
Judd, S. D., on Alaska longspur, 1621
on dickcissel, 177, 178
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1175
on eastern field sparrow, 1228
on eastern fox sparrow, 1404, 1405
1406
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 683,
684
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
804
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 8
Judd, S. D.—Continued
on eastern song sparrow, 1500
on grasshopper sparrow, 735
on Harris’ sparrow, 1260
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1451
on northern seaside sparrow, 826
on Nuttall’s white-crowned sparrow,
1306
on southern swamp sparrow, 1481,
1483
on tree sparrow, 1153, 1155, 1156
on white-throated sparrow, 1365,
1375
juddi, Melospiza melodia, 1505, 1508,
1513, 1523, 1528
juncicola, Ammospiza maritima, 838,
840, 841, 851, 864
Junco, 227, 255, 288, 320, 383, 394, 424,
442, 481, 486, 540, 958, 1263,
1275, 12838, 1330, 1371,,.1397,
1407, 1452, 1471, 1523
aikeni, 1021, 1051, 1075, 1076
alticola, 1133
annectens, 1093
Arizona, 1120, 1128
bairdi, 1133
Baird’s, 1133
caniceps, 1060, 1069, 1072, 1076,
1098, 1129
caniceps caniceps, 1098
caniceps dorsalis, 1098, 1127, 1130
Carolina slate-colored, 1043
Cassiar slate-colored, 1049, 1121,
1124
cinerus, 1099
cinerus ‘“‘variety” caniceps, 1099
fulvescens, 1133
gray-headed, 1027, 1060, 1072,
1076, 1098, 1127
Guadalupe, 1094
Hanson Laguna Oregon, 1090
hyemalis, 1099, 1102, 1110, 1118
hyemalis carolinensis, 1039, 1043
hyemalis cismontanus, 1039, 1049,
1121
hyemalis hyemalis, 1025, 1029,
1044, 1047, 1048, 1049, 1051,
1052, 1054, 1057, 1059, 1060,
1069, 1082
hyemalis oregonus, 1093
insularis, 1094
Mexican (yellow-eyed), 1127
Montana, 1052
INDEX
Junco—Continued
northern gray-headed, 1125
northern slate-colored, 1026, 1027,
1029
northwestern Oregon, 1079
oreganus, 1050, 1094, 1097, 1098,
1110, 1125
oreganus caniceps, 1099
oreganus mearnsi, 1051, 1052, 1053,
1058, 1060, 1066, 1071, 1090,
1093, 1100, 1102, 1103, 1104,
TS. LO 1208 SLi A123.
1124
oreganus montanus, 1050, 1072,
1075, 1076, 1079, 1080, 1081,
10825. 1102). LIAS 121122,
1123, 1124
oreganus oreganus, 1076, 1079
oreganus pinosus, 1052, 1060, 1083,
1094, 1110
oreganus pontilis, 1052, 1060, 1090
oreganus shufeldti, 1050, 1072, 1080
1081, 1091, 1098, 1122, 1123,
1124
oreganus, thurberi, 1050, 1076, 1081
1084, 1087, 1089, 1090, 1091,
1093, 1100, 1103, 1120
oreganus townsendi, 1052,
1090, 1091
Oregon, 1026, 1027, 1038, 1050,
1102, 1120, 1123, 1125
phaeonotus, 1088, 1099, 1113, 1118,
1133
phaeonotus dorsalis, 1099
phaeonotus palliatus, 1099, 1100,
1113, 1127
phaeonotus phaeonotus, 1130
pink-sided Oregon, 1051, 1071, 1102,
1119, 1121, 1124
Point Pinos Oregon, 1/083, 1110
red-backed, 1108
red-backed gray-headed, 1126
Shufeldt’s, 1052, 1077, 1124
Sierra, 1052, 1087
1060,
slate-colored, 1051, 1060, 1116,
1123, 1124, 1125, 1370
Thurber’s 1052, 1087
Townsend’s Oregon, 1091
white-winged, 1021, 1051, 1075,
1076, 1121, 1123
Jung, C. S., on Nevada Savannah spar-
row, 708
1841
K
Kaeding, H. B., on Belding’s sparrow,
716
on Guadalupe, junco, 1096, 1097
on Oregon junco, 1055, 1056
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1084,
1087
on Todos Santos rufous-crowned
sparrow, 954
Kalmbach, E. R., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1211, 1212
on dickcissel, 176
on lark bunting, 646
Kamchatka pine grosbeak, 337
kamchatkensis, Pinicola enucleator, 337
kamtchatica, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 258
Kay, G. T., on snow bunting, 1659
Keast, Allen, on rufous-winged sparrow,
907
Keeler, C. A., on house finch, 293, 299,
302
on lazuli bunting, 127
on McKay’s bunting, 1678, 1679,
1680
Keller, C., on pine siskin, 430
Kellogg, P. P., and Allen, A. A., on clay-
colored sparrow, 1202
Kelly, Junea W., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1352
Kemnitzer, Allen, on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1463
Kemsies, Emerson, on Smith’s longspur,
1628
Kemsies, Emerson, and Randle, W., on
Smith’s longspur, 1632
Kenagy, F., on Brewer’s sparrow, 1210
Kenai song sparrow, 1633
kenaiensis, Melospiza melodia, 1533
Kendeigh, 8. C., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 211
on grasshopper sparrow, 727
Kennedy, C. H., on lazuli bunting, 114
Kennerly, C. B. R., on Abert’s towhee,
632
on Botteri’s sparrow, 976
on lark bunting, 647
Kenyon, Karl W., on eastern rustic
bunting, 1681
on green-tailed towhee, 550
Kessel, B., on golden-crowned sparrow,
1353
1842
Kessel, B., Cade, Tom J., and Shaller,
George B., on hoary redpoll, 401,
402
Keyes, Charles R., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 229
on Montane Lincoln’s sparrow,
1469
Keyser, Leander S., on lark bunting, 643,
648, 651
Kimball, H. H., on Mexican evening
grosbeaks, 252, 254, 255, 256
King, F. H., on rufous-sided towhee, 571
King, J. R., on lazuli bunting, 120, 129
on Oregon vesper sparrow, 884
on western vesper sparrow, 882
King, Virgil D., on grasshopper sparrow,
731
Kingbird, 187, 1476
Cassin’s, 977
western, 977
Kinglet, 1076
golden-crowned, 217
ruby-crowned, 217, 253, 346, 1063,
1330, 1400, 1452
Kinsey, E. C., on lazuli bunting, 114,
116, 119, 121, 123, 124, 126, 130
Kirk, G. L., on Nelson’s sharp-tailed
sparrow, 794
Kirn, Albert J., on dickcissel, 167
kirtlandii, Dendroica, 871
Kirtland’s warbler, 871, 1571
Kivirikko, K. E., on eastern rustic
bunting, 1683
Kiyosu, Yukiyasu, on Japanese bullfinch,
259, 260
on Japanese hawfinch, 201, 202, 205
Klimstra, W. D., on Smith’s longspur,
1631
Klugh, A. Brooker, on white-winged
crossbill, 532, 539
Knappen, P. M., on tree sparrow, 1154
Knight, Howard, on house finch, 294,
295, 300, 302
Knight, Ora W., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 792
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 327,
328, 329, 331, 333
on eastern goldfinch, 452
on eastern purple finch 267, 270
on eastern song sparrow, 1492, 1494,
1495, 1497, 1501, 1503
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 8
Knight, Ora W.—Continued
on indigo bunting, 85, 86, 92
on red crossbill, 507, 508
on tree sparrow, 1153
on white-throated sparrow, 1371,
1372, 1382
Knight, Wilbur C., on arctic towhee, 582
Knorr, Owen A., on gray-headed junco,
1101, 1120
Knowles, E. H. M., on lark sparrow, 889
Knowlton, G. F., on clay-colored
sparrow, 1200
on lark bunting, 645
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 710
on northern sage sparrow, 1009
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1308
on Oregon junco, 1060
on western vesper sparrow, 884
Kobayashi, Keisuke, on Japanese haw-
finch, 200
Kobayashi, Keisuke, and _ Ishizawa,
Takeo, on Japanese hawfinch,
200, 201
Kobbe, W. H., on Nuttall’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1299
on rusty song sparrow, 1543
Kodiak fox sparrow, 1419
pine grosbeak, 340
Kopman, Henry H., on western gulf
coast seaside sparrow, 844, 847
Krause, Herbert, on eastern cardinal, 2
on McCown’s longspur, 1564, 1568
Krehbiel, A. J., on clay-colored sparrow,
1205
Krog, John (in Gabrielson and Lin-
coln), on Pribilof snow bunting,
1675
Kumlein, L., and Hollister, N., on
western Henslow’s sparrow, 783
Kumlein, Ludwig, on Cassin’s bullfinch,
257
Kuntz, Paul, on eastern evening gros-
beak, 214, 215
Kuyava, G. C., on clay-colored sparrow,
1190, 1192, 1194, 1195, 1199,
1200, 1201, 1203, 1204
Kyllingstad, Henry C., on common red-
poll, 413
on Gambel’s white-crowned sparrow,
1325, 1333
*
INDEX
L
Labrador Savannah sparrow, 675
labradorius, Passerculus sandwichensis,
675, 696, 697
La Brie, W., on Acadian sharp-tailed
sparrow, 791
Lacey, Howard, on lazuli bunting, 119
on lesser goldfinch, 472
Lack, David, on brown-capped rosy
finch, 373
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 681
on mountain song sparrow, 1526
on snow bunting, 1660
Laguna rufous-crowned sparrow, 955
Lainevool, Maire, on white-throated
sparrow, 1366, 1373, 1377, 1382,
1383
Lamb, Charles R. (én Brewster), on
southern swamp sparrow, 1486
Lamb, Chester C., on Baird’s junco,
1134, 1135, 1136
on gray sage sparrow, 1020
on large-billed towhee, 602
on rufous-winged sparrow, 911
on western Savannah sparrow, 704
lambi, Aimophila ruficeps, 954
Lamm, Donald W., on dickcissel, 161
Land, Hugh C., on varied bunting, 133
Landmark, A., on brambling, 195
Lane, John, on Baird’s sparrow, 745
on clay-colored sparrow, 1189, 1190,
1191, 1192, 1195, 1201, 1202, 1203
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
818
Langdon, Roy M., on lark bunting, 640,
641, 642, 644, 645, 648, 649, 651,
654
Langille, J. H., on dickcissel, 181
on eastern purple finch, 266
on indigo bunting, 95
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 39
Lanius ludovicianus, 129
Lanyon, W. E., on eastern song sparrow,
1504
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 254,
256
Lapland longspur, 700, 1254
lapponicus, Calcarius, 757
Calcarius lapponicus, 1568, 1595,
1597, 1609, 1610
1843
Large-billed Savannah sparrow, 722
towhee, 602, 1135
La Rivers, Ira, on green-tailed towhee,
555
on western evening grosbeak, 241
Lark, 638, 653
bunting, 638
desert horned, 641, 646, 1584
ground, 1567
horned, 517, 653, 669, 752, 758, 780,
977, 1076, 1254, 1395, 1567, 1593,
1604, 1605, 1635, 1668
prairie horned, 762
shore, 1564, 1596
sparrow, 76, 294, 486, 629, 886,
952, 998, 1237
Lark-bunting, black-breasted, 1565
Laskey, Amelia Rudolph, on eastern
cardinal, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13,
14
on eastern field sparrow, 1232
on eastern goldfinch, 459
on eastern purple finch, 271
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1281, 1284
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 44
on tree sparrow, 1138
Latham, John, on Le Conte’s sparrow,
765
on southern swamp sparrow, 1475
Latham, Roy, on Ipswich sparrow, 658,
668
latifascia, Emberiza rustica, 1681
Law, J. E., on golden-crowned sparrow,
1357
on green-backed goldfinch, 480
on green-tailed towhee, 554, 555,
557
on Oregon junco, 1062
Lawhead, P. J., on gray-headed junco,
1101
Lawrence, A. G., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 212, 214, 216, 221
Lawrence, George N., on McCown’s
longspur, 1564, 1565
on Olive sparrow, 544
on Sharpe’s seedeater, 325
on varied bunting, 135
Lawrence, Louise de Kiriline, on eastern
and Canadian chipping sparrows,
1168, 1176
1844
Lawrence, Louise de Kiriline—Con.
on eastern evening grosbeak, 228,
233
on eastern purple finch, 266
on northern slate-colored junco,
1030, 1037
on pine siskin, 429, 436, 440, 443
on red crossbill, 501, 504, 506, 509,
510
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 38
on white-throated sparrow, 1373
on white-winged crossbill, 528, 535,
539
lawrencei, Spinus, 486
Lawrence’s goldfinch, 475, 484, 486
lazula, Guiraca caerulea, 79
Lazuli bunting, 93, 98, 106, 107, 108,
111, 135, 940, 952
Lea, R. B., and Edwards, E. P., on
lazuli bunting, 130
Least flycatcher, 99
lecontei, Ammospiza, 756
Le Conte’s bunting, 772
sparrow, 739, 760, 761, 765, 786,
788, 795, 804, 964
Lee, M. H., on lazuli bunting, 119, 126
Lees, W. A. D. (in Friedmann), on
eastern song sparrow, 1506
Leffingwell, Dana J., and Leffingwell,
Ann M., on Hephurn’s rosy finch,
354, 355, 356, 357
Legler, J. M., on eastern song sparrow,
1507
Lein, M. Ross, on MeCown’s longspur,
1569
Lemmings, 678
Leopold, Aldo, and Eynon, Alfred E.,
on indigo bunting, 96
LeSassier, Anne L., on lark sparrow,
887
Lesser goldfinch, 103, 471
redpoll, 411
Le Touit Noir (see rufous-sided towhee),
562
leucophrys, Zonotrichia, 1063,
1306, 1320, 1321, 1357
Zonotrichia leucophrys, 1273, 1314
leucoptera, Loxia leucoptera, 527
Leucosticte, 368, 377, 1076
atrata, 365, 377, 382
australis, 371, 373, 377
tephrocotis, 347, 377, 379
tephrocotis dawsoni, 362, 1063
1105,
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Leucosticte—Continued
tephrocotis griseonucha, 347
tephrocotis littoralis, 362, 358, 371,
382
tephrocotis tephrocotis, 358, 362,
371, 377, 382
tephrocotis umbrina, 347
tephrocotis wallowa, 362
leucura, Pinicola enucleator, 326, 337
Leudtke, G. H., on rufous-sided towhee,
571
Levy, Seymour, on gray-headed junco,
1103
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
925, 926
Lewis, Harrison F., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 791, 792
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 330,
332
on common redpoll, 419
on dickcissel, 164
on eastern evening grosbeak, 229
on eastern fox sparrow, 1398, 1399,
1410
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1274, 1276, 1278, 1284
on James Bay sharp-tailed sparrow,
814
Lewis, Hubert, on clay-colored sparrow,
1193, 1205
Lewis, M., on McCown’s longspur, 1564,
1566
Ligon, J. S., on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1242, 1246
on Cassin’s sparrow, 982
on eastern evening grosbeak, 212
Lincoln, F. C., on Alaska longspur, 1626
on brown-capped rosy finch, 374,
375, 376
on clay-colored sparrow, 1190, 1205
on eastern purple finch, 275
on gray-headed junco, 1102
on house finch, 303
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
on southern swamp sparrow, 1485
Lincoln song sparrow, 1468
Lincolnii, Fringilla, 1435
lincolnii, Melospiza, 1105
Melospiza lincolnii, 1434
Lincoln’s finch, 1435
sparrow, 1105, 1262, 1362, 1434,
1469, 1470, 1471, 1472, 1475,
1483, 1525
INDEX
Linnet (see house finch), 264, 274, 286,
290, 292, 294, 295, 297, 304, 308,
309, 310, 317
Linsdale, Jean M., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1211
on Cassin’s finch, 288
on desert black-throated sparrow,
996, 997, 999
on fox sparrow, 1393, 1394, 1395,
1425
(in Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale),
on fox sparrow, 1428
on Gambel’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1335
on green-backed goldfinch, 474
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 486
on mountain song sparrow, 1526
on Nevada towhee, 592
on northern sage sparrow,
1007, 1008, 1010, 1011
on Oregon junco, 1067, 1069
on San Francisco brown towhee, 615
on southern swamp sparrow, 1475
on western chipping sparrow, 1185
Linsdale, Jean M., and Linsdale, Mary,
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1320, 1321, 1323
Linton, C. B., on Santa Cruz rufous-
crowned sparrow, 943
on song sparrow: Pacific Insular
subsp., 1557
Littlejohn, Chase (in Ray), on Point
Pinos Oregon junco, 1086
littoralis, Leucosticte tephrocotis, 352,
358, 371, 382
Lloyd, Hoyes, on dickcissel, 164
(in Davie), on Guadalupe black-
throated sparrow, 992
Lloyd, William, on desert black-throated
sparrow, 996
on McCown’s longspur, 1571, 1595
on Texas brown towhee, 631
Loetscher, Frederick William, Jr., on
indigo bunting, 103
Logan, Stanley, on eastern cardinal, 11
Loggerhead shrike, 129, 485, 977, 1231,
1362
Lonell, Harvey B., on eastern cardinal,
11
Long-billed curlew, 977
marsh wren, 807, 831, 841, 1452
thrasher, 545
Long-crested jay, 253
1005,
1845
Long-eared owl, 197
longirostris, Rallus, 831
Longspur, 381, 649, 653, 751, 758
Alaska, 349, 678, 1608, 1630
black-breasted, 1565, 1567
chestnut-collared, 641, 752, 757,
762, 1568, 1569, 1591, 1592, 1636
common Lapland, 1568, 1595, 1697,
1609, 1614, 1615, 1616, 1622,
1628, 1630, 1631, 1632, 1656,
1668, 1670, 1671
Lapland, 700, 1254
McCown’s, 641, 647, 1564, 1635,
1646, 1647, 1648
Smith’s, 1628, 1668
Longstreet, R. J., on eastern goldfinch,
464
Long-tailed chat, 651
Loomis, L. M., on Point Pinos Oregon
junco, 1083, 1084, 1087
Louisiana cardinal, 17
seaside sparrow, 841, 847, 849
Lowery, George H., Jr., on dickcissels,
163
on eastern painted bunting, 140
on eastern song sparrow, 1508
on grasshopper sparrow, 741
on indigo bunting, 81, 98, 103
on Labrador Savannah sparrow, 677
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 774
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 710
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow, 919
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 788
on western seaside sparrow, 846,
847, 848
Lowther, James K., on white-throated
sparrow, 1364
Loxia curvirostra, 498
curvirostra bendirei, 498, 513, 520,
521, 526
curvirostra benti, 497, 520, 525, 540
curvirostra curvirostra, 497
curvirostra grinnelli, 524, 525
curvirostra mesamericana, 526
curvirostra minor, 498, 500, 513,
518, 532, 533
eurvirostra neogoca, 500, 513
curvirostra percna, 498, 499
curvirostra pusilla, 498
curvirostra sitkensis, 518
curvirostra stricklandi, 497, 498,
524, 526
leucoptera leucoptera, 527
1846
ludovicianus, Lanius, 129
Pheucticus, 36
Lyon B., on Oregon junco, 1052
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1073
M
maccowni, Centrophanes
panes), 1565, 1566
maccownii, Plectrophanes, 1567, 1596
MacDonald, Arthur, on Ipswich spar-
row, 672, 674
on snow bunting, 1654
MacFarlane, Roderick Ross, on Ca-
nadian pine grosbeak, 327
on tree sparrow, 1144, 1146
macgillivraii, Ammospiza maritima,
831, 835, 841, 864
MacGillivray’s seaside sparrow, 831
warbler, 559, 1425
MacKay, George H., on eastern gold-
finch, 463
Mackenzie Smith’s longspur, 1628
MacLulich, D. A., on white-winged
crossbill, 530
Macoun, John, on Acadian sharp-tailed
sparrow, 789, 792
on McCown’s longspur, 1572, 1573,
1574, 1578, 1580
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
817
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1299
on white-throated sparrow, 1368,
1369
on white-winged crossbill, 531, 538
Macoun, W. T., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 211
macropterus, Spinus pinus, 424, 444,
446
macroura, Zenaidura, 241
macularia, Actitis, 733
maculatus, Chlorura, 557
Pheucticus melanocephalus, 58
Pipilo, 581, 598, 601
Maddox, Marie Kaizer, on Canadian
pine grosbeak, 327, 328
Magdalena Savannah sparrow, 721
magdalenae, Passerculus sandwichen-
sis, 720, 721
Magee, M. J., on eastern evening gros-
beak, 219, 220, 231, 233
on eastern purple finch, 269, 270,
271, 274
(Rhyncho-
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN
237 PART 8
magna, Sturnella, 726
magnirostris, Pipilo erythrophthalmus,
602, 1135
Richmondena cardinalis, 17
Magnolia warbler, 958
Magpies, 249
Mahan, H. D., on eastern song sparrow,
1507
W. J,
1618, 1619
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1307
on western Savannah sparrow, 700,
701
Maillard, John W., on fox sparrow, 1427
Mailliard, Joseph, on desert black-
throated sparrow, 996
on dwarf Savannah sparrow, 699
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1358,
1359
on Modoe song sparrow, 1532
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1307
on San Diego song sparrow, 1556
on San Francisco brown towhee,
609
Mailliard, Joseph, and Grinnell, J., on
California sage sparrow, 1015
mailliardi, Melospiza melodia, 1553,
1555
Malecomson, R. O., on eastern field
sparrow, 1232
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 690
on northern sage sparrow, 1011
on Oregon junco, 1067
on white-winged junco, 1027
Manning, T. H., on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1277
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1416
Manning, T. H., Hohn, E. O., and
Macpherson, A. H., on Alaska
longspur, 1610
common Lapland
1597, 1599, 1601, 1604
on snow bunting, 1665
Manning, T. H., and Macpherson,
A. H., on eastern fox sparrow,
1401, 1402
Manville, Richard H., on white-winged
crossbill, 534
Manwell, R. D., and Herman, C. M.,
on eastern song sparrow, 1502
Maher, on Alaska longspur,
on longspur,
INDEX
1847
Marble, Richard M., on eastern evening | Martin, A. C., Zim, H. S., and Nelson
grosbeak, 212
Marie-Victorin, Frere, on eastern eve-
ning grosbeak, 222
Marin song sparrow, 1546
maritima, Ammospiza, 803, 838, 841,
850, 854, 860
Ammospiza maritima, 819, 831, 864
Markle, J. M., on lark sparrow, 889
Marler, Peter, and Isaac, Donald, on
eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1178
Marler, Peter, Kreith, Marcia, and
Tamura Miwako, on Oregon
junco, 1065
Marsh hawk, 740, 762, 780, 787, 799,
808, 829, 1196, 1266, 1362
sparrow, 551, 715, 722
wren, 760, 800, 829, 848
Marshall, A. J., on rufous-winged spar-
row, 907
Marshall, Joe T., Jr., on Abert’s tow-
hee, 636, 637
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
946, 947
on Bendire’s crossbill, 515
on black-headed grosbeak, 64, 65
on Botteri’s sparrow, 976, 979, 980
on Cassin’s sparrow, 987
on coastal Savannah sparrow, 713
on desert black-throated sparrow,
997
on gray-headed junco, 1103, 1117
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 251
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1131, 1132
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1319
on rufous-winged sparrow, 903,
904, 908, 909, 910, 911, 912, 919
on San Lucas brown towhee, 620
on song sparrow: San Francisco
Bay marsh subsp., 1547
on spurred towhee, 584, 587, 589
on western evening grosbeak, 248
Marshall, Joe T., Jr., and Behle, W. H.,
on Tucson song sparrow, 1559
Marshall, Joe T., Jr., and Johnson,
R. Roy, on Canyon brown
towhee, 622, 624
Martin, A. C., Zim, H. S., and Nelson,
A. L., on Brewer’s sparrow, 1212
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1647
A. L.—Continued
on eastern field sparrow, 1229
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 684
on lazuli bunting, 124
on northern slate-colored junco,
1035
on Oregon junco, 1060, 1061
on Smith’s longspur, 1631
on snow bunting, 1666
on southern swamp sparrow, 1481
Martin, E. W., on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 690
Martin, N. D., on white-throated spar-
row, 1366
Martin, PaulS., Robins, C. Richard, and
Heed, William B., on Botteri’s
sparrow, 976
Mason, C. Russell, on Bahama black-
faced grassquit, 156
on rufous-sided towhee, 575
Mason, E. A., on eastern field sparrow,
1231
on southern swamp sparrow, 1485
Mason, Robert F., Jr., on eastern Hens-
low’s sparrow, 776
on pine-woods Bachman’s sparrow,
970
Mathews, F. 8., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1482
maxillaris, Melospiza melodia, 1547, 1554
maxima, Melospiza melodia, 1533
Maximilian, Prince of Wied, on Harris’
sparrow, 1249, 1250
Mayer, John, on Ipswich sparrow, 673
Maynard, Charles J., on Bahama black-
faced grassquit, 155
on dusky seaside sparrow, 849, 850
on eastern fox sparrow, 1406
on eastern painted bunting, 145
on Ipswich sparrow, 657
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 773
on rufous-sided towhee, 563, 574
Mayr, E., on Oregon junco, 1059
McAtee, Waldo Lee, on black-headed
grosbeak, 65
on eastern blue grosbeak, 70
on eastern cardinal, 7, 8 e
on eastern painted bunting, 148
on indigo bunting, 91, 92
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1451
on pine siskin, 437
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 44
1848 U.S. NATIONAL
McAtee, Waldo Lee—Continued
on rufous-sided towhee, 570
on white-throated sparrow, 1365
McBee, Lena, on clay-colored sparrow,
1206
McCabe, T. T., on Gambel’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1325
McCabe, T. T., and McCabe, E. B., on
Bendire’s crossbill, 515
on Oregon junco, 1053
on pine siskin, 436, 438, 440
McClure Elliott, on Gambel’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1335, 1336
McCown, John P., on McCown’s long-
spur, 1564, 1566
McCown longspur, 641, 647
mecownii, Rhynchophanes, 1564
McCown’s bunting, 1567
longspur, 1564, 1635, 1646, 1647,
1648
McCreary, Otto, on McCown’s long-
spur, 1568, 1573, 1581
on western evening grosbeak, 249
McCreary, Otto, and Mickey, Arthur,
on dickcissel, 164
McCrimmon, A. R., on dickcissel, 165
McDougall, Lucie, on eastern evening
grosbeak, 226, 228
McEwen, E. H., on common Lapland
longspur, 1598
McGregor, Richard C., on Abreojos
Savannah sparrow, 720
on Aleutian Savannah sparrow, 705
on lazuli bunting, 119
on McGregor’s house finch, 318
on Oregon junco, 1059
on San Benito Savannah sparrow,
719
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1535, 1538
megregori, Carpodacus, 316, 318
McGregor’s house finch, 318
McGugan, J. M., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 210, 225
McHugh, Thomas C., on Nuttall’s
white-crowned sparrow, 1299
Mcllhenny, E. A., on eastern Savannah
- sparrow, 687
Mellroy, D. W., on clay-colored spar-
row, 1200
McIntosh, A., on northern slate-colored
junco, 1039
on Oregon junco, 1067
MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
McIntyre, Grace, on white-winged junco,
1026
McKay, Charles
bunting, 1678
McKay’s bunting, 1675, 1677
McKee, E. D., on gray-headed junco,
1115
McLaren, Sheldon, on eastern evening ~
grosbeak, 228
McLaughlin, V. P., on Texas black-
throated sparrow, 990
McLean, Donald D., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1354, 1360, 1362
McMannama, Zella, on western evening
grosbeak, 246
McQueen, L. B., on pink-sided Oregon
junco, 1072
Meade, Gordon M., on pine siskin, 440
on red crossbill, 511
on white-winged crossbill, 535
Meadowlark, 158, 622, 652, 678, 726,
776, 780, 799, 827, 1405, 1567,
1649, 1650
eastern, 977, 1237, 1283
western, 646, 762, 1202
Mealy redpoll, 191
Meanley, Brooke, on Illinois Bachman’s
sparrow, 972, 974, 975
Meanley, Brooke, and Neff, Johnson
A., on dickcissel, 163
Mearns, Edgar A., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 332
on gray-headed junco, 1102, 1108,
1110
on pale goldfinch, 467
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1077
on San Clemente house finch, 316
on southern swamp sparrow, 1486
L., on McKay’s
mearnsi, Junco oreganus, 1051, 1052,
1053, 1058, 1060, 1066, 1071,
1090, 1093, 1100, 1102, 1103,
1104, 1118, 1119, 1120, 1121,
1123, 1124
mediogriseus, Passerculus sandwichensis,
678
megalonyx, Pipilo, 598, 600, 601
Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 596, 698
Pipilo maculatus, 595, 1131
Pipilo megalonyx, 601, 602
megarhyncha, Passerella iliaca,
1424
melanocephalus, Pheucticus, 43
Pheucticus melanocephalus, 64
1393,
INDEX
melanocorys, Calamospiza, 638
melodia, Melospiza, 941, 1491
Melospiza melodia, 1492, 1512,
W5dSie 51 7,,..1519,:1 15238, .. 1524,
1526, 1528, 1530, 1543, 1555
Melospiza, 1283, 1475
fasciata (melodia) montana, 1430
georgiana, 546
georgiana ericrypta,
1490
georgiana georgiana,
1490
georgiana nigrescens,
lincolnii, 1105
lincolnii alticola, 1467
lincolnii gracilis, 1472
lincolnii lincolnii, 1434
melodia, 941, 1491
melodia amaka, 1533
melodia atlantica, 1492, 1505, 1508,
1512
melodia bendirei, 1559
melodia caurina, 1533, 1540
melodia cinerea, 1536
melodia clementae, 941, 1557
LLL ATS,
1474, 1475,
1475, 1490
melodia cleonensis, 1505, 1544,
1545, 1546 ;
melodia cooperi, 1505, 15545, 1558,
1563
melodia coronatorum, 1557
melodia euphonia, 1496, 1497, 1503,
1504, 1505, 1508, 1513, 1523,
1526, 15380, 1542
melodia fallax, 1505, 1526, 1559,
1562, 1563
melodia fisherella, 1505, 1531
melodia gouldii, 1505, 1546, 1550
melodia graminea, 1557
melodia heermanni, 1505, 1532,
1550, 1554, 1556
melodia inexpectata, 1505, 1527,
1533, 1537
melodia insignis, 1533
melodia juddi, 1505, 1508, 1513,
1528, 1528
melodia kenaiensis, 1533
melodia mailliardi, 1553, 1555
melodia maxillaris, 1547, 1554
melodia maxima, 1533
melodia melodia, 1492, 1512, 1513,
1517, 1519,. 1528, 1524, 1526,
1528, 1530, 15438, 1555
melodia merrilli, 1505, 1529, 1532
646—737—68—pt. 3——-39
1849
Melospiza—Continued
melodia micronyx, 1557
melodia montana, 1505, 1526, 1531,
1532, 1556, 1561, 1562
melodia morphna, 1505, 1523, 1541
melodia pusillula, 712, 1505, 1547
melodia rivularis, 1492, 1563
melodia rufina, 1528, 1533, 1534,
1537, 1540
melodia saltonis, 1505, 1559, 1662
melodia samuelis, 712, 1492, 1505,
1545, 1847, 1555
melodia sanaka, 1533
Melozone, 606
Mendocino song sparrow, 1646
Mengel, Robert M., on Bachman’s
sparrow, 966
Merlin, 192, 197, 381
Richardson’s, 762
Merrem, Blasius, on eastern fox spar-
row, 1395, 1396
Merriam, C. Hart, on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 691
on green-tailed towhee, 555
on Ipswich sparrow, 658
on pine siskin, 433
on rufous-sided towhee, 566
on western field sparrow, 1235
Merriam, Florence, on lazuli bunting,
119
on northern slate-colored junco,
1037
Merrill, James C., on arctic towhee, 582
on Arizona Pyrrhuloxia, 34
on gray-crowned rosy finch, 359
on green-tailed towhee, 558
on lazuli bunting, 120
on Merrill’s song sparrow, 1529,
1530; 1531
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1339
on Olive sparrow, 545
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1073,
1074
on Sharpe’s seedeater, 324
on varied bunting, 135
merrilli, Melospiza melodia, 1505, 1529,
1532
Merrill’s song sparrow, 1529
mersi, Calcarius pictus, 1634
mesamericana, Loxia curvirostra, 526
mesatus, Pipilo fuscus, 630
1850 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
mesoleucus, Pipilo fuscus, 620, 622, 630, | Miller, Alden, H.—Continued
631, 636
Mewaldt, Leonard Richard, on black
rosy finch, 366
on Gambel’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1335
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1321, 1322
Mexican crossbill, 625
evening grosbeak, 241
house finch, 291, 321
pine siskin, 446
(yellow-eyed) junco, 1127
mexicanus, Carpodacus, 291
Carpodacus mexicanus, 319, 321
Cassidix, 858
Falco, 1594
Psilorhinus, 456
Michael, Charles, on Oregon junco, 1066
on western evening grosbeak, 242,
247
Michael, Enid, on western evening gros-
beak, 237, 245
Michener, Harold, on Cassin’s finch, 288
on house finch, 299
Michener, Harold, and Michener, Jose-
phine R., on Anthony’s brown
towhee, 617
on eastern song sparrow, 1507
on house finch, 303, 304
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1323
Michener, J. R., on San Diego song
sparrow, 1556
Mickey, Frances W., on McCown’s
longspur, 1568, 1571, 1573, 1575,
1576, 1577,.. 1578, 1579; 15380,
1581, 1582, 1583, 1585, 1586,
1587, 1588, 1589, 1592, 1594
micronyx, Melospiza melodia, 1657
Middleton, Douglas S., on eastern
vesper sparrow, 873
Middleton, J. C., on eastern cardinal, 2
Middleton, Mrs. Archie, on eastern blue
grosbeak, 69
Mierow, Dorothy, on pine siskin, 428,
432, 433, 437, 440
Mikheev, A. V., on Alaska longspur,
1615
Miller, Alden, H., on Abert’s towhee,
632
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1243
on Arizona grasshopper sparrow,
726
on Baird’s junco, 1133, 1134, 1135
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1015
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1209
on California blue grosbeak, 79
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 932, 935, 938
on California sage sparrow, 1013
on Cassiar slate-colored junco, 1049
on dwarf Savannah sparrow, 698
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1283
on gray-headed junco, 1099, 1100,
1101, 1104, 1110, 1112, 1113,
1119, 1120, 1122, 1123, 1124
on gray sage sparrow, 1020
on green-tailed towhee, 556, 559
on Guadalupe black-throated spar-
row, 992
on Guadalupe junco, 1094
on Hanson Laguna Oregon junco,
1090
on lazuli bunting, 125
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1127, 1131
on northern sage sparrow, 1004
on northwestern Oregon junco,
1080, 1081, 1082
on Oregon junco, 1052, 1054, 1056,
1057, 1058, 1059, 1060, 1066,
1069
on Oregon vesper sparrow, 885
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1072,
1075, 1076, 1077
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1084,
1085, 1087, 1088, 1089
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
920
on Rocky Mountain pine grosbeak,
343
on rufous-winged sparrow, 907
on San Clemente sage sparrow,
1019
on San Clemente towhee, 600
on San Francisco black-chinned
sparrow, 1247, 1248
on San Francisco brown towhee,
605, 613, 614
on San Francisco towhee, 597
on Santa Cruz rufous-crowned spar-
row, 941, 942
INDEX
Miller, Alden, H.—Continued
on Sierra Nevada rosy finch, 364
on song sparrow, 1491
on Texas towhee, 590, 591
on Wallowa rosy finch, 362
on western vesper sparrow, 882
on white-winged junco, 1026, 1027
Miller, Alden H., Friedmann, H., Gris-
com, L., and Moore, R. T., on
California black-chinned spar-
row, 1246
on green-tailed towhee, 560
Miller, Alden H., and McCabe, T. T.,
on Montane Lincoln’s sparrow,
1468
Miller, Alden H., and Stebbins, R. C.,
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1019
on California sage sparrow, 1015
on northern sage sparrow, 1011
Miller, Alice D., on eastern vesper
sparrow, 872
Miller, F. W., on black rosy finch, 367
on brown-capped rosy finch, 373,
374, 376, 380
Miller, G. 8., Jr., on Oregon vesper
sparrow, 884
Miller, John M., on green-backed gold-
finch, 477
Miller, L. H., on Abert’s towhee, 632
on lazuli bunting, 113
on Oregon junco, 1066
Miller, Olive Thorne, on white-winged
crossbill, 539
Miller, R. F., on eastern and Canadian
chipping sparrows, 1166, 1170
Miller, W. de W., on dickcissel, 159
Mills, Doris Heustis, on European gold-
finch, 394
minimus, Psaltriparus, 1063
minor, Loxia curvirostra, 498, 500, 513,
518, 532, 533
Minot, Henry Davis, on Cassin’s finch,
286 ’
on green-tailed towhee, 558
on rufous-sided towhee, 574
mirabilis, Ammospiza, 851, 859
Ammospiza maritima, 860
Mississippi song sparrow, 1513
Missouri skylark, 1595
Mitchell, Harold D., on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1276
Mitchell, Margaret H., on dickcissel,
164
1851
Mitchell, W. I., on gray-headed junco,
1108
on lesser goldfinch, 472
Mockingbird, 3, 9, 890, 959, 977, 1405
western, 23, 896
Modesto song sparrow, 1553
Modoc song sparrow, 1531
Moffitt, James, on Cassin’s finch, 281
Molothrus ater, 88, 559, 741, 762, 829,
1027, 1121,.1203, 1505, 1550
ater artemisiae, 1460
ater ater, 232, 629, 1460
ater obscurus, 637, 991, 999, 1067,
1246
Mono fox sparrow, 1424
monoensis, Passerella iliaca, 1393, 1424
Monson, Gale W., on Baird’s sparrow,
747, 751, 763, 764
on Botteri’s sparrow, 975, 976, 977
on dickcissel, 164
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 496
on McCown’s longspur, 1571
on Mexican evening grosbeaks, 252
on rufous-winged sparrow, 903, 909
Monson, G. W., and Phillips, A. R., on
lazuli bunting, 130
Montagna, W., on Acadian _ sharp-
tailed sparrow, 793
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
796, 798, 799
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1278
on southern sharp-tailed sparrow,
813
montana, Hesperiphona vespertina, 251
Melospiza fasciata (melodia), 1430
Melospiza melodia, 1505, 16265,
1531, 1532, 1556, 1561, 1562
Pinicola enucleator, 342
Montana junco, 1052
Montane Lincoln’s sparrow, 1467
montanus, Junco oreganus, 1050, 1072,
1075, 1076, 1079, 1080, 1081,
1082, 1102, W213) Jian 1129)
WEG 1124
Oreoscoptes, 76
Passer, 1137
Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 581, 583,
591, 592
Pipilo maculatus, 588
Montgomery, Thomas H., Jr., on
Guadalupe black-throated spar-
row, 992
1852
monticola, Spizella, 1214
montifringilla, Fringilla, 191
Moody, Charles §., on Hepburn’s rosy
finch, 353, 354
Mooney, Barbara L., on Nuttall’s
white-crowned sparrow, 1292
Moore, Edward M., on eastern painted
bunting, 150
Moore, Robert T., on eastern fox spar-
row, 1406, 1407
on house finch, 292
on lazuli bunting, 130
on rufous-sided towhee, 574
on rufous-winged sparrow, 902, 911,
914, 916
on San Luis house finch, 315
Moore, Robert T., and Taber, Wendell,
on green-tailed towhee, 550
Moore, W. H., on white-winged crossbill,
534
morelleti, Sporophila, 324, 325
Morgan, Allen H., on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 680
Moriarty, L. J., on chestnut-collared
longspur, 1637, 1641, 1642, 1643,
1644, 1646
morphna, Melospiza melodia, 1505, 1523,
1541
Morrell, C. H., on pine siskin, 431, 433
Morris, R. O., on Acadian sharp-tailed
sparrow, 794
Morrison, Charles F., on white-winged
crossbill, 538
Morrissey, Alfred, on Ipswich sparrow,
659
Mountain bluebird, 370
chickadee, 1076
plover, 641
song sparrow, 1526
white-crowned sparrow, 1293, 1338
Mourning dove, 146, 171
finch, 1249, 1250
warbler, 1454
Mousley, Henry, on eastern goldfinch,
456
Mumford, R. E., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 334
on Illinois Bachman’s sparrow, 972
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 767
on pine siskin, 437
on rufous-sided towhee, 567
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Munro, James A., on Baird’s sparrow,
762
on Bendire’s crossbill, 513, 515
on Cassin’s finch, 285
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 690
on eastern song sparrow, 1506
on lazuli bunting, 114
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 252°
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
816
on rufous-winged sparrow, 914
on Sitka crossbill, 518
on western evening grosbeak, 246,
248
Munro, J. A., and Cowan, I. M., on
western Savannah sparrow, 703
on white-throated sparrow, 1366,
1369
Murdock, James, and Cogswell, H. L.,
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
944
Murie, Olaus J., on Alaska longspur,
1609
on eastern rustic bunting, 1681
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1353,
1360
on Pribilof rosy finch, 347
on Pribilof snow bunting, 1676
Murphey, E. E., on eastern painted
bunting, 139, 141, 145, 152
on indigo bunting, 83
Murphy, E. H., on rufous-sided towhee,
563
Murphy, Robert C., on European gold-
finch, 384
Murray, J. J., on Atlantic song sparrow,
1512
on eastern cardinal, 8, 11
on rufous-sided towhee, 564
musicus, Turdus, 195
Musselman, T. E., on dickcissel, 165
on rufous-sided towhee, 572
Myadestes townsendi, 1105
Myers, H. W., on ashy rufous-crowned
sparrow, 948, 949, 950, 951, 953
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 935, 938
Myres, Timothy, on McCown’s long-
spur, 1574
Myrtle warbler, 98, 217, 1330
INDEX
N
naevius, Ixoreus, 1063, 1082
Nakamura, Y., on Japanese hawfinch,
202
Nauman, E. D., on eastern field sparrow,
1231
on Japanese hawfinch, 202
neglecta, Sturnella, 646
Sturnella magna, 625
Nehrling, Henry, on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 328
on Cassin’s sparrow, 984
on eastern blue grosbeak, 67, 71, 72
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
on white-winged crossbill, 531, 538,
541
Neilson, J. A., on lazuli bunting, 113
Nelson, A. L., on rufous-sided towhee,
570
Nelson, B., on snow bunting, 1668
Nelson, E. W., on Alaska longspur, 1614,
1616, 1617, 1623, 1625
on Alaska pine grosbeak, 338
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1358
on Hanson Laguna Oregon junco,
1090, 1091
on hoary redpoll, 404
on lazuli bunting, 128, 129
on McCown’s longspur, 1596
on McKay’s bunting, 1678
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
815
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1300
on Townsend’s Oregon junco, 1093
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1415, 1416
nelsoni, AmMmospiza caudacuta, 794, 803,
808, 809, 814, 815
Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow, 760, 769,
816
Neocorys spraguii, 1595
neogoca, Loxia curvirostra, 500, 513
Nero, Robert W., on clay-colored spar-
row, 1188
on northern slate-colored junco,
1030
nesa, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 258, 259
nesophilus, Carpodacus purpureus, 263
Nevada cowbird, 577
Savannah sparrow, 708
towhee, 692
1853
nevadensis, Amphispiza belli, 1004,
1013, 1014, 1018
Passerculus sandwichensis, 696, 697,
699, 703, 708, 717
Newfoundland crossbill, 498
pine grosbeak, 336
purple finch, 263
Newman, Donald L., on eastern Savan-
nah sparrow, 679
Newman, J. D., on Arizona black-
chinned sparrow, 1241
on California black-chinned spar-
row, 1246
on San Francisco
sparrow, 1247
Newman, Robert James, on western sea-
side sparrow, 848
Newton, Alfred, on brambling, 198
Nibe, T., on Japanese hawfinch, 202
Nice, Margaret M., on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 939
on eastern cardinal, 8, 13
on eastern goldfinch, 461
on eastern song sparrow, 1493, 1494,
1496, 1497, 1502, 15038, 1505,
1506
on eastern vesper sparrow, 870, 878
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1277
on Harris’ sparrow, 1256, 1257,
1259, 1261, 1262, 1264, 1265
on lark sparrow, 898
on lazuli bunting, 113
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1438, 1439,
1444, 1445, 1449
on McCown’s longspur, 1568, 1580
on Mississippi song sparrow, 1513
on mountain song sparrow, 1526
on northern seaside sparrow, 824
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
920, 922
on rufous-sided towhee, 576
on rusty song sparrow, 1542
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
928, 929
on song sparrow, 1492
Nice, Margaret M., and Nice, Leonard
B., on Cassin’s sparrow, 982, 989
Nice, Margaret M., and Pelkwyk, J. T.,
on Mississippi song sparrow, 1518
Nichols (én Pearson et al.), on snow
bunting, 1666, 1667
black-chinned
1854
Nicholson, D. J., on Cape Sable sparrow,
Nicholson, E. M., on Japanese haw-
Nicholson, Wray H., on grasshopper
Nickell, Walter P., on eastern gold-
Nichols, Charles K., on Ipswich sparrow,
659
Nichols, John T., on eastern fox sparrow,
1396
on European goldfinch, 385, 387,
394
on white-throated sparrow, 1374
Nichols, L. N., on gray-headed junco,
1120
on lark sparrow, 886
861
on Carolina slate-colored junco,
1046
on dusky seaside sparrow, 852, 853,
854, 856, 857
on eastern gulf coast seaside
sparrow, 839
on Florida cardinal, 16
on Florida grasshopper sparrow,
726, 727, 731
on indigo bunting, 98
on Mississippi song sparrow, 1516,
1517
on Smyrna seaside sparrow, 835,
836, 837, 838
on Wakulla seaside sparrow, 840
on western seaside sparrow, 844
finch, 200, 202
on snow bunting, 1656, 1661
sparrow, 726, 730, 731, 732, 736,
737, 740
on Smyrna seaside sparrow, 835,
836
finch, 449, 450, 462, 464
Niedrach, Robert J., on brown-capped
rosy finch, 373, 376, 377, 380,
382, 383
Niedrach, Robert J., and Rockwell,
Robert B., on gray-headed junco,
1103
on mountain song sparrow, 1525,
1526
Niethammer, G., on eastern rustic bun-
ting, 1683
Nighswonger, Paul, on tree sparrow,
1160
nigrescens, Ammospiza, 838, 849, 860,
864
Melospiza georgiana, 1475, 1490
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
nigricans, Coccothraustes coccothraus-
tes, 199
nigrilora, Zonotrichia leucophrys, 1275
nisus, Accipiter, 197
nivalis, Plectrophanes, 1567
Plectrophenax nivalis, 1652, 1678,
1679
Nolan, Val, Jr., on Atlantic song spar- —
row, 1512
on Brown’s song sparrow, 1563
on Dakota song sparrow, 1523
on desert song sparrow, 1562
on eastern song sparrow, 1492
on Heermann’s song sparrow, 1554
on Illinois Bachman’s sparrow, 972,
974
on indigo bunting, 88, 97
on Marin song sparrow, 1546
on Mendocino song sparrow, 1545
on Merrill’s song sparrow, 1529
on Modesto song sparrow, 1553
on Modoe song sparrow, 1531
on mountain song sparrow, 1525
on red crossbill, 509
on rufous-sided towhee, 575
on rusty song sparrow, 1541
on San Diego song sparrow, 1555
on song sparrow, 1491
on song sparrow: Pacific Insular
subsp., 1557
on sooty song sparrow, 1540
on yellowhead or Riley song spar-
row, 1527
Nonpareil (see eastern painted bunting),
140
Norris (in Friedmann), on eastern song
sparrow, 1506
Norris, J. Parker, on western evening
grosbeak, 240
Norris, Robert A., on eastern and Cana-
dian chipping sparrows, 1177,
1179
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 684,
685, 686, 687, 689, 692
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1281, 1285, 1286
on green-tailed towhee, 547
on indigo bunting, 82, 108
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 710
Norris, Robert A., and Hight, G. L., Jr.,
on Churchill Savannah sparrow,
697, 698
INDEX
Norris, Robert A., and Hight, G. L., Jr.,
—Continued
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 682,
692
on Labrador Savannah sparrow, 677
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 710
Norris, Russell T., on eastern field spar-
row, 1231
Northern gray-headed junco, 1125
sage sparrow, 1004
seaside sparrow, 819, 857
shrike, 249, 426, 1120, 1266
slate-colored junco, 1026, 1027,
1029
swamp sparrow, 1474
Northwestern (Forbush’s) Lincoln’s
sparrow, 1472
goldfinch, 468
Oregon junco, 1079
Norton, Arthur H., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 789, 790, 791, 793
on common Lapland longspur, 1605
on eastern evening grosbeak, 234
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 802
on white-winged crossbill, 534
Nowell, J. Rowland, on eastern cardinal,
11
Nucifraga columbiana, 370
Nutcracker, Clark, 370
Nuthatch, 635, 1076
brown-headed, 958
red-breasted, 255, 958, 1021, 1123
white-breasted, 1026, 1123
Nuttall, Thomas, on dickcissel, 180, 181
on eastern cardinal, 10
on eastern painted bunting, 147
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 805
on Harris’ sparrow, 1249, 1250
on indigo bunting, 94, 95
on lark bunting, 638
on red crossbill, 511
on southern swamp sparrow, 1481
nuttalli, Zonotrichia leucophrys, 941,
1089, 1292, 1328, 1329, 1339,
1342, 1345, 1347, 1348, 1349,
1350, 1357
Nuttall’s white-crowned sparrow, 1292,
1326, 1328, 1838, 1344, 1345,
1346, 1347, 1348, 1349, 1350
Nye, W. P., on western vesper sparrow,
884
Nyholm, E. S., on eastern rustic bun-
ting, 1682
1855
O
2 Oakeson, Barbara B., on Gambel’s
white-crowned 1327,
1334
Oak-woods sparrow, 972
Oberholser, Harry Church, on Arizona
Pyrrhuloxia, 34
on Colorado brown towhee, 630
on dickcissels, 163
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1167
on eastern fox sparrow, 1396
on eastern painted bunting, 138,
141
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1275
on Hanson Laguna Oregon junco,
1090
on indigo bunting, 86, 92
on James Bay sharp-tailed spar-
row, 815
on Mexican crossbill, 526
on Modoc song sparrow, 1532
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1339
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
817
on northern swamp sparrow, 1474
on rufous-sided towhee, 571
on San Pablo brown towhee, 619,
620
on southern sharp-tailed sparrow,
813
on western seaside sparrow, 847
oblitus, Passerculus sandwichensis, 682,
696
obscura, Aimophila ruficeps, 940
obscurus, Carpodacus mexicanus, 292
Molothrus ater, 637, 991, 999,
1067, 1246
ocai, Pipilo, 548
occidentalis, Strix, 248
ochracea, Spizella arborea, 1137
ochrocephalus, Centronyx, 746
Odlum, G. C., on golden-crowned spar-
row, 1362
Odum, Eugene P., on indigo bunting,
82, 102
on white-throated sparrow, 1387
Odum, Eugene P., Connell, C. E., and
Stoddard, H. L., on indigo bun-
ting, 102
sparrow,
1856
Odum, Eugene P., and _ Hight,
Gordon L., on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 684, 692, 693
oenathe, Oenathe, 1656
Oenathe oenathe, 1656
Oksche, A., on rufous-winged sparrow,
907
olivacea, Passerella iliaca, 1393, 1424
Olive sparrow, 644
Oliver, Don R., on eastern
crowned sparrow, 1278
Olive-sided flycatcher, 789
Olsen, O. W., on rufous-sided towhee,
576
Richard E.,
sparrow, 767
omissa, Tiaris bicolor, 157, 158
Ontario Smith’s longspur, 1628
opuntia, Amphispiza bilineata, 992
Orchard oriole, 890
Orcutt, Francis H., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 234
oregana, Fringilla, 1052
oreganus, Junco, 1050, 1094, 1097, 1098,
1110; 25
Junco oreganus, 1076, 1079
Oregon brown towhee, 603
junco, 1026, 1027, 1038, 1050, 1102,
1120, 1123, 1125
snow-bird, 1063
towhee, 593
vesper sparrow, 884
oregonus, Junco hyemalis, 1093
Pipilo erythrophthalmus, 593, 596,
601
Oreoscoptes montanus, 76
Oreospiza, 127
oriantha, Zonotrichia leucophrys, 1275,
1292, 1293, 1294, 1296, 1300,
1312, 1313, 13814, 1338
Oriole, 230, 294, 295, 296
Baltimore, 517
hooded, 295
orchard, 890
ornatus, Calearius, 757, 1568, 1635
Orr, Robert Thomas, on Cassin’s finch,
280
Virginia,
1449
Ortega, James L., on Lawrence’s gold-
finch, 493
Osburn, Pingree I., on song sparrow:
Pacific Insular subsp., 1558
white-
Olsen, on Le Conte’s
Orr,
on Lincoln’s sparrow,
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Osgood, W. H., on chestnut-collared
longspur, 1636
on desert black-throated sparrow,
996
on northern sage sparrow, 1012
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
929
ossifragus, Corvus, 829
Otocoris, 383
otus, Asio, 198
Ouellet, Henri, on eastern
crowned sparrow, 1283
Ouzel, water, 346
Ovenbird, 960, 1132
Over, W. H., and Clement, G. M., on
white-winged junco, 1022
Owl, 183, 615, 637, 689, 690, 772, 1143,
1159, 1315, 1485, 1506, 1650
horned, 249, 1011, 1066, 1266, 1507
long-eared, 197
pigmy, 287, 1066, 1362
screech, 1286, 1362, 1507
short-eared, 759, 808, 1552, 1593
spotted, 248
tawny, 198
white-
P
Packard, Christopher M., on eastern
evening grosbeak, 208
Packard, Fred Mallery, on brown-cap-
ped rosy finch, 373
on lazuli bunting, 129
Paine, R. T., on Brewer’s sparrow, 1208
Painted bunting, 50, 94, 108, 135, 137
finch (see eastern painted bunting),
137
Pale goldfinch, 467
Palliatus, Junco phaeonotus, 1099, 1100,
1113, 1127
pallida, Emberiza, 1188
Spizella, 195, 1265, 1186, 1211
pallidior, Passerina ciris, 154
pallidus, Spinus tristis, 467, 469
Palmer, E., on Guadalupe junco, 1094
(in Ridgway), on Guadalupe junco,
1096, 1097
Palmer, Ralph S., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 793
on common Lapland longspur, 1605
on common redpoll, 416
on eastern fox sparrow, 1398
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 679,
681, 690
INDEX 1857
Palmer, Ralph S.—Continued Passerculus— Continued
on eastern song sparrow, 1493, 1508 sandwichensis anthinus, 690, 700,
on indigo bunting, 82, 84 7
on Ipswich sparrow, 665, 674 sandwichensis anulus, 717, 720
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1462 sandwichensis atratus, 719, 724
on northern slate-colored junco, sandwichensis beldingi, 714, 717,
1033 T9720" 722
on pine siskin, 424, 426 sandwichensis brooksi, 698, 706
on snow bunting, 1668 sandwichensis brunnescens, 711
on White-throated sparrow, 1366 sandwichensis bryanti, 716
on white-winged crossbill, 530 sandwichensis guttatus, 715, 717,
Palmer, Robert H., on Mexican evening 719, 720, 721
grosbeak, 251 sandwichensis labradorius, 675, 696,
palustris, Fringilla, 1475 697
Telmatodytes, 831, 841 sandwichensis magdalenae, 720, 721
Park, P. J., on Harris’ sparrow, 1257, sandwichensis mediogriseus, 678
1271 sandwichensis nevadensis, 696, 697,
Parkes, Kenneth C., on Acadian sharp- 699, 703, 708, 717
tailed sparrow, 794 sandwichensis oblitus, 682, 696
on eastern purple finch, 265 sandwichensis rostratus, 715, 719,
on green-tailed towhee, 547, 548, 721, 722, 724.
554 sandwichensis rufofuscus, 711
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1446 sandwichensis sanctorum, 718, 722
on rufous-winged sparrow, 914 sandwichensis sandwichensis, 705
Parks, G. H., on eastern evening gros- sandwichensis savannah, 678, 697,
beak, 220, 226, 232 709
Parks, G. H., and Parks, H. C., on| Passerella, 557, 1283, 1392, 1393, 1395
eastern evening grosbeak, 224 iliaca, 332, 1082, 1392
Parmelee, David F., on common Lap- iliaca altivagans, 1392, 1418
land longspur, 1598 iliaca annectens, 1392, 1419
on indigo bunting, 86, 87, 108 iliaca brevicauda, 1393, 1424
on lark sparrow, 887 iliaca canescens, 1393, 1424
on Pribilof snow bunting, 1675 iliaca fuliginosa, 1392, 1419
on snow bunting, 1652 iliaca fulva, 1393, 1424
Parmelee, David F., and MacDonald, iliaca iliaca, 1266, 1392, 1395
S. D., on snow bunting, 1653, iliaca insularis, 13892, 1419
1654, 1655, 1659, 1660, 1663, iliaca megarhyncha, 1393, 1424
1666, 1669, 1671 iliaca monoensis, 1393, 1424
Parrot, 187, 245 iliaca olivacea, 1393, 1424
Parsons, J. L., on pine siskin, 439 iliaca schistacea, 1393, 1394, 1424
Parsons, R. P., on golden-crowned iliaca sinuosa, 1392, 1419
sparrow, 1359 iliaca stephensi, 1393, 1424
Partin, J. L., on house finch, 305 iliaca swarthi, 1393, 1424
Partridge, gray, 1649 iliaca townsendi, 1392, 1419
Parus sp., 1063, 1099 iliaca unalaschcensis, 1392, 1419
parva, Carduelis carduelis, 384 iliaca zaboria, 1392, 1415, 1419
Passer montanus, 1137 Passerelle, 1475
Passerculus, 719, 746, 756, 795 Passerherbulus, 757, 795, 827
princeps, 657 caudacutus, 740, 765
sandwichensis, 551, 657, 706, 715, henslowii, 738, 757
737, 756, 826 henslowii henslowii, 779
sandwichensis alaudinus, 702, 704, henslowii susurrans, 776, 779
712, 716, 717 Passeriformes, 1
1858
passerina, Spizella, 738,
1166, 1188, 1193
Spizella passerina, 1166
Passerina amoena, 106, 108, 125
ciris, 108, 120
ciris ciris, 137
ciris pallidior, 154
cyanea, 80, 120, 148, 147, 966
versicolor dickeyae, 132, 136
versicolor pulchra, 132, 136
versicolor purpurascens, 132, 136
versicolor versicolor, 132
passerines, 1026, 1095, 1519, 1614, 1671
Paynter, R. A., Jr., on Cape Sable
sparrow, 860
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1283
1063,
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
1113,| peninsulae, Ammospiza maritima, 838,
840, 841, 851
Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, 22, 36
Penner, L. R., on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1461
Penwell, Gloria Jean, on rufous-crowned
sparrow, 923
perena, Loxia curvirostra, 498, 499
Peregrine falcon, 1266, 1671
Perisoreus infaustus, 198
perpallidus, Ammodramus savannarum,
699, 725, 727, 731, 734, 744
group, Pipilo, 606
Perry, E. M., on eastern vesper sparrow,
873, 876
Perry, W. A., on eastern vesper spar-
row, 873, 876
Peabody, P. B., on Baird’s sparrow, 753| Péten sparrow, 976
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 766, 768,
741, 772
Peabody (in Roberts), on McCown’s
longspur 1568
Pearse, Theed, on northwestern Oregon
junco, 1079, 1080, 1082
on Sitka crossbill, 519
Pearson, Henry J., on brambling, 193,
195
Pearson, O. P., on eastern song sparrow,
1502
on Gambel’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1334
Pearson, T. Gilbert, on eastern painted
bunting, 145
on Oregon junco, 1065
Pearson, T. Gilbert, Brimley, C. S.,
and Brimley, H. H., on dick-
cissel, 159
on eastern painted bunting, 139,
151
on indigo bunting, 86, 92, 103
Peaseley, Mrs. Harold R., on indigo
bunting, 98, 107
Peck, Morton E., on dickcissel, 162
on mountain song sparrow, 1525
Pedioecetes phasianellus, 646
pelagica, Chaetura, 957
pelonota, Ammospiza maritima, 835,
841, 844, 846, 850, 851, 857
Pemberton, J. R., on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 933, 934
Pendleton, Mrs. A. O., on eastern
evening grosbeak, 226
petenica, Aimophila, 976
Peters, Harold 8., on Bachman’s spar-
row, 967
on dickcissel, 162
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1179
on eastern cardinal, 13
on eastern field sparrow, 1232
on eastern fox sparrow, 1410
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 808
on pine-woods Bachman’s sparrow,
972
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
Peters, Harold S., and Burleigh, Thomas
D., on eastern fox sparrow, 1400,
1402
on grasshopper sparrow, 742
on Labrador Savannah sparrow,
675, 676
on Newfoundland pine grosbeak,
337
on Newfoundland purple finch, 263
on northern slate-colored junco,
1083
on red crossbill, 499
on white-throated sparrow, 1365,
1369, 1372
Peters, James L., and Griscom, Ludlow,
on Aleutian Savannah sparrow,
705, 706
on Belding’s Savannah sparrow, 716
on Churchill Savannah sparrow,
697
on coastal Savannah sparrow, 714
on dwarf Savannah sparrow, 698
INDEX
Peters, James L., and Griscom, Lud-
low—Continued
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 682
on Labrador Savannah sparrow, 677
on western Savannah sparrow, 702
Peters, James Lee, on black-headed
grosbeak, 62
on dickcissel, 162, 187
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
803
on Kamchatka pine grosbeak, 337
Petersen, Johan, on snow bunting, 1653
Peterson, J. G., on Oregon junco, 1062
Peterson, N. T., on clay-colored spar-
row, 1190
Peterson, Roger Tory, on Alaska long-
spur, 1625
on Arizona Pyrrhuloxia, 34
on Baird’s sparrow, 764
on dusky seaside sparrow, 856, 857
on eastern fox sparrow, 1399
on eastern goldfinch, 447
on eastern song sparrow, 1504
on European goldfinch, 389
on golden-crowned sparrow, 13860,
1361
on gray-headed junco, 1119, 1120
on green-backed goldfinch, 481
on indigo bunting, 100
on Ipswich sparrow, 667
on lark sparrow, 897
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 494
on lazuli bunting, 127
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1458, 1459
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 251,
252, 254
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1132
on Montane Lincoln’s sparrow,
1470
on northern seaside sparrow, 827
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1310, 1312
on olive sparrow, 546
on Oregon junco, 1064
on Smith’s longspur, 1631
on southern swamp sparrow, 1484
on varied bunting, 135
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 784
on white-winged junco, 1026
Peterson, Theodore, and Peterson, Mrs.
Theodore, on McCown’s long-
spur, 1568
1859
Petrel, 320
Petrides, G. A., on rufous-sided towhee,
571
Pettingill, Olin S., Jr., on Acadian
sharp-tailed sparrow, 789, 793
on dickcissel, 162
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 809
on Harris’ sparrow, 1255
on McCown’s longspur, 1568
on Smith’s longspur, 1629
Pettingill, Olin Sewall, Jr., and Dana,
Edward Fox, on lark bunting, 639
petulans, Pipilo fuscus, 604, 605, 607
Peucaea aestivalis, 972
illinoensis, 972
Pewee, western wood, 559
wood, 37, 622, 785, 958
Peyton, Sidney B., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1354
phaeonotus, Junco, 1088, 1099, 1113,
1118, 1133
Junco phaeonotus, 1130
Phainopepla, 294
Phalarope, Wilson’s, 766
phasianellus, Pedioecetes, 646
Pheasant, ring-necked, 780
Phelps, James H., Jr., on Hanson
Laguna Oregon junco, 1090
on northwestern Oregon junco, 1079
on Oregon junco, 1050
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1071
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1083
on Townsend’s Oregon junco, 1091
Pheucticus ludovicianus, 36
melanocephalus, 43
melanocephalus maculatus, 58
melanocephalus melanocephalus, 55
Philipp, Philip B., on eastern fox spar-
row, 1400, 1402, 1403
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 708
Phillips, Allan R., on Arizona pyr-
rhuloxia, 26
on Baird’s sparrow, 759, 761, 763
on Bent’s crossbill, 521
on Botteri’s sparrow, 976, 977, 979
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1215
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 939
on canyon brown towhee, 624, 626
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 257
on Cassin’s sparrow, 982, 986, 989
on clay-colored sparrow, 1199, 1206
1860
Phillips, Allan R.—Continued
on gray-headed junco, 1103, 1111,
PTD: A114, 15. 116; -1122,
1124, 1125
on green-tailed towhee, 551, 552,
553
on Harquahala rufous-crowned spar-
row, 930
on indigo bunting, 88, 98, 99
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 254
on Oregon junco, 1053
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1078
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
919
on rufous-winged sparrow, 902, 903,
907, 908, 913
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
923, 924, 926
on Tucson song sparrow, 1559
on varied bunting, 133, 135
Phillips, Allan R., Marshall, J., and
Munson, G., on Arizona black-
chinned sparrow, 1242
on fox sparrow, 1393
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1127, 1131, 11382, 1133
on Montane Lincoln’s
1468
on western chipping sparrow, 1185
Phillips, Allan R., and Pulick, W. M.,
on Harquahala rufous-crowned
sparrow, 930
Phillips, H. W., on rock rufous-crowned
sparrow, 921, 922
Phillips, Priscilla, on Gambel’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1329, 1331,
1332, 1333, 1334
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1292
Phillips, Richard S., on indigo bunting,
84, 86
on varied bunting, 136
Phillips, Richard S., and Thornton, W.
A., on varied bunting, 133
phoebe, Sayornis, 557
Phoebe, black, 295
eastern, 557
phoenicurus, Phoenicurus, 1683
Phoenicurus phoenicurus, 1683
picta, Emberiza, 1628
pictus, Calearius, 1668
sparrow,
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Pierce, W. M., on Cassin’s finch, 282
on dickcissel, 164
on fox sparrow, 1428, 1429
on green-tailed towhee, 551
on montane Lincoln’s’ sparrow,
1469
on San Francisco brown towhee,
609
Pigeon, 227
band-tailed, 245
hawk, 355, 690, 1067, 1266, 1362,
1459
Pigmy owl, 287, 1066, 1362
Pike, O. G., on Cassin’s bullfinch, 259
pilaris, Turdus, 192
Pileoated warbler, 1088
pileolata, Wilsonia pusilla, 1088
Pine grosbeak, 191, 226, 326, 327, 328,
329, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 338,
343, 346, 369, 540, 541, 1115
siskin, 255, 383, 394, 417, 424, 534,
536, 539, 1076, 1115
warbler, 958, 959, 1178
Pine-woods Bachman’s sparrow, 970,
1458
Pinicola enucleator, 191, 369
enucleator alascensis, 338, 343
enucleator californica, 342, 344
enucleator canadensis, 340, 344
enucleator carlottae, 342
enucleator enucleator, 340
enucleator eschatosus, 336
enucleator flammula, 340
enucleator kamchatkensis, 337
enucleator leucura, 326, 337
enucleator montana, 342
Pink-sided Oregon junco, 1051, 1071,
1102, 1119, 1121, 1124
Pifion jay, 1026
pinosus, Junco oreganus,
1083, 1094, 1110
Pintai] duck, 790
pinus, Spinus, 424, 442, 536
Spinus pinus, 424, 443, 444
Pipilo, 547, 548, 557, 560, 636
aberti, 548, 606, 632
aberti aberti, 632, 633, 634, 635,
636, 637
aberti dumeticolus, 632, 633, 634,
635, 637
albicollis, 634
albigula, 620
1052, 1060,
INDEX
Pipilo—Continued
erythrophthalmus, 548, 557, 462,
581, 606, 635, 957
erythrophthalmus alleni, 562, 563,
564, 567, 569, 580
erythrophthalmus arcticus, 581
erythrophthalmus canaster,
563, 564, 580
erythrophthalmus clementae, 600
erythrophthalmus consobrinus, 601
erythrophthalmus curtatus, 692
erythrophthalmus — erythrophthal-
mus, 562, 663, 568, 580, 585
erythrophthalmus falcifer, 596
erythrophthalmus falcinellus, 595
erythrophthalmus gaigei, 590
562,
erythrophthalmus magnirostris,
602, 1135
erythrophthalmus megalonyx, 596,
598
erythrophthalmus montanus, 581,
583, 591, 592
erythrophthalmus oregonus, 493,
596, 601
erythrophthalmus rileyi, 562, 563,
564, 580
erythrophthalmus umbraticola, 601
fuscus, 548, 606, 620, 621, 634, 635
fuscus albigula, 620, 634
fuscus aripolius, 619, 620
fuscus bullatus, 603
fuscus carolae, 603
fuscus crissalis, 605, 615, 620, 634
fuscus eremophilus, 604, 607
fuscus mesatus, 630
fuscus mesoleucus, 620, 622, 630,
631, 636
fuscus petulans, 604, 605, 607
fuscus relictus, 630
fuscus senicula, 610, 616, 617, 620,
634
fuscus texanus, 631
maculatus, 581, 598, 601
maculatus gaigei, 560
maculatus megalonyx, 595, 1131
maculatus montanus, 588
megalonyx, 598, 600, 601
megalonyx megalonyx, 601, 602
ocai, 548
perpallidus group, 606
rutilus, 548, 606
1861
Pipit, 370, 669, 1605
American, 1387
Sprague’s, 751, 752, 757, 762, 1187
water, 1105
Pitelka, Frank A., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1214
on clay-colored sparrow, 1189
on rufous-winged sparrow, 911, 914,
915
on San Francisco brown towhee, 608
on Santa Cruz _ rufous-crowned
sparrow, 942
Pittman, James A., Jr., on pine-woods
Bachman’s sparrow, 971
Plath, Otto Emil, on green-backed
goldfinch, 485
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1316
on San Francisco brown towhee, 615
Playne, H. C., on European goldfinch,
386
Plectrophanes maccownil,
nivalis, 1567
Plectrophenax hyperboreus, 1677
nivalis nivalis, 1662, 1678, 1679
nivalis townsendi, 1676
Pleske, Theodore, on common redpoll,
408
on snow bunting, 1653
Plover, mountain, 641
upland, 780, 977
Plumbeous chickadee, 1262
Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1083, 1110
Ponshair, James F., on eastern vesper
sparrow, 877
pontilis, Junco oreganus, 1052, 1060,
1090
Pooecetes gramineus, 557, 882
gramineus affinis, 883, 884
gramineus confinis, 882, 884, 885
gramineus gramineus, 868, 885
Poole, E. L., on southern swamp spar-
row, 1483
Poor, H. H., on gray-headed junco, 1109
Porsild (in Harper), on northern slate-
colored junco, 1029
Portenko, L., on Alaska longspur, 1610
on eastern rustic bunting, 1681
Porter, Eliot F., on rufous-winged
sparrow, 909, 910
Porter, L. H., on rufous-sided towhee,
566
1567, 1596
1862
potosinus, Carpodacus mexicanus, 314
Potter, Julian, on Ipswich sparrow, 659,
668, 670
Potter, Laurence B., on dickcissel, 164
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1176
on gray-crowned rosy finch, 359
Pough, Richard H., on Ipswich sparrow,
657, 671
on McCown’s longspur, 1588
Prairie chicken, 772
falcon, 355, 654, 977, 1594
horned lark, 762
marsh wren, 771
pratensis, Ammodramus savannarum,
725, 726, 731, 735, 742
Pratt, I., and Cutress, C., on western
evening grosbeak, 249
Pray, Russell H., on Harris’ sparrow,
1259, 1261
Preble, Edward A., on common redpoll,
411
on Harris’ sparrow, 1249, 1250, 1256
on hoary redpoll, 404
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1444, 1456
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1339
on northern slate-colored junco,
1029, 1032, 1039
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1299
on Smith’s longspur, 1628, 1631
on tree sparrow, 1137
on Yukon fox sparrow, 1416
Preble, Edward A., and McAtee, W. L.,
on Alaska longspur, 1609
on Pribilof rosy finch, 347, 348, 349
on white-winged crossbill, 533
Preston, J. W., on Bendire’s crossbill,
514; 517
Pribilof rosy finch, 347
snow bunting, 349, 1675
Price, H. F., on eastern and Canadian
chipping sparrows, 1166
John B., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1360, 1361
on Puget Sound white-crowned
sparrow, 1350
Price, W. W. (2n Barlow), on mountain
song sparrow, 1525
on Abert’s towhee, 632
on California pine grosbeak, 344
princeps, Passerculus, 657
Price,
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
propinquus, Turdus migratorius, 295
psaltria, Fringilla, 471
Spinus psaltria, 471
Psaltriparus minimus, 1063
Psilorhinus mexicanus, 456
Ptarmigan, 409, 410, 422
white-tailed, 375, 376, 402
Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow,
1292 1301," 1306; 1310," 1313,
1317, 1323, 13824, 1325, 1326,
1328, 1329, 1332, 1334, 1335,
1344
pugetensis, Zonotrichia leucophrys,
1292, 1293, 1304, 1312, 1313,
1321, 1322, 1324, 1327, 1328,
1329, 1332, 13834, 1335, 1844
pulchra, Passerina versicolor, 132, 136
Pulich, Warren M., on dickcissel, 165
on lazuli bunting, 129, 130
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
922
on varied bunting, 135
Purple finch, 47, 72, 154, 217, 264, 265,
267, 270, 271, 274, 275, 278, 280,
286, 287, 306, 310, 311, 333, 406
424, 427, 443, 537, 540, 1452
1453, 1470, 1504
grosbeak, 264
sandpiper, 556
purpurascens, Passerina versicolor, 132,
136
purpureus, Carpodacus, 263, 304, 537
Carpodacus purpureus, 264, 275
pusilla, Loxia curvirostra, 498
Spizella, 1235
Spizella pusilla, 1217
Wilsonia, 1105
pusillula, Melospiza melodia, 712, 1505,
1647
Putnam, W. L., on white-winged cross-
bill, 536
pyrrhula, Pyrrhula, 257
Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 258, 259, 260
Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 257
pyrrhula cassinii, 256
pyrrhula cineracea, 258
pyrrbula_ griseiventris,
260, 262
pyrrhula kamtchatica, 258
pyrrhula nesa, 258, 259
pyrrhula pyrrhula, 258, 259, 260
pyrrhula rosacea, 258, 262
258, 259,
INDEX
Pyrrhuloxia, 629
Arizona, 22, 26
San Lucas, 22, 25, 36
sinuata, 22, 25, 26
sinuata beckhami, 22
sinuata fulvescens, 23, 25
sinuata peninsulae, 22, 35
sinuata sinuata, 22, 26
sinuata texana, 22
Texas, 22, 25
Q
Quail, scaled, 649, 977
valley, 614
Quaintance, Charles W., on San Fran-
cisco brown towhee, 611, 612
Quay, Thomas L., on Churchill Savan-
nah sparrow, 698
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 684,
685, 689, 692
on Labrador Savannah sparrow, 677
Queen Charlotte pine grosbeak, 342
querula, Fringilla, 1249, 1250, 1263
Zonotrichia, 1249
Quillin, Roy W., on lark bunting, 642
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
920
Quillin, Roy W., and Holleman, Ridley,
on Texas black-throated sparrow,
991
R
Rabb, George B., on Ipswich sparrow,
659
Racer, red, 999
Racey, Kenneth, on Alberta fox spar-
row, 1418
on western Savannah sparrow, 702
Rail, 805, 826
clapper, 799, 831
Virginia, 790, 1476
yellow, 790, 818
Raine, W. (in Macoun), on McCown’s
longspur, 1589
on McCown’s longspur, 1568, 1580,
1581, 1591
on white-winged crossbill, 531
Rallus longirostris, 831
Rand, A. L., on dickcissel, 159, 161
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1167
on McCown’s longspur, 1567, 1572,
1589
1863
Rand, A. L.—Continued
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1314
on western Savannah sparrow, 701
Randall, P. E., on eastern song spar-
row, 1506
Rapp, W. F., Jr., on lark bunting, 646
Rapp, W. F., Jr., Rapp, J. L. C., Baum-
garten, H. E., and Moser, R. A.,
on McCown’s longspur, 1568
Rasmussen, D. I., on gray-headed junco,
1115, 1124
Rathbun, 8S. F., on black-headed gros-
beak, 58, 59, 61, 65, 66
on pine siskin, 430, 439
Rausch, R., on Alaska longspur, 1609
on fox sparrow, 1420
on western Savannah sparrow, 702
Raven, 1459
Rawson, G. W., on Alaska longspur,
1622
Ray, Milton 8., on California pine gros-
beak, 345, 346
on Cassin’s finch, 281, 283
on house finch, 291, 296
on Marin song sparrow, 1546
on mountain song sparrow, 1526
on northern sage sparrow, 1006
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1299, 1300
on Oregon junco, 1055, 1057,
on pine siskin, 433
on Point Pinos Oregon junco,
on San Francisco towhee, 596
on Sierra Nevada rosy finch,
365
(in Burleigh and Lowery),
Worthen’s sparrow, 1236
Reames, Oppie, on gray-headed junco,
1120
Red crossbill, 440, 441, 499, 500, 521,
531, 534, 537, 538, 540
racer, 999
Red-backed gray-headed junco, 1126
junco, 1108
snowbird, 1099
Redbird, cardinal, 1
Red-breasted grosbeak, 211
nuthatch, 255, 958, 1021, 1123
Red-cockaded woodpecker, 958
Red-eyed towhee, 567
vireo, 37, 472
1063
1086
363,
on
1864 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Redpoll, 338, 393, 400, 407, 409, 411,
414, 415, 417, 418, 419, 422,
424, 442, 443, 447, 460, 534,
540, 541, 1603, 1656
common, 400, 401, 405, 406, 407,
423
greater, 398, 421, 423
hoary, 400, 409, 410, 411
Holboell’s, 423
Hornemann’s, 397, 405
lesser, 411
mealy, 191
Redstart, European, 1683
Red-tailed hawk, 977, 1076, 1507
Redwing, 195, 678, 837, 839, 844, 848,
857
Red-winged blackbird, 254, 766, 780,
790, 837, 856, 864, 1202, 1409,
1476, 1560
erossbill, 1115
Reed, Chester A., on lark bunting, 642
Reed, Mr. and Mrs. Parker, on eastern
purple finch, 264
Reed sparrow, 1475
Reeks, Esther, on house finch, 307
Regulus calendula, 1063
Reid, R., on pine siskin, 4380
relictus, Pipilo fuscus, 630
Rett, Egmont Z., on Santa Cruz
rufous-crowned sparrow, 942
on western Savannah sparrow, 704
Rhoads, S. N., on lazuli bunting, 114
on olive sparrow, 545, 546
rhodocolpus, Cardopacus frontalis, 320
Carpodacus mexicanus, 314, 315
Rhynchophanes mecownii, 1564
Richardson, Charles N., Jr., on golden-
crowned sparrow, 1362
Richardson, John, on clay-colored spar-
row, 1187
on Smith’s longspur, 1628
richardsoni, Falco columbarius, 381
Richardson’s merlin, 762
Richmondena, 1
cardinalis canicaudus, 18
cardinalis cardinalis, 1
cardinalis floridana, 16
cardinalis ignea, 20, 21
cardinalis magnirostris, 17
cardinalis seftoni, 20
eardinalis superba, 19, 20
Ridgway, Robert, on Alaska pine
grosbeak, 338
on Aleutian rosy finch, 351
on Aleutian Savannah sparrow,
706
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1243, 1244
on Arizona cardinal, 19
on Bahama black-faced grassquit,
156, 157
on Baird’s junco, 1133, 1134
on Baird’s sparrow, 746, 756
on black-headed grosbeak, 64
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1211
on brown-ecapped rosy finch, 377,
380, 381, 382
on Brown’s song sparrow, 1563
on California purple finch, 278
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 936
on Cassin’s finch, 284, 286
on Cassin’s sparrow, 986
on clay-colored sparrow, 1197
on dickcissel, 181
on dusky seaside sparrow, 849
on eastern song sparrow, 1499
on Florida cardinal, 16
on fox sparrow, 1431
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1357
on greater redpoll, 421
on green-tailed towhee, 547
on Guadalupe house finch, 319
on Guadalupe junco, 1094
on Guadalupe towhee, 601
on Harris’ sparrow, 1257
on Holboell’s redpoll, 423
on house finch, 292
on Illinois Bachman’s sparrow, 972
on Ipswich sparrow, 658
on Kodiak pine grosbeak, 340
on Laguna rufous-crowned sparrow,
955
on large-billed towhee, 602
on lark sparrow, 896
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 494
on lazuli bunting, 120, 123
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 767, 770,
772
on McCown’s longspur, 1587
on McKay’s bunting, 1678
on Mendocino song sparrow, 1545
on Merrill’s song sparrow, 1531
INDEX
Ridgway, Robert—Continued
on mountain song sparrow, 1526
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
817
on northern sage sparrow, 1006
on northern seaside sparrow, 825
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
919, 922
on Rocky Mountain pine grosbeak,
342
on rufous-winged sparrow, 910
on rusty song sparrow, 1544
on San Lucas house finch, 315
on San Luis cardinal, 21
on Sharpe’s seedeater, 324, 325
on song sparrow, 1491
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1536, 1537
on song sparrow: Pacific Insular
subsp., 1558
on song sparrow: San Francisco
Bay marsh subsp., 1550
on sooty song sparrow, 1541
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 22
on Tucson song sparrow, 1561
on varied bunting, 134, 136
on white-winged crossbill, 533, 538,
540
on white-winged junco, 1025
on Worthen’s sparrow, 1236
ridgwayi, Caprimulgus, 902
Riley, J. H., on Alberta fox sparrow,
1418
on Kamchatka pine grosbeak, 337
on Oregon junco, 1052
on yellowhead or Riley song spar-
row, 1528
Pipilo erythrophthalmus,
563, 564, 580
Riley’s towhee, 580
Riney, Thane, on Oregon junco, 1065
Ring-necked pheasant, 780
Ringueberg, Eugene, on eastern purple
finch, 266
Ripley, 8. Dillon, on Texas black-
throated sparrow, 991
Ritter, W. E., and Benson, S., on San
Francisco brown towhee, 610
rivularis, Melospiza melodia, 1492, 1563
Roach, Mariana, on gray-tailed cardinal,
19
rileyi, 562,
646—-737—68—pt. 3——40:
1865
Roadeap, R., on Nuttall’s white-crowned
sparrow, 1321, 1322
Roadrunners, 637
Robbins, Chandler S., on eastern sharp-
tailed sparrow, 804
on southern swamp sparrow, 1476
Robbins, Chandler 8., and Boyer, G. F.,
on Acadian sharp-tailed spar-
row, 790
Robbins, Charles A., on red crossbill, 508
Roberts, T.8., on Alaska longspur, 1625,
1626
on Baird’s sparrow, 757, 763
on chestnut-collared longspur, 1635,
1646, 1647
on Churchill Savannah sparrow, 697
on clay-colored sparrow, 1199
on common Lapland longpsur, 1604
on Dakota song sparrow, 1523, 1524
on dickcissel, 164, 185
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1168, 1172
on eastern cardinal, 10
on eastern evening grosbeak, 212
on eastern field sparrow, 1228
on eastern vesper sparrow, 868, 871,
872, 875
on grasshopper sparrow, 727
on Harris’ sparrow, 1266
on indigo bunting, 81, 84, 87, 89, 92,
96
on lark bunting , 638, 644
on lark sparrow, 887, 895, 896
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 767, 768,
769, 771
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1456, 1461
on MecCown’s longspur, 1568, 1570,
1579, 1580, 1581, 1588
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
816, 818
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 39, 40,
42
on rufous-sided towhee, 566, 571,
574, 575
on snow bunting, 1653, 1668, 1672
on southern swamp sparrow, 1478,
1482, 1483
on white-throated sparrow, 1376
on white-winged crossbill, 534, 538,
542
Robertson, Howard, on Belding’s Sa-
vannah sparrow, 716
1866
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Robertson, John M., on golden-crowned | Root, Oscar M.—Continued
sparrow, 1359
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1306
on Oregon junco, 1062
on San Francisco brown towhee,
609, 615
Robertson, W. B., Jr., on Cape Sable
sparrow, 864, 866
Robin,;11,,.37,,.210, 225,.227,. 229,230,
249, 255, 272, 333, 340, 346, 353,
394, 540, 610, 628, 1021, 1076,
1115, 1405, 1476
European, 1683
western, 295, 346
Rock rufous-crowned sparrow, 919
sparrow (see rock rufous-crowned
sparrow), 920
wren, 291, 320, 1557
Rockwell, R. B., on gray-headed junco,
1100, 1112
on lazuli bunting, 120
on mountain song sparrow, 1525
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 709
on Oregon junco, 1053
on western vesper sparrow, 883
Rockwell, R. B., and Wetmore, A., on
Brewer’s sparrow, 1215
on green-tailed towhee,
558
on mountain song sparrow, 1527
on pine siskin, 437
on white-winged junco, 1022, 1027
Rocky Mountain black-headed gros-
552, 556,
beak, 55
pine grosbeak, 342
Rodgers, Thomas L., on Nuttall’s
white-crowned sparrow, 1309
on pine siskin, 425, 434, 436, 439,
441
Rodgers, T. L., and Sibley, C. G., on
San Francisco brown towhee, 607
Rogers, Charles H., on European gold-
finch, 385
Rohner, Else, on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1463
Rolfe, E. S., on Nelson’s sharp-tailed
sparrow, 816, 817
Rollin, Howard, on gray-headed junco,
1121
Oscar M., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 333
on clay-colored sparrow, 1186
Root,
on eastern cardinal, 13
on eastern song sparrow, 1500
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1285
on grasshopper sparrow, 736, 742
on Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrow,
818
Root, Ronald N., on eastern evening ~
grosbeak, 210
rosacea, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 258, 262
Rose-breasted grosbeak, 36, 56, 58, 65,
66, 215, 230
Rosine, Willard, on McCown’s longspur,
1570
Ross, J. H., on rose-breasted grosbeak,
47
rostrata, Acanthis flammea, 421
rostratus, Passerculus sandwichensis,
715, 719, 721,:722, 724
Rosy finch, 347, 348, 349, 350, 353, 354,
355, 356, 362, 363, 364, 366, 369,
370, 371, 376, 378, 379, 380, 383
Rowan, W., on Smith’s longspur, 1628,
1632
Rowell, C. H., on Alaska longspur, 1621
roweorum, Calcarius pictus, 1634
Rowland, E. G., on southern swamp
sparrow, 1480, 1485
Rowley, J. Stuart, on black-headed gros-
beak, 61
on Cassin’s finch, 282
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 708
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
926
Roy, Frank, on chestnut-collared long-
spur, 1636
on McCown’s longspur, 1570, 1571,
1572
rubecula, Erithacus, 1683
ruberrimus, Carpodacus mexicanus, 315
Ruby-crowned kinglet, 217, 253, 346.
1063, 1330, 1400
ruficeps, Aimophila ruficeps, 931
rufina, Melospiza melodia, 1528, 1533.
1534, 1537, 1540
rufivirgata, Arremonops rufivirgata, 544
rufofuscus, Passerculus sandwichensis,
711
Rufous-crowned sparrow, 127, 980, 1312
Rufous-sided towhee, 548, 557, 558, 560,
562, 591, 598, 599, 606, 610, 611,
860
INDEX
Rufous-winged lark bunting, 1567
sparrow, 902
rupicola, Aimophila ruficeps, 930
Russell, D. J. T., on chestnut-collared
longspur, 1636
Russell, P. S., on dickcissel, 162
on Florida cardinal, 16
on indigo bunting, 105
Rust, H. J., on Merrill’s song sparrow,
1529, 1530, 1531
on mountain song sparrow, 1526
on northern sage sparrow, 1011
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1316
on Oregon junco, 1053, 1056
Rusty song sparrow, 1541
Ruthven, Alexander G., Thompson,
Crystal, and Gaige, Helen T., on
western Henslow’s sparrow, 786
rutilus, Pipilo, 548, 606
5
Sabine, W.8., on northern slate-colored
junco, 1038, 1039
on Oregon junco, 1054, 1062, 1064,
1068
on tree sparrow, 1162
Sacramento brown towhee, 603
towhee, 595
Sage, J. H., on McCown’s longspur, 1570
on southern swamp sparrow, 1480
Sage, John Hall, Bishop, Louis Bennet,
and Bliss, Walter Parks, on east-
ern sharp-tailed sparrow, 796, 804
Sage hen, 646
sparrow, 999, 1000, 1004
thrasher, 76
salicamans, Spinus tristis, 468, 469
salicaria, Guiraca caerulea, 79
Salmon (in Friedmann), on eastern
song sparrow, 1506
Salomonsen, F. G, on Alaska longspur,
1609, 1610, 1624
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1275
on greater redpoll, 421
on Hornemann’s redpoll, 397, 398
on snow bunting, 1653, 1654, 1656,
1663, 1665, 1666, 1669, 1670
Salt, George W., on Cassin’s finch, 285
on mountain song sparrow, 1525
on Oregon junco, 1060
1867
Salt, W. R., on clay-colored sparrow,
1188190; 1191, 1192. 1193,
1194, 1195, 1196, 1197, 1204
Salt, W. R., and Wilk, A. L., on Baird’s
sparrow, 751
on McCown’s longspur, 1574, 1592
saltonis, Melospiza melodia, 1505, 1559,
1562
samuelis, Melospiza melodia, 712, 1492,
1505, 1545, 1647, 1555
Samuels, E. A., on eastern purple
finch, 267
on rufous-sided towhee, 574
Samuel’s song sparrow, 1547
sanaka, Melospiza melodia, 1633
San Benito Savannah sparrow, 718
San Clemente house finch, 316, 321
sage sparrow, 1019
song sparrow, 1657
towhee, 600
San Diego song sparrow, 1655, 1563
towhee, 698
San Francisco black-chinned sparrow,
1247
brown towhee, 605
towhee, 696
San Lucas brown towhee, 620
cardinal, 21
house finch, 316
pyrrhuloxia, 22, 25, 36
San Luis house finch, 314
San Miguel song sparrow, 1557
San Pablo brown towhee, 619
sanctorum, Aimophila ruficeps, 954
Passerculus sandwichensis, 718, 722
Sandpiper, 819
purple, 556
spotted, 733
sandwichensis, Passerculus, 551, 657,
706, 715, 737, 756, 826
Passerculus sandwichensis, 705
Sanger, Marjory B., on eastern even-
ing grosbeak, 213
Santa Barbara song sparrow, 1557
Santa Cruz rufous-crowned sparrow,
940
song sparrow, 1546
Santa Gertrudis cardinal, 20
Sargent, T. D., on tree sparrow, 1161,
1162
Satterly, J., on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1455
Sauer, Gordon C., on dickcissel, 167, 168
1868
Saugstad, Stanley, on Baird’s sparrow,
747
Saunders, A. A., on arctic towhee, 582
on Bachman’s sparrow, 965
on clay-colored sparrow, 1201
on dickcissel, 181
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1167, 1178, 1180
on eastern blue grosbeak, 72
on eastern cardinal, 12
on eastern evening grosbeak, 228
on eastern field sparrow, 1229
on eastern fox sparrow, 1407
on eastern goldfinch, 449, 460, 462
on eastern painted bunting, 147
on eastern purple finch, 272, 273
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 687,
688
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow, 807
on eastern song sparrow, 1498, 1502,
1503
on eastern vesper sparrow, 876
on fox sparrow, 1424, 1430, 1431
on grasshopper sparrow, 737, 738
on green-tailed towhee, 550
on Harris’ sparrow, 1264
on house finch, 310
on indigo bunting, 95, 98
on lark bunting, 641, 648, 649
on lazuli bunting, 113, 120
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1452, 14538
on McCown’s longspur, 1566, 1567,
1572, 1573, 1584, 1589, 1590,
1592, 1595
on montane Lincoln’s’ sparrow,
1469, 1470
on mountain song sparrow, 1525
on northern seaside sparrow, 827,
828
on northern slate-colored junco,
1036
on Oregon junco, 1051, 10538, 1057,
1065
on pine siskin, 430, 435, 442
on pine-woods Bachman’s sparrow,
972
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1075
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 45, 46
on rufous-sided towhee, 566, 568,
575
on southern swamp sparrow, 1482
on tree sparrow, 1159, 1160
on western chipping sparrow, 1185
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Saunders, A. A.—Continued
on white-throated sparrow,
1379, 1383
on white-winged crossbill, 542
Saunders, W. E., on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 691
on Ipswich sparrow, 638, 661, 662,
663, 665, 667, 668, 670, 672
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 786
Saunders, William E., and Dale, E. M.
S., on eastern cardinal, 1
savannah, Passerculus sandwichensis,
678, 697, 709
Savannah sparrow, 551, 657, 658, 559,
662, 664, 668, 669, 670, 671, 672,
675, 676, 678, 679, 680, 681, 682,
683, 684, 685, 686, 691, 692, 693,
698, 699, 700, 701, 702, 703, 704,
705, 706, 707, 708, 709, 712, 714,
715, 716, 719, 737, 754, 755, 756,
7260, 76L, 766; 771, 772, 776; 780;
785, 790, 791, 795, 799, 804, 805,
807, 826, 828, 857, 865, 871, 960,
1039, 1202, 1215, 1330, 1406,
1420, 1569, 1650
savannarum, Ammodramus, 725, 756,
757, 761
Savile, D. B. O., on common Lapland
longspur, 1600
on eastern fox sparrow, 1400, 1401
Saxby, Henry, on brambling, 196
Say, Thomas, on lesser goldfinch, 471
Sayornis phoebe, 557
Sealed quail, 649, 977
Secammon Lagoon Savannah sparrow,
717
Schaanning, H. T. L., on brambling, 192
Schaller, G. B., on Alaska longspur, 1609
Schantz, W. E., on eastern song sparrow,
1496
on Mississippi song sparrow, 1515,
1517
Schellbach, L., on gray-headed junco,
1115
schistacea, Passerella iliaca, 1893, 1394,
1424
Schmid, Frederick, C., on white-winged
erossbill, 531
Scholander, P. F., et al., on eastern
Savannah, sparrow, 691
on snow bunting, 1669
Schoolcraft, Henry R., on eastern
evening grosbeak, 206
1378,
INDEX
1869
Schwartz, Paul, on rufous-winged spar-|senicula, Pipilo fuscus, 610, 616, 617,
row, 908
Scissor-tailed flycatcher, 890
Sclater, P. L., on Botteri’s sparrow, 975
Sclater, William Lutley, on lark bunting,
642
Scott, C. D., on San Francisco brown
towhee, 609
Scott, W. E. D., on Cassin’s finch, 281
285, 288,
on desert black-throated sparrow,
994
on eastern evening grosbeak, 211
on lazuli bunting, 119
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 254,
255
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1131
on rufous-winged sparrow, 916, 918
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
924, 925, 926, 928
scottii, Aimophilia ruficeps, 919, 920,
921, 923
Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow, 923
seaside sparrow, 839, 865
Screech owl, 1286, 1362, 1507
Serub jay, 479, 485, 495, 607, 614
Seutch, Alexander F., on eastern gold-
finch, 453
Seaside finch (see northern seaside spar-
row), 819, 826
sparrow, 782, 795, 796, 798, 799,
801, 804, 807, 812, 820, 821, 826,
827, 828, 829, 830, 831, 832, 835,
836, 838, 841, 844, 845, 848, 849,
851, 852, 854, 856, 857, 859, 860,
863, 864, 865, 867, 1512
Seebohm, Henry, on brambling, 194
on white-winged crossbill, 532
Seedeater, 322
Sharpe’s, 322, 979
variable, 456
white-collared, 322
Sefton, J. W., Jr., on house finch, 312
seftoni, Richmondena cardinalis, 20
Selous, Edmund, on Eurpoean goldfinch,
393
Semple, J. B., on Cape Sable sparrow,
866
Semple, J. B., and Sutton, G. M., on
Harris’ sparrow, 1252, 1253,
1255, 1256, 1261, 1265
620, 634
Sennett, George B.,
cardinal, 18
on McCown’s longspur, 1595
on olive sparrow, 545, 546
on Sharpe’s seedeater, 322
sennetti, Ammospiza maritima,
842, 844, 848, 865
E. T., on chestnut-collared
longspur, 1636
on clay-colored sparrow, 1187, 1191
on common Lapland longspur, 1605
on Harris’ sparrow, 1250, 1253,
1266
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 771
on rufous-sided towhee, 574
on southern swamp sparrow, 1483
Shackleton, Walter, and Shackleton,
Elizabeth, on indigo bunting, 94
Shadle, Albert R., on European gold-
finch, 395
Shank, M. C., on northern slate-colored
junco, 1030
Sharp, C. S., on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1242
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
948
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1017
on lazuli bunting, 119
Sharpe, R. Bowdler, on Baird’s sparrow,
746
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 258
on rock rufous-crowned
919
sharpei, Sporophila torqueola, 322
Sharpe’s seedeater, 322, 979
Sharp-shinned hawk, 171, 183, 231, 495,
690, 740, 787, 1067, 1121, 1231,
1362, 1460
Sharp-tailed grouse, 646
sparrow, 668, 770, 772, 782, 788,
789, 790, 791, 794, 795, 796, 797,
798, 799, 800, 804, 805, 806, 807,
808, 809, 810, 814, 818, 820, 824,
825, 826, 828, 829, 851, 857, 865
Sharsmith, C., on Oregon junco, 1067
Shattuck, G. C., on clay-colored spar-
row, 1188
shattuckii, Emberiza, 1188
Shaub, Benjamin M., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 215, 231
on pine siskin, 428
on gray-tailed
&41,
Seton,
sparrow,
1870
Shaub, Benjamin M.,
Mary S., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 217, 219, 234
Shaub, Mary S., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 223, 233
Shaver, Jesse M., and Roberts, Mary
Barry, on eastern cardinal, 2, 3
Shaw, William T., on Hepburn’s rosy
finch, 352, 354
Sheldon, H. H., on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 933
on Cassin’s finch, 288
on Oregon junco, 1065
Shelton, Alfred, on song
Alaskan subsp., 1539
Shephardson, D. I., on house finch, 295
on Oregon junco, 1055
Sheppard, Jay, on Smith’s longspur,
1631, 1632
Sherwood, William E., on rusty song
sparrow, 1543
Shoenebeck, A. J., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 328
Shore lark, 383, 1564, 1596
Shore, W. E., on eastern cardinal, 4, 7
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 39
Short-billed marsh wren, 780, 1476, 1560
Short-eared owl, 759, 808, 1552, 1593
Shortt, Angus, H., on Baird’s sparrow,
748, 757
on clay-colored sparrow, 1192, 1194,
1196, 1200, 1204
Shortt, T. M., on eastern evening gros-
beak, 222
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1455
Shortt, T. M., and Shortt, A. H. (in
Harris), on chestnut-collared
longspur, 1647
Shotwell, R. L., on lark bunting, 646
Shrike, 171, 231, 395, 1159, 1485, 1650
boreal, 1362
loggerhead, 129, 485, 977, 1231, 1362
northern, 249, 426, 1120, 1266
shufeldti, Junco oreganus, 1050, 1072,
1080, 1081, 1091, 1093, 1122,
1123, 1124
Shufeldt’s junco, 1052, 1077, 1124
Shumagin fox sparrow, 1419
Sialia currucoides, 370
Siberian jay, 198
Sibley, Charles G., on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 933, 935
sparrow:
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
and Shaub,|Sibley Charles G.—Continued
on Cape Sable sparrow, 860
on green-tailed towhee, 547, 548,
558
on rufous-sided towhee, 563
Sibley, C. G., and Pettingill, O. S., Jr.,
on chestnut-collared longspur,
1647
on McCown’s longspur, 1568, 1591
Sibley, Charles G., and Short, Lester L.,
on indigo bunting, 106
Sierra crossbill, 285
hermit thrush, 346
junco, 1052, 1087
Nevada rosy finch, 362
Silliman, O. P., on Point Pinos Oregon
junco, 1085
Silloway, P. M., on dickcissel, 181
on gray-crowned rosy finch, 359
on McCown’s longspur, 1572, 1574,
1578, 1580, 1581, 1590, 1593
on mountain white-crowned sparrow,
1341
on red crossbill, 508
Simmons, George Finlay, on Cassin’s
sparrow, 984
on clay-colored sparrow, 1189
on grasshopper sparrow, 730, 731,
736, 737, 741
on gray-tailed cardinal, 19
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
920, 921, 922
Simpson, Florence Huestis, on eastern
evening grosbeak, 232
Simpson, R., on California rufous-
crowned sparrow, 935, 937, 939
sinuata, Pyrrhuloxia, 22, 25, 26
Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, 22, 26
sinuatus, Cardinalis, 22
sinuosa, Passerella iliaca, 13892, 1419
sinusatus, Cardinalis, 22
Siskin, 447, 460, 474
Mexican pine, 446
pine, 255, 383, 394, 417, 424, 534,
536, 539, 1076, 1115
Sitka crossbill, 618
sitkensis, Loxia curvirostra, 618
Sitta, 1099
Skinner, M. P., on grasshopper sparrow,
741
on house finch, 307
on mountain song sparrow, 1525
INDEX
Skinner, M. P.—Continued
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1072,
1073, 1074, 1075, 1076
on white-throated sparrow, 1376,
1377
Skutch, Alexander F.,
162, 183, 186
on eastern goldfinch, 460, 461
on eastern painted bunting, 152
on eastern purple finch, 270
on eastern song sparrow, 1502
on indigo bunting, 88, 91, 104
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 48
on Sharpe’s seedeater, 322, 323, 324
Skylark, 648
Missouri, 1595
southwestern, 1595
Slate-colored fox sparrow, 1424
junco, 1051, 1060, 1116, 1123, 1124,
11251370
Slater, William L., on mountain white-
crowned sparrow, 1341
Slud, Paul, on indigo bunting, 105
Smith, Anna M., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1358
Smith, Austin P., on eastern goldfinch,
459
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 252
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
920, 921
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 23
on Texas towhee, 590, 591
Smith, Bertrand E., on white-winged
crossbill, 528
Smith, Charlotte E., on rose-breasted
grosbeak, 42, 43, 46, 47
Smith, Emily, on Lawrence’s goldfinch,
on dickcissel,
495
Smith, F, Napier, on eastern fox spar-
row, 1403
Smith, Gideon P., on Smith’s longspur,
1628
Smith, Gordon, on Baird’s sparrow, 760
Smith, Horace J., on brown-capped
rosy finch, 382, 383
Smith, Mrs. H. L., on Smith’s longspur,
1630
Smith, Philbrick, on house finch, 293
Smith, Robert Leo, on grasshopper
sparrow, 725
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 780
Smith, Ronald W., on dickcissel, 184
1871
Smith, Wendell P., on eastern Henslow’s
sparrow, 776
on eastern song sparrow, 1505
on northern slate-colored junco,
1032
on tree sparrow, 1139
smithi, Carpodacus mexicanus, 292
Smith’s longspur, 1628, 1634, 1668
Smyrna seaside sparrow, 835, 850, 857,
862
Smyth, E. A., Jr., on dickcissel, 159
Smyth, M., and Bartholomew, G. A.,
on desert black-throated sparrow,
994, 998, 1000
Snipe, Wilson’s, 790
Snodgrass, R. E., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1209
on northern sage sparrow, 1004
Snow bunting, 1596, 1599, 1603, 1604,
1605, 1652
Snowbird, common, 1029
Oregon, 1063
red-backed, 1099
Snyder, Dana P., and Cassel, J. Frank,
on Bent’s crossbill, 521
Snyder, Dorothy E., on red crossbill,
505, 510
Snyder, L. L., on clay-colored sparrow,
1188, 1189
on dickcissel, 159
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1435
on white-throated sparrow, 1379
Solawan, Patrick, on Ipswich sparrow,
667
Solitaire, Townsend’s, 1076, 1105
solitudinis, Carpodacus mexicanus, 292
Song finch, 1475
sparrow, 93, 99, 306, 576, 607, 660,
689, 712, 780, 860, 869, 870, 941,
952, 968, 991, 1039, 1202, 1215,
1217, 1238, 1262, 1263, 1283,
1370, 1871, 1387, 1394, 1395,
1397, 1405, 1406, 1407, 1417,
1436, 1438, 14389, 1445, 1451,
1452, 1458, 1456, 1458, 1459,
1460, 1461, 1462, 1469, 1470,
1475, 1476, 1477, 1478, 1479,
14838, 1491
Sonora Savannah sparrow, 724
Sooty fox sparrow, 1419
song sparrow, 1540
1872 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PART 3
Soper, J. Dewey, on Baird’s sparrow, 748 | Sparrow—Continued
on common Lapland longspur,
1597, 1600
on Hornemann’s redpoll, 398
Soras, 766, 790
sororia, Aimophila ruficeps, 956
Southard, J. T., on western Henslow’s
sparrow, 782, 786
Southern Brewer’s sparrow, 1216
sharp-tailed sparrow, 812
swamp sparrow, 1475
Southwestern skylark, 1595
Sowerby, Arthur de C, on Japanese
hawfinch, 200, 204
Sparrow, 651, 758, 1120, 1219
Abreojos Savannah, 720
Acadian sharp-tailed, 789
Alameda song, 1547
Alberta fox, 1418
Aleutian Savannah, 706
Aleutian song, 1633
Amak song, 1533
Appalachian song, 1521
Arizona black-chinned, 1241
Arizona grasshopper, 726, 745
ashy rufous-crowned, 943
Atlantic song, 1512
Bachman’s, 956
Bachman’s pine woods, 958
Baird’s, 657, 745, 795, 1187, 1189,
1650
Baird’s Savannah, 746
Bangs’ black-throated, 1001
Belding’s Savannah, 714
Bell, 477, 999, 1004, 1245
Bell’s sage, 1016
Bischoff’s song, 1533
black-chinned, 590, 598, 977
black-throated, 909, 917, 918, 919,
977
Botteri’s, 975
Brewer’s, 599, 918, 1000, 1007,
1197, 12038, 1206, 1208
Brown’s song, 1563
brush, 1137
California black-chinned, 1246
California rufous-crowned, 931
California sage, 1013, 1016
Canadian chipping, 1166
Cape Sable, 849
Cape Sable seaside, 859, 862, 866
Carmen black-throated, 1004
Cassin’s, 977, 981
Cerralvo black-throated, 1001
chestnut-capped tree, 1137
Chihuahua Savannah, 711
chipping, 93, 99, 115, 547, 738,
785, 917, 918, 979, 1000, 1021,
1026, 10389, 1063, 1076, 1118,
1:1:175 41120, 41132,.1137, 1155, .
1187 5¢:1197,91200,- 1203; 1205,
1209; ,1215;,.91217, 41230, 1231,
1233, 1237, 1312,.1387, 1455,
1460, 1481
Churchill Savannah, 696
clay-colored, 195, 759, 1030, 1186,
1215, 1218, 1230, 1265, 1569
coastal plain swamp, 1490
coastal Savannah, 712
Coronados song, 1657
Dakota song, 1523
desert black-throated, 993
desert song, 1562
dusky seaside, 835, 849, 864
dwarf Savannah, 698
eastern chipping, 1166
eastern field, 1217
eastern fox, 1395
eastern grasshopper, 742
eastern gulf coast seaside, 838
eastern Henslow’s, 776
eastern Savannah, 678
eastern sharp-tailed, 795, 816
eastern song, 1492
eastern tree, 1162
eastern vesper, 868
eastern white-crowned, 1273
English, 13, 163, 291, 294, 359,
461, 665, 668, 805, 1160, 1166,
1262, 1519
field, 685, 870, 875, 968, 1137, 1180,
1189, 1197, 1200, 1215,, 1236,
1238, 1239
Florida grasshopper, 726, 727, 730,
737, 740, 742, 745
fox,. 332,405, 416, 551,..558, 574;
1030, (1082, «1262;,..1266,., 1283,
1284, 1831, 1392, 1437, 1523
Gambel, 560, 1206, 1266
Gambel’s_ white-crowned, 12983,
1296, 1297, 1301, 1302, 1306,
1307, 1308, 1309, 1310, 1312,
1314. -1SI5S, S316 aki, ples,
1328, 1824, 1339, 13852, 1361,
1362
INDEX
Sparrow—Continued
giant song, 1533
golden-crowned, 560, 607, 1214,
1321, 1325, 1352, 1471
grass, 746, 760
grasshopper, 699, 725, 753, 760, 761,
771, 772, 776, 780, 782, 785, 786,
795, 804, 865, 960, 965, 977, 980
gray sage, 1020
Guadalupe black-throated, 992
Harquahala rufous-crowned, 930
Harris’, 9, 646, 647, 1249, 1262,
1366, 1416, 1462
hawk, 197, 646, 977, 1266, 1459
Heermann’s song, 1554
Henslow’s, 738, 739, 740, 760, 768,
110; 772, C13}, 11427863 77%, 779,
780, 781, 782, 784, 785, 786, 787,
788, 795, 804, 868, 875, 964, 965,
980
house (see English sparrow), 10, 99,
160, 179, 188, 229, 230, 264, 265,
297, 311, 383, 384, 461, 546, 558,
654, 1361, 1463
Illinois Bachman’s, 972
Inyo fox, 1424
Ipswich, 657, 795, 804
James Bay sharp-tailed, 814
Kenai song, 1533
Kodiak fox, 1419
Labrador Savannah, 675
Laguna rufous-crowned, 955
large-billed Savannah, 722
lark, 76, 294, 486, 629, 886, 952,
998, 1237
LeConte’s, 739, 760, 761, 765, 786,
788, 795, 804, 964
Lincoln song, 1468
Lincoln’s, 1105, 1262, 1362, 1434,
1469, 1470, 1471, 1472, 1475,
1483, 1525
Louisiana seaside, 841, 847, 849
MacGillivray’s seaside, 831
Magdalena Savannah, 721
Marin song, 1546
marsh, 551, 715, 722
Mendocino song, 1545
Merrill’s song, 1529
Mississippi song, 1513
Modesto song, 1553
Modoe song, 1531
Mono fox, 1424
montane Lincoln’s, 1467
1873
Sparrow—Continued
mountain song, 1525
mountain white-crowned, 1293,
13838
Nelson’s sharp-tailed, 760, 769, 815
Nevada Savannah, 708
northern sage, 1004
northern seaside, 819, 857
northern swamp, 1474
northwestern (Forbush’s) Lincoln’s,
1472
Nuttall’s white-crowned, 1292,
1326, 1328, 1338, 13844, 1345,
1346, 1348, 1349, 1350
oak-woods, 972
olive, 544
Oregon vesper, 884
Péten, 976
pine-woods Bachman’s, 970, 1458
Puget Sound white-crowned, 1292,
1301, 1306, 1310, 1313, 1317,
1328, 1824, }:1325; :1326, 1328,
1829, 13382, 1334, 1885, 1344
reed, 1475
rock (see rock rufous-crowned spar-
row), 920
rock rufous-crowned, 919
rufous-crowned, 127, 980, 1312
rufous-winged, 902
rusty song, 1541
sage, 999, 1000, 1004
Samuel’s song, 1547
San Benito Savannah, 718
San Clemente sage, 1019
San Clemente song, 1557
San Diego song, 1555, 1563
San Francisco black-chinned, 1247
San Miguel song, 1557
Santa Barbara song, 1557
Santa Cruz rufous-crowned, 940
Santa Cruz song, 1546
Savannah, 551, 657, 658, 659, 662,
664, 668, 669, 670, 671, 672, 675,
676, 678, 679, 680, 681, 682, 683,
684, 685, 686, 691, 692, 693, 698,
699, 700, 701, 702, 703, 704, 705,
706, 707, 708, 709, 712, 714, 715,
716, 719, 737, 754, 755, 756, 760,
761, 766, 771, 772, 776, 780, 785,
790, 791, 795, 799, 804, 805, 807,
826, 828, 857, 865, 871, 960, 1039,
1202, 1215, 1330, 1406, 1420,
1569, 1650
1874
Sparrow—Continued
Scammon Lagoon Savannah, 717
Scott’s rufous-crowned, 923
Scott’s seaside, 839, 865
seaside, 782, 795, 796, 798, 799,
801, 804, 807, 812, 820, 821, 826,
827, 828, 829, 830, 831, 832, 835,
836, 838, 841, 844, 845, 848, 849,
851, 852, 854, 856, 857, 859, 860,
863, 864, 865, 867, 1512
sharp-tailed, 668, 770, 772, 782,
788, 789, 790, 791, 794, 795, 796,
797, 798, 799, 800, 804, 805, 806,
897, 808, 809, 810, 814, 818, 820,
824, 825, 826, 828, 829, 851, 857,
865
Shumagin fox, 1419
slate-colored fox, 1424
Smyrna seaside, 835, 850, 857, 862
song, 93, 99, 306, 576, 607, 660,
689, 712, 780, 860, 869, 870, 941,
952, 968, 991, 1039, 1202, 1215,
1217, 1238, 1262, 1263, 1283,
1370, 1871, 1887, 1394, 13895,
1397, 1405, 1406, 1407, 1417,
1436, 14388, 1439, 1445, 1451,
1452, 1453, 1456, 1458, 1459,
1460, 1461, 1462, 1469, 1470,
1475, 1476, 1477, 1478, 1479,
1483, 1491
Sonora Savannah, 724
sooty fox, 1419
sooty song, 1540
southern Brewer’s 1216
southern sharp-tailed sparrow, 8/2
southern swamp, 1475
Stephens’ fox, 1424
Suisun song, 1547
swamp, 546, 780, 790, 828, 857,
865, 1434, 1488, 14538, 1457,
1458, 1459, 1460
swamp song, 1476
Texas (see olive sparrow), 544, 545,
979
Texas black-throated, 990
Texas seaside, 841, 849
thick-billed fox, 1424
timberline, 1213
timberline Brewer’s, 1215
Todos Santos rufous-crowned, 95/4
Tortuga black-throated, 1003
Townsend’s fox, 1419, 1427
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 8
Sparrow—Continued
tree, 188, 227, 461, 660, 669, 1030,
1076, °1737,''1230,: 1262;,.1263,
1266, 13897, 1415, 1523
Trinity fox, 1424
Tucson song, 1559
Utah fox, 1424
Valdez fox, 1419
vesper, 171, 557, 754, 868, 869,
897, 952, 968, 1039, 1076, 1187,
1202, 1213, 1387, 1407, 1504,
1567
Wakulla seaside, 838, 839, 840
Warner Mountains fox, 1424
Washington fox, 1424
western chipping, 1184
western field, 1235
western grasshopper, 744
western gulf coast seaside, 841
western Henslow’s, 779
western lark, 558, 640
western Savannah, 700
western tree, 1165
western vesper, 559, 882
white-crowned, 614, 941,
1063, 1076, 1088, 1105,
1262, 1361, 13866, 1407,
1436, 1461, 1471
white-throated, 227,
1253, 1264, 1265,
1283, 1286, 1364,
1460, 1461, 1462
Worthen’s, 1236
Yakutat fox, 1419
Yakutat song, 1533
yellow-carpalled, 976
yellowhead or Riley song, 1527
yellow-winged, 807
Yukon fox, 1415, 1418
sparverius, Falco, 646
Speirs, Doris Huestis, on eastern evening
grosbeak, 206, 210
on indigo bunting, 85, 96
on lesser goldfinch, 473
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 251
on western evening grosbeak, 237
Speirs, Doris H., and Speirs, John
Murray, on Canadian pine gros-
beak, 326
on eastern evening grosbeak, 212
on western evening grosbeak, 239
1000,
1214,
1424,
560,
1275,
1405,
1037,
1282,
1408,
INDEX
1875
Speirs, John Murray, on Canada pine] Sporophila, 103
grosbeak, 334
on eastern evening grosbeak, 230,
234
Speirs, John Murray, and Andoff, R.
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1445
Speirs, John Murray, and Speirs, Doris
H., on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1434
Spencer, G. J., on western evening gros-
beak, 249
Spetzman, L. A,,
spur, 1619
Spinites atrogularis, 1241
spinoletta, Anthus, 370, 1105
Spinus lawrencei, 486
pinus, 424, 442, 536
pinus macropterus, 424, 444, 446
pinus pinus, 424, 443, 444
psaltria hesperophilus, 474,
psaltria psaltria, 471
tristis, 468, 469
tristis jewetti, 468
tristis pallidus, 467, 469
tristis salicamans, 468, 469
tristis tristis, 447
Spiza americana, 158
townsendi, 176
Spizella, 1178, 1236, 1241
arborea, 1137
arborea arborea, 1137
arborea ochracea, 1137
atrogularis, 590, 598, 1236
atrogularis atrogularis, 1248
atrogularis cana, 1246, 1248
atrogularis caurina, 1247
atrogularis evura, 1241, 1247
breweri, 1198, 1208
breweri breweri, 1208
breweri taverneri, 1208
evura, 1241
monticola, 1214
pallida, 195, 1186, 1211, 1265
passerina, 738, 1063, 1113, 1166,
1188, 1193
passerina arizonae, 1167, 1184
passerina boreophila, 1166
passerina passerina, 1166
pusilla, 1235
pusilla arenacea, 1235
pusilla pusilla, 1217
wortheni wortheni, 1236
on Alaska _long-
1088
aurita, 456
morelleti, 324, 325
torqueola sharpei, 322
Spotted owl, 248
sandpiper, 733
towhee, 581, 582, 596, 597, 635
spragueii, Anthus, 757
spraguii, Neocorys, 1595
Sprague’s pipit, 751, 752, 757, 762, 1187
Springer, Paul, and Stewart, Robert E.,
on northern seaside sparrow, 821
on southern sharp-tailed sparrow,
813
Sprunt, Alexander, Jr., on Atlantic
song sparrow, 1512, 1513
on Bahama black-faced grassquit,
156
on Cape Sable sparrow, 863
on Carolina slate-colored junco,
1043
on eastern painted bunting,
on grasshopper sparrow, 725
on indigo bunting, 82, 103
on Ipswich sparrow, 659, 670
on lark sparrow, 886
on MacGillivray’s seaside sparrow,
831
Sprunt, Alexander Jr., and Chamberlain,
E. Burnham, on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 789
on Bachman’s sparrow, 961
on eastern fox sparrow, 1409
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
796, 805, 810
on eastern song sparrow, 1508
on indigo bunting, 87
on western Henshaw’s sparrow, 787
Spurred towhee, 583
Spurrell, J. A., on dickcissel, 184
Squires, William Austin, on Acadian
sharp-tailed sparrow, 790
on eastern fox sparrow, 1399
on Ipswich sparrow, 659
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1462
Stabler, Robert M., on western blue
grosbeak, 76
Stager, Kenneth E., on dickcissel, 165
Stansell, Sidney S. S., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 211
Stanwell-Fletcher, Theodora, on west-
ern evening grosbeak, 238
137
1876
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Stanwood, Cordelia J., on eastern vesper | Stillwell, J. E., on lesser goldfinch, 472
sparrow, 869, 871, 872,
on northern slate-colored junco,
1031, 1034
Starling, 225, 227, 685, 1160
Starrett, W. C., on dickcissel, 184
Stearns, W. A., on white-winged cross-
bill, 534
Steelman, G. M., and Herde, K. E., on
Harris’ sparrow, 1257, 1271
Stegeman, LeRoy C., on eastern song
sparrow, 1502
on southern swamp sparrow, 1476
Stejneger, Leonhard, on Aleutian rosy
finch, 350, 351
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 258
Steller’s jay, 607
Stephens, F., on Arizona black-chinned
sparrow, 1242, 1243
Stephens’ fox sparrow, 1424
stephensi, Passerella iliaca, 1393, 1424
Stevens, F., on Abert’s towhee, 632, 633,
635
Stevens, Orin A., on Baird’s sparrow,
750
on clay-colored sparrow, 1189
on dickcissel, 164
on eastern evening grosbeak, 222
on eastern goldfinch, 459
on Harris’ sparrow, 1251,
1267, 1269
on indigo bunting, 83
on pine siskin, 438
on red crossbill, 508
Stevenson, E., on western vesper spar-
row, 883
Stevenson, Henry M., on Cape Sable
sparrow, 867
on dickcissel, 163
on indigo bunting, 101
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 774
Stevenson, James O., and Meitzen,
Logan H., on dickcissel, 184
Steward, E.S., on brambling, 198
Stewart, Paul A., on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1286
on southern swamp sparrow, 1481
Stewart, R. E., and Robbins, C. S.,
on eastern field sparrow, 1220
on eastern song sparrow, 1494, 1508
on indigo bunting, 81, 83, 86, 102
Stillman, C. W., on gray-headed junco,
1116
1263,
Stillwell, J. E., and Stillwell, N. J., on
lark bunting, 650
Stimson, Louis A., on Bahama black-
faced grassquit, 156
on Cape Sable sparrow, 859, 860,
867
Stine, Perna M., on Baird’s sparrow,
750
Stitt, Merle, on mountain white-
crowned sparrow, 1341
Stockard, Charles R., on dickcissel, 159,
165
on eastern cardinal, 2
on indigo bunting, 83
Stoddard, Herbert L. (én Burleigh), on
Bachman’s sparrow, 958, 963,
968
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1176
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 692
on eastern field sparrow, 1232
on indigo bunting, 82, 84, 93, 99,
100, 102
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 787
Stokes, Allen W., on green-backed
goldfinch, 475
Stone, Witmer, on Atlantic song spar-
row, 1512
on dickcissel, 159
on eastern cardinal, 12
on eastern fox sparrow, 1397
on eastern goldfinch, 449
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
796, 809
on eastern song sparrow,
1494, 1501, 1504
on grasshopper sparrow, 736
on indigo bunting, 92, 94
on northern seaside sparrow, 826,
827, 829, 830
on Olive sparrow, 546
Stoner, Dayton, on eastern goldfinch,
448
on rufous-sided towhee, 566
on white-throated sparrow, 1383
Stoner, Emerson A., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1358
on house finch, 300
on San Francisco towhee, 596, 597
Stoner, Emerson A., et al., on Nuttall’s
white-crowned sparrow, 1320
1493,
INDEX
1877
Storer, R. W., on clay-colored sparrow, | Suthers, R. A., on Dakota song sparrow,
1200
on western painted bunting, 154
Storer, Tracy I., on Bendire’s cross-
bill, 516
Stout, Gardner D., on western evening
grosbeak, 247
Straw, Mrs. Herman F., on eastern
purple finch, 272
Street, M. G., on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1447, 1449
Street, P. B., on eastern and Canadian
chipping sparrows, 1172
striatus, Accipiter, 740
Strickland, E. H., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 232
stricklandi, Loxia curvirostra, 497, 498,
524, 525
strigatus, Chondestes grammacus, 76,
886
Strix aluco, 198
occidentalis, 248
Strong, R. M., on Bachman’s sparrow,
965
Struthus caniceps, 1099
Stull, William DeMott, on eastern and
Canadian chipping sparrows, 1166
Stupka, Arthur, on Mississippi song
sparrow, 1521
Sturnella, 625, 827
magna, 726
magna neglecta, 625
neglecta, 646
subealearatus, Calcarius
1610
subvirgata, Ammospiza caudacuta, 789,
797, 799, 808, 809, 813, 814, 815,
817
suckleyi, Falco columbarius, 1067
Suisun song sparrow, 1547
Summer tanager, 958
Sumner, Eustace L., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1361
Sumner, Eustace L., and Dixon, Joseph
S., on mountain white-crowned
sparrow, 1340
Sumner, Eustace L., Jr., and Cobb, J.
L., on San Diego song sparrow,
1556
superba, Richmondena cardinalis, 19, 20
susurrans, Passerherbulus henslowii, 776
779
Suthard, J., on indigo bunting, 85
lapponicus,
1523
Sutton, G. M., on Baird’s sparrow, 753, 757
on Cape Sable sparrow, 864, 866
on clay-colored sparrow, 1189, 1197,
1199, 1202
on common Lapland longspur, 1598,
1599, 1600, 1601, 1608, 1604
on dusky seaside sparrow, 850, 851
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1169, 1174, 1179
on eastern cardinal, 5, 7, 11
on eastern field sparrow, 1228
on eastern goldfinch, 450, 451, 462
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 681,
682
on eastern song sparrow, 1497, 1498
on eastern vesper sparrow, 868, 870,
872, 873, 874, 875, 876, 877,
on field sparrow, 1141
on grasshopper sparrow, 733
on Harris’ sparrow, 1249
on hoary redpoll, 405
on Hornemann’s redpoll, 398
on indigo bunting, 87, 91, 97
on Ipswich sparrow, 667, 673
on lark sparrow, 887, 890
on lazuli bunting, 120
on McCown’s longspur, 1595
on Mississippi song sparrow, 1516
on olive sparrow, 544, 546
on rock rufous-crowned
920, 921, 922
on rufous-sided towhee, 568, 569
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
926
on snow bunting, 1653, 1661, 1671,
1672
on southern swamp sparrow, 1476,
1477, 1479, 1480, 1482
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 780,
784, 786, 787
on white-winged crossbill, 540
on Worthen’s sparrow, 1240
Sutton, G. M., and Burleigh, T. D., on
Cassin’s sparrow, 987
on pine siskin, 444
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 24
Sutton G. M., and Parmelee, D. F., on
common Lapland longspur, 1597,
1602, 1603
snow bunting,
1659, 1667
sparrow,
on 1653, 1657,
1878
Sutton, G. M., Pettingill, Olin S., and
Lea, Robert B., on Texas black-
throated sparrow, 991
Sutton, G. M., and Phillips, A. R., on
Arizona pyrrhuloxia, 29
Sutton G. M., and Wilson R. S. (in
Gabrielson and _ Lincoln) on
Pribilof snow bunting, 1676
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1534, 1537, 1538, 1539
Swainson, W., on eastern fox sparrow,
1395
on Smith’s longspur, 1628
Swainson, W., and Richardson, J., on
clay-colored sparrow, 1188
on eastern evening grosbeak, 207
on gray-crowned rosy finch, 358
swainsoni, Buteo, 1594
Swainson’s hawk, 653,
1594
warbler, 831
Swallow, 799
cliff, 294, 295, 371, 383
Swamp song sparrow, 1476
Swamp sparrow, 546, 780, 790, 828,
857, 865, 1434, 1438, 1453, 1457,
1458, 1459, 1460
Swarth, H. S., on Abert’s towhee, 632
on Alaska longspur, 1611, 1621
on Alberta fox sparrow, 1418
on Brewer’s sparrow, 1210, 1211,
1213, 1214
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 933
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 257, 258
on Cassin’s finch, 285, 288
on desert black-throated sparrow,
1000
on fox sparrow, 1392, 1393, 1421
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1353,
1354, 1355, 1356, 1357
on gray-headed junco, 1122, 1124
on green-tailed towhee, 550, 554
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 352, 354,
355
on house finch, 304
on lazuli bunting, 116, 124, 126, 130
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 254,
255
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1127, 1128, 1130
on northern sage sparrow, 1011
1076, 1593,
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Swarth, H. S.—Continued
on northwestern Lincoln’s sparrow,
1472
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1078
on Pribilof snow bunting, 1676
on rufous-winged sparrow, 903
on Sacramento towhee, 595
on San Diego towhee, 598
on San Francisco towhee, 596
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1534, 1535, 1536, 1537, 1539
on western Savannah sparrow, 703
on white-winged crossbill, 534, 539
on yellowhead or Riley song spar-
row, 1528
Swarth, H. S., and Brooks, A., on
Brewer’s sparrow, 1209, 1214
Swarth, William, on Rocky Mountain
black-headed grosbeak, 55
swarthi, Passerella iliaca, 1393, 1424
Swenk, J. B., on Harris’ sparrow, 1264
Swenk, M. H., on pine siskin, 427, 429,
432
Swenk, M. H., and Stevens, O. A., on
Harris’ sparrow, 1251, 1257,
1259, 1261, 1263, 1264, 1266,
1268, 1269
Swenk, M. H., and Swenk, J. B., on
desert black-throated sparrow,
998
on house finch, 309
Swift, 1437, 1667
chimney, 381, 957
Swinburne, John, on McCown’s long-
spur, 1571
on western evening grosbeak, 239,
244
Sylvia atricapilla, 1683
c
Taber, Richard D., on dickcissel, 164,
185
on indigo bunting, 85, 98, 100
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 39, 41,
42, 43, 45, 46
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1538
on western blue grosbeak, 76
Taber, Wendell, on Abreojos Savannah
sparrow, 720
on Aleutian Savannah sparrow, 705
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1242
INDEX
Taber, Wendell—Continued
on Belding’s Savannah sparrow, 714
on California blue grosbeak, 79
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 331,
332, 333
on Chihuahua Savannah sparrow,
Cul
on common Lapland longspur, 1605
on dwarf Savannah sparrow, 698
on eastern evening grosbeak, 222
on Ipswich sparrow, 673, 674
on large-billed Savannah sparrow,
722
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1459
on Magdalena Savannah sparrow,
721
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 708
on Nevada towhee, 592
on Rocky Mountain pine grosbeak,
342
on San Benito Savannah sparrow,
718
on Scammon Lagoon Savannah
sparrow, 717
on snow bunting, 1668
on Sonora Savannah sparrow, 724
on varied bunting, 133, 135
on western painted bunting, 154
on western Savannah sparrow, 700
on white-winged crossbill, 527
Taber, Wendell, and Johnston, David
W., on indigo bunting, 80
Taczanowski, Ladislas, on Cassin’s
bullfinch, 259
Taka-Tsukasa, Prince,
bullfinch, 261, 262
Talmage, Robert, on coastal Savannah
sparrow, 713
on pine siskin, 431, 432
Tanager, summer, 958
western, 65, 1021
Tanner, James T., on Carolina slate-
colored junco, 1044, 1045, 1046,
1047
Tanner, V. M., and Hayward, C. L.,
on green-tailed towhee, 551
Tashian, R. E., on indigo bunting, 103
Tate, Ralph C., on house finch, 290
on lesser goldfinch, 472
Taverner, P. A., on Alaska longspur,
1625
on arctic towhee, 581
on Baird’s sparrow, 751
on Japanese
1879
Taverner, P. A.—Continued
on Bendire’s crossbill, 516
on dickcissel, 164
on eastern evening grosbeak, 208
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 683
on fox sparrow, 1421
on hoary redpoll, 405, 406
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1456
on McCown’s longspur, 1568
on northwestern Lincoln’s sparrow,
1472
on red crossbill, 508
on Smith’s longspur, 1628
on song sparrow, 1492
Taverner, P. A., and Sutton, G. M., on
Harris’ sparrow, 1252, 1253
on tree sparrow, 1141, 1160
Taverner, P. A., and Swales, B. H.,
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
taverneri, Spizella breweri, 1208
Tawny owl, 198
Taylor, Mrs. H. J., on Oregon junco,
1061
on western evening grosbeak, 240
Taylor, Rita, on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1437, 1451, 1461
Taylor, Robert Ross, on eastern eve-
ning grosbeak, 227
on McCown’s longspur, 1574
Taylor, W. M., on indigo bunting, 98
Taylor, Walter P., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1213, 1214
on Cassin’s finch, 283, 285, 286
on desert black-throated sparrow,
998, 999
on fox sparrow, 1424
on lazuli bunting, 112
on Nevada Savannah sparrow, 709
on northern sage sparrow, 1006,
1007
Taylor, Walter P., and Shaw, William
T., on Cassin’s finch, 284, 287,
288
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 352
on pine siskin, 427
Telmatodytes palustris, 831, 841
Tener, J. S., on common Lapland long-
spur, 1598
(in Godfrey), on snow bunting, 1671
tenuirostra, Aimophila ruficeps, 919
tephrocotis, Leucosticte, 347, 377, 379
Leucosticte tephrocotis, 358, 362,
371, 377, 382
1880
Teplova, E. N., on eastern rustic bunt-
ing, 1683
Tern, 799, 1143
arctic, 672
Terres, J. Kenneth,
sparrow, 741
Terrill, L. M., on Acadian sharp-tailed
sparrow, 790, 791
on clay-colored sparrow, 1189, 1201
on eastern fox sparrow, 1395
(in Friedmann), on eastern song
sparrow, 1506
on indigo bunting, 85
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1441
(in Friedmann), on southern swamp
sparrow, 1484
Teschemaker, W. E., on Japanese haw-
finch, 200
texana, Aimophila, 976
Pyrrhuloxia sinuata, 22
texanus, Pipilo fuscus, 631
Texas black-throated sparrow, 990
brown towhee, 631
cardinal, 22
pyrrhuloxia, 22, 25
seaside sparrow, 841, 849
sparrow (see olive sparrow), 544
545, 979
towhee, 590
Thatcher, Donald M., on gray-headed
junco, 1098
Thayer, John E., and Bangs, Outram,
on Guadalupe house finch, 319
on Guadalupe junco, 1094, 1095
on San Benito Savannah sparrow,
718
Thayer, May R., on Oregon junco, 1055
on pine siskin, 429
Thick-billed fox sparrow, 1424
Thoburn, Wilbur W., on Guadalupe tow-
hee, 602
Thomas, Ruth H., on Mississippi song
sparrow, 1515
Thome, J. A., on brambling, 193
Thompson, C. G., on Nuttall’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1323
Thompson, W. H., on Japanese haw-
finch, 200
Thoreau, Henry D., on common redpoll,
408
on tree sparrow, 1159
Thornber, J. J., on rufous-winged spar-
row, 918
on grasshopper
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Thorne, Oakleigh, on house finch, 311
Thorne, P. M., on McCown’s longspur,
1595
Thorneycroft, Bruce, on white-throated
sparrow, 1381, 1383, 1385
Thornton, W. A., on rock rufous-
crowned sparrow, 921, 922
on varied bunting, 133
Thrasher, Bendire, 629
brown, 576, 959, 1407, 1515
crissal, 629
curve-billed, 23, 629, 977
long-billed, 545
sage, 76
Thrush, 192, 1396
Gray’s, 50
hermit, 539, 789, 965, 1406, 1409,
1452
Sierra hermit, 346
varied, 1063, 1082
water, 1120, 1452
wood, 36
Thryomanes bewickii, 590
thurberi, Junco oreganus, 1050, 1076,
1081, 1084, 1087, 1089, 1090,
1091, 1093, 1100, 1103, 1120
Thurber’s junco, 1052, 1087
Thwaites, R. G., on MceCown’s longspur,
1565
Tiaris bicolor bicolor, 155
bicolor omissa, 157, 158
canora, 156
Timberline, Brewer’s sparrow, 1216
sparrow, 1213
Tinbergen, Niko, on chestnut-collared
longspur, 1638
on snow bunting, 1653, 1655, 1656,
1657, 1658, 1659, 1660, 1661,
1662, 1663, 1667, 1669
Tinker, Almerin D., on clay-colored
sparrow, 1200
Titlark, 1120
Titmouse, 461
tufted, 1
Todd, W. E. C., on Acadian sharp-tailed
sparrow, 794
on ashy rufous-crowned sparrow,
943, 951
on Atlantic song sparrow, 1513
on Baird’s sparrow, 753
on eastern fox sparrow, 1397, 1410
on eastern song sparrow, 1493,
1495, 1497, 1498
INDEX
Todd, W. E. C.—Continued
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1275, 1278
on grasshopper sparrow, 727
on indigo bunting, 81, 92, 93, 96, 98
on James Bay sharp-tailed sparrow,
814
on Labrador Savannah sparrow, 675
on Nuttall’s white-crowned sparrow
1312
on rufous-sided towhee, 565
on white-winged crossbill, 540, 541,
542
Todos Santos rufous-crowned sparrow,
954
Tolmie warbler, 637, 1425
Tomkins, Ivan R., on MacGillivray’s
seaside sparrow, 831, 832
on northern seaside sparrow, 827
Tompa, F.8., on Dakota song sparrow,
1523
on rusty song sparrow, 1542, 1543
Tom’s finch, 1434
Tomtit, 1029
Tordoff, H. B., on Bent’s crossbill, 522,
523
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
921
on Sitka crossbill, 519
Tordoff, H. B., and Mengel, R. M., on
clay-colored sparrow, 1198, 1204
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 770
Torrey, Bradford, on eastern goldfinch,
447
Tortuga black-throated sparrow, 1003
tortugae, Amphispiza bilineata, 1003
Tout, Wilson, on lark bunting, 639, 652
Towhee, 249, 294, 306, 320, 546, 555,
564, 574, 576, 685, 1218, 1397
Abert’s, 606, 629, 632, 917
Alabama, 680
Anthony’s brown, 616
arctic, 681
Argus brown, 604
brown, 294, 548, 603, 604, 605, 606,
607, 609, 610, 611, 616, 617, 622,
626, 630, 634, 635, 636, 952, 977,
1237
California brown, 615, 629, 917
canyon, 622, 623, 626, 627, 629
canyon brown, 622
Cape Colnett, 601
646—-737—68—pt. 3——-41
1881
Towhee— Continued
collared, 548
Colorado brown, 630
eastern, 582
green-tailed, 647, 1063, 1425
Guadalupe, 601
Harquahala brown, 630
large-billed, 602, 1135
Nevada, 592
Oregon, 593
Oregon brown, 603
red-eyed, 567
Riley’s, 580
rufous-sided, 548, 557, 558, 560,
562, 591, 598, 599, 606, 610, 611,
860
Sacramento, 595
Sacramento brown, 603
San Clemente, 600
San Diego, 598
San Francisco, 696
San Francisco brown, 605
San Lueas brown, 620
San Pablo brown, 619
spotted, 581, 582, 596, 597, 635
spurred, 583
Texas, 590
Texas brown, 631
white-eyed, 146, 564, 580
Townsend, C. H., on Carmen black-
throated sparrow, 1004
Townsend, C. W., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 790, 793
on eastern fox sparrow, 1404
on eastern goldfinch, 461
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 679,
680, 687
on eastern sharp-tailed
797, 804
on green-backed goldfinch, 482
on Ipswich sparrow, 667, 669
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1459
on McKay’s bunting, 1678
on white-winged crossbill, 538
Townsend, C. W., and Allen, G. M., on
eastern fox sparrow, 1407
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1284
Townsend, John K., on dickcissel, 176
on Harris’ sparrow, 1249
on lark bunting, 638
on Oregon junco, 1052
sparrow,
1882
towsendi, Junco oreganus, 1052, 1060,
1090, 1091
Myadestes, 1105
Passerella iliaca, 1392, 1419
Plectrophenax nivalis, 1676
Spiza, 176
Townsend’s bunting, 176
fox sparrow, 1419, 1427
Oregon junco, 1091
solitaire, 1076, 1105
Traill’s flycatcher, 780, 1476
Trautman, Milton Bernard, on dick-
cissel, 185
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1167, 1172
on eastern cardinal, 5, 14
on eastern vesper sparrow, 869, 871,
872, 877
on eastern white-crowned sparrow,
1276, 1286
on grasshopper sparrow, 741
on indigo bunting, 83, 84, 85, 89,
100, 101
on Mississippi song sparrow, 1522
on rufous-sided towhee, 566
on white-throated sparrow, 1376
on white-winged crossbill, 530
Tree sparrow, 188, 227, 461, 660, 669,
1030, 1076, 11387, 1230, 1262,
1263, 1266, 1397, 1415, 1523
Trelease, Thomas, on western evening
grosbeak, 242
Trinity fox sparrow, 1424
Trippe, T. Martin, on Dakota song spar-
row, 1523
tristis, Spinus, 468, 469
Spinus tristis, 447
Troglodytes aédon, 98
Trogon, coppery-tailed, 251
Trost, Charles H., on dusky seaside
sparrow, 849
on Smyrna seaside sparrow, 836
Trotter, Spencer, on northern seaside
sparrow, 827
Trousdale, Mrs. H. K., on green-backed
goldfinch, 477
Tuck, L. M., on dickcissel, 164, 184
on eastern evening grosbeak, 223
on eastern fox sparrow, 1401, 1402
1403, 1410
Tucker. William T., on brambling, 195
on British bullfinch, 261
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Tucker, William T.—Continued
on Hepburn’s rosy finch, 353
on Japanese hawfinch, 202
Tucson song sparrow, 1559
Tufted titmouse, 1
Tufts, Harold F., on Canadian pine
grosbeak, 327
on red crossbill, 503
on white-winged crossbill, 529
Tufts, Robie W., on Ipswich sparrow,
673
on red crossbill, 503
on white-winged crossbill, 528, 529,
531
Turdus migratorius propinquus, 295
musicus, 195
pilaris, 192
Turkeys, domestic, 646
Turner, L. M., on Aleutian Savannah
sparrow, 705
on Baird’s sparrow, 749
on Cassin’s bullfinch, 258
on greater redpoll, 421
(in Gabrielson and Lincoln), on
Pribilof snow bunting, 1676
Twining, Howard, on Oregon junco,
1063
Twisselman, William,
goldfinch, 489
Twomey, A. C., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1212
on gray-headed junco, 1100, 1104,
1106, 1121
on northern sage sparrow, 1005
on western chipping sparrow, 1185
Twomey, Arthur C., Jr., on rufous-
winged sparrow, 910
Tyler, John G., on Brewer’s sparrow,
1210, 1214
on California blue grosbeak, 79, 80
on grasshopper sparrow, 741
on lark sparrow, 896
on Oregon brown towhee, 604
Tyler, Winsor M., on eastern evening
grosbeak, 221
on eastern fox sparrow, 1398
on eastern goldfinch, 447
on indigo bunting, 94
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1315
on red crossbill, 508
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 37
on willow goldfinch, 470
on Lawrence’s
INDEX
U van
Udvardy, M. D. F., on western evening
grosbeak, 250
umbraticola, Pipilo erythrophthalmus,
601
umbrina, Leucosticte tephrocotis, 347
unalascheensis, Passerella iliaca, 1392,
1419
Upland plover, 780, 977
urophasianus, Centrocercus, 646
Utah fox sparrow, 1424
V
Vacin, Victor, on Harris’ sparrow, 1259
Vaiden, M. G., on indigo bunting, 83
Valdez fox sparrow, 1419
Valley quail, 614
Van Cleave, H. J., on rufous-sided tow-
hee, 576
Van Denburgh, J., on Belding’s Savan-
nah sparrow, 716
Van Hoose, 8. G., on indigo bunting, 93 | Van
van Rossem, A. J., on Abert’s towhee,
632, 633, 635
on Abreojos Savannah sparrow, 721
on Arizona black-chinned sparrow,
1241
on Arizona pyrrhuloxia, 25
on Bangs’ and Cerralvo _black-
threated sparrows, 1001, 1002
on Belding’s Savannah sparrow,
@14, 715, 717
on California black-chinned spar- | Van
row, 1247
on Carmen black-throated sparrow,
1004
on Cassin’s finch, 284, 287, 288
on desert black-throated sparrow,
995
on green-backed goldfinch, 478
on green-tailed towhee, 552
on Harquahala brown towhee, 630
on Harquahala rufous-crowned
sparrow, 930
on Laguna rufous-crowned spar-
row, 955
on large-billed Savannah sparrow,
722
on Lawrence’s goldfinch, 487
on lazuli bunting, 120
on Magdalena Savannah sparrow,
721
Van
Van
Vasquez,
1883
Rossem, A. J.— Continued
on Newfoundland crossbill, 499
on northern sage sparrow, 1011,
1012
on northwestern goldfinch, 468
on Rocky Mountain black-headed
grosbeak, 55
on rufous-winged sparrow, 903, 908
on San Benito Savannah sparrow,
719
on San Clemente sage sparrow,
1019
on Scammon Lagoon Savannah
sparrow, 717
on Sonora Savannah sparrow, 724
on Texas brown towhee, 631
on Texas Pyrrhuloxia, 22
on Todos Santos rufous-crowned
sparrow, 954
on Tortuga black-throated sparrow,
1003
on varied bunting, 136
Tyne, J., on Brewer’s sparrow, 1212
on clay-colored sparrow, 1188
on dickcissel, 162, 188
on eastern cardinal, 7
on eastern vesper sparrow, 878
on indigo bunting, 103, 104
on McCown’s longspur, 1571
on Newfoundland pine grosbeak,
336
on rock rufous-crowned sparrow,
921
Tyne, J., and Berger, A. D., on
eastern Savannah sparrow, 681
Tyne, J., and Drury, W. H.,. Jr.,
on snow bunting, 1655, 1664
Tyne J., and Sutton, G. M., on
Cassin’s sparrow, 981, 982, 983,
989
on clay-colored sparrow, 1198
on lesser goldfinch, 472
on Texas brown towhee, 631
on Texas pyrrhuloxia, 23
on Texas towhee, 590, 591
on varied bunting, 133, 134
Variable seedeater, 456
Varied bunting, 132
thrush, 1063, 1082
Leonila, on Scott’s rufous-
crowned sparrow, 928
Vaurie, Charles, on indigo bunting, 97
Veery, 958
1884
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Veghte, James, on Mexican (yellow-| Walkinshaw, L. H.—Continued
eyed) junco, 1127, 1129, 1132
velox, Accipiter, 1067
Verdin, 1000
versicolor, Passerina versicolor, 132
Vesper sparrow, 171, 557, 754, 868, 869,
897, 952, 968, 1039, 1076, 1187,
1202, 1213, 1387, 1407, 1504,
1567
vespertina, Hesperiphona, 207, 238
Hesperiphona vespertina, 206, 254
Vieillot, L. J. P., on rufous-sided tow-
hee, 562, 563, 571
Vilks, E. K., on rufous-winged sparrow,
907
Vireo, 450
red-eyed, 37, 472
Virginia rail, 790, 1476
virginianus, Bubo, 1066
Visher, 8. 8., on McCown’s longspur,
1568, 1595
on mountain white-crowned spar-
row, 1340
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
930
Voge, M., and Davis, B. S., on Abert’s
towhee, 637
Volatinia jacarina atronitens, 1457
von Bloeker, Jack, on California black-
chinned sparrow, 1247
von Haartman, Lars, on eastern rustic
bunting, 1682
W
Wada, K., on Cassin’s bullfinch, 261
Wagner, H., on rufous-winged sparrow,
907
Wakulla seaside sparrow, 838, 839, 840
Walker, Alex, on Arizona grasshopper
sparrow, 726
on lazuli bunting, 120
Walkinshaw, L. H., on clay-colored
sparrow, 1189, 1190, 1191, 1192,
1193, 1194, 1195, 1196, 1197,
1199, 1204
on common redpoll, 410, 411, 412,
413
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1169, 1170, 1171, 1172,
1173, 1174, 1179
on eastern evening grosbeak, 220
on eastern field sparrow, 1217
on eastern goldfinch, 449, 451, 452,
457, 460
on eastern vesper sparrow, 873, 878
on grasshopper sparrow, 727, 732,
733, 738, 741
on hoary redpoll, 401, 403
on Le Conte’s sparrow, 765, 766,
7168, 771
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1447, 1449,
1462
on northern slate-colored junco,
1029
on tree sparrow, 1141
on western field sparrow, 1235
Walkinshaw, L. H., and Stophlet, J. J.,
on western Savannah sparrow,
701
wallowa, Leucosticte tephrocotis, 362
Wallowa rosy finch, 362
Waltman, Dorothy, on western evening
grosbeak, 249
Warbach, Oscar, on indigo bunting, 82
Warbler, 547, 576
Audubon’s, 1021, 1076, 1088
Bachman’s, 831
Blackburian, 217, 1400
black-poll, 1189, 1400
Cairns’, 958
California yellow, 127
Canada, 147, 217
chestnut-sided, 1631
Kirtland’s, 871, 1571
Macgillivray’s, 559, 1425
magnolia, 958
mourning, 1454
myrtle, 98, 217, 1330
pileoated, 1088
pine, 958, 959, 1178
Swainson’s, 831
Tolmie, 637, 1425
Wilson’s, 1105
yellow, 464, 559, 780, 1143, 1476,
1505, 1560
Warburton, F. E., on clay-colored spar-
row, 1194, 1196
Warner Mountains fox sparrow, 1424
Warren, B.H., on rose-breasted grosbeak,
44
on rufous-sided towhee, 564, 566
on white-throated sparrow, 1376
INDEX
Warren, Edward R., on brown-capped
rosy finch, 379, 380
on desert black-throated sparrow,
994
on gray-crowned rosy finch, 360
on gray-headed junco, 1115
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 1299
on pink-sided Oregon junco, 1078
warreni, Hesperiphona vespertina, 238
Warton, W. P., on eastern and Canadian
chipping sparrows 1179
Washburn, H. Bradford, Jr., on common
redpoll, 408
Washington fox sparrow, 1424
Water ouzel, 346
pipit, 1105
thrush, 1120, 1452
Watson, Adam, on common Lapland
longspur, 1598, 1601, 1602, 1603
Watson, F. G., on gray-headed junco,
1115, 1118
Watson, 8., on Guadalupe junco, 1095
Wauer, R. H., on Brewer’s sparrow, 1209
on desert black-throated sparrow,
993
Waxwing, 340, 541
Bohemian, 229, 340
cedar, 225, 229, 246, 424, 1115
Wayne, A. T., on eastern fox sparrow,
1409
on eastern painted bunting, 139,
141, 142, 146, 150
on eastern purple finch, 275
on eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
810
on Ipswich sparrow, 659
on MacGillivray’s seaside sparrow,
832, 833, 834
on pine siskin, 437, 438
on rufous-sided towhee, 571
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 787
on white-throated sparrow, 1376
Weaver, Richard L., on common redpoll,
408
on eastern purple finch, 275
on pine siskin, 428
Weaver, Richard, L., and West, D., on
pine siskin, 431, 482, 433, 434,
435
Webb, Genevieve D., on Ipswich spar-
row, 674
1885
Weber, Walter M., on eastern rustic
bunting, 1681
Webster, Harold, on lark bunting, 654
Webster, J. Dan, on Botteri’s sparrow,
976, 977
on Worthen’s sparrow, 1236
Webster, J. Dan, and Orr, R. T., on
Worthen’s sparrow, 1236, 1237
Weed, C. M., on eastern and Canadian
chipping sparrows, 1173
on tree sparrow, 1155
Weeks, Mangum, on eastern blue gros-
beak, 69
Weir, J., on Cassin’s bullfinch, 259
Welch, C. M., on green-tailed towhee,
560
on lark bunting, 646
Wellman, Gordon B., on eastern purple
finch, 266
Wells, Philip V., on indigo bunting, 82,
93, 107
Werner, F. G., on rufous-winged spar-
row, 906, 916
Wernicke, M. M., on rose-breasted gros-
beak, 47
West, David A., on rose-breasted gros-
beak, 44
Western biue grosbeak, 75
chipping sparrow, 1184
evening grosbeak, 237
field sparrow, 1235
flycatcher, 1105
grasshopper sparrow, 744
gulf coast seaside sparrow, 841
Henslow’s sparrow, 779
kingbird, 977
lark sparrow, 558, 640
meadowlark, 646, 762, 1202
mockingbird, 23, 896
painted bunting, 154
robin, 295, 346
Savannah sparrow, 700
tanager, 65, 1021
tree sparrow, 1165
vesper sparrow, 559, 882
wood pewee, 559
Westman, Frances, on Lincoln’s spar-
row, 1462
Weston, Francis
sparrow, 956
on eastern painted bunting, 138
on Illinois Bachman’s sparrow, 972
M., on Bachman’s
1886
Weston, Francis M.—Continued
on pine-woods Bachman’s sparrow,
970
on western Henslow’s sparrow, 788
Weston, Henry G., Jr., on black-headed
grosbeak, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 66
Wetherbee, David K., on Brewer’s spar-
row, 1211
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 935
on clay-colored sparrow, 1197
on coastal plain swamp sparrow,
1490
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 681
on northern swamp sparrow, 1474
on rufous-sided towhee, 568, 569
on southern swamp sparrow, 1475
Wetherbee, David K., and Wetherbee,
N.S., on eastern field sparrow,
1227
Wetherbee, Olive P., on common red-
poll, 415, 417, 418
on eastern song sparrow, 1503
on grasshopper sparrow, 732
on southern swamp sparrow, 1484
Wetherill, M. A., on gray-headed junco,
1114
Wetmore, Alexander, on Aleutian rosy
finch, 350
on Bahama black-faced grassquit,
157
on eastern rustic bunting 1681
on green-tailed towhee, 555
on indigo bunting, 87, 98, 105
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1456, 1462,
1465
on Mississippi song sparrow, 1517
on mountain song sparrow, 1525
on northern swamp sparrow, 1474
on rusty song sparrow, 1543
on Smith’s longspur, 1631
on southern sharp-tailed sparrow,
812
on western vesper sparrow, 883
Wetmore, Alexander, and Lincoln, Fred-
erick, on dickcissel, 159
Weydemeyer, W., on western vesper
sparrow, 883
Weygandt, C., on eastern field sparrow,
1229
Weyl, E. S., and Coombs, J. M., on
eastern painted bunting, 139
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Wharton, William P., on eastern Savan-
nah sparrow, 693
on eastern song sparrow, 1505
wheatear, Greenland, 1656
Wheeler, A. T., on brown-capped rosy
finch, 375
Wheeler, E. P., on eastern
crowned sparrow, 1285
Wheeler, E. P., IJ, on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1279, 1283
Wheelock, Irene G., on black-headed
grosbeak, 59, 62
on California purple finch, 278, 279
on Cassin’s finch, 283, 286
on lazuli bunting, 121, 128
on Oregon junco, 1057
on western evening grosbeak, 240
on willow goldfinch, 470
Wheelright, H. W., on brambling,
193
Whip-poor-will, 96
Whitaker, L. M., on eastern song spar-
white-
row, 1502
on painted bunting, 94
White, Francis B., on eastern fox
sparrow, 1397, 1408
on eastern goldfinch, 447
White, S. E., on eastern evening gros-
beak, 227
White-breasted nuthatch, 1026, 1125
White-collared seedeater, 322
White-crowned sparrow, 614, 941, 1009,
1063, 1076, 1088, 1105, 1214,
1262, 1361, 1366, 1407, 1424,
1436, 1461, 1471
White-eyed towhee, 146, 564, 580
White-tailed hawk, 848
ptarmigan, 375, 376, 402
White-throated sparrow, 227, 560, 1037,
1253, 1264, 1265, 1275, 1282,
1283, 1286, 1364, 1405, 1408,
1460, 1461, 1462
White-tipped brown jay, 454, 456
White-winged blackbird, 638
bunting, 638, 655
crossbill, 407, 440, 499, 527, 1115,
1452
junco, 1021, 1051, 1075, 1076, 1121,
1123
Whitley, N. R., on clay-colored sparrow,
1200
INDEX
Whitney, Oo NJ. Jr,
longspur, 1566
on white-winged junco, 1021
Whittle, Charles L., on eastern fox
sparrow, 1396
on eastern purple finch, 269
on lark bunting, 641, 642, 647
Whittle, Helen G., on eastern purple
finch, 269, 270
Widmann, Otto, on clay-colored spar-
row, 1187
on dickcissel, 164, 185
on green-tailed towhee, 557
on lazuli bunting, 128
on Nuttall’s white-crowned sparrow,
1313
Wilbur, Sanford R., on indigo bunting,
1038
Wilkins, W., on Harris’ sparrow, 1268
Wilkinson, B. J., on northern slate-
colored junco, 1032
Willard, F. C., on Abert’s towhee, 633
on Arizona pyrrhuloxia, 27
on canyon brown towhee, 624
on house finch, 294, 295, 297
on Mexican evening grosbeak, 252,
253, 254, 255
on Mexican (yellow-eyed) junco,
1128
on Scott’s rufous-crowned sparrow,
924, 925
on Tucson song sparrow, 1560
Willett, G., on ashy rufous-crowned
sparrow, 944, 948
on Bell’s sage sparrow, 1017
on California sage sparrow, 1014
on Cassin’s finch, 281, 282, 288
on fox sparrow, 1419, 1420
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1353,
1362
on green-tailed towhee, 553
on house finch, 293
on lazuli bunting, 119
on northwestern Lincoln’s sparrow,
1472
on northwestern Oregon junco, 1082
on pine siskin, 435
on Santa Cruz
sparrow, 943
on Sitka ecrossbill, 519
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.
1533
rufous-crowned
1887
on McCown’s} Willett, G.—Continued
on sooty song sparrow, 1540
on yellowhead or Riley song spar-
row, 1528
Williams, Frances C., on clay-colored
sparrow, 1189, 1199
Williams, Frances C., and LeSassier,
Anne L., on Cassin’s sparrow, 981
Williams, G. C., on dickcissel, 159, 163
on eastern painted bunting, 139,
140, 152
Williams, J. J., on Oregon junco, 1067
Williams, L. Perey, on ashy rufous-
crowned sparrow, 947, 948, 951
Williams, Mrs. Harold, on Baird’s spar-
row, 749, 758
Williams, Ralph B., on gray-crowned
rosy finch, 358
on Kodiak pine grosbeak, 340, 341
Williams, Robert W., Jr., on indigo
bunting, 102, 103
Williamson, Francis 8. L., on Alaska
longspur, 1608
on common Lapland longspur, 1597
on golden-crowned sparrow, 1353,
1362
on green-tailed towhee, 556
on western Savannah sparrow, 701
Willow goldfinch, 469, 483, 484, 952
Wilson, Alexander, on dickcissel, 180
on eastern and Canadian chipping
sparrows, 1166
on eastern goldfinch, 461
on eastern painted bunting, 141,
142, 147, 149, 150
on eastern Savannah sparrow, 679
on Ipswich sparrow, 658
on northern seaside sparrow, 819,
820
on song sparrow: Alaskan subsp.,
1539
on southern swamp sparrow, 1475
Wilson, Alexander, and Bonaparte,
Charles L., on eastern Savannah
sparrow, 687
Wilson, F. N., on lark sparrow, 892
Wilson, Gordon, on eastern white-
crowned sparrow, 1276
Wilson, J. C., on Baird’s sparrow, 750
Wilsonia canadensis, 147
pusilla, 1105
pusilla pileolata, 1088
1888
Wilson’s phalaropes, 766
snipe, 790
warbler, 1105
Winford, Mrs. T. E., on eastern cardinal,
<
on eastern goldfinch, 459
on eastern painted bunting, 147
Wing, Anne H., on Nuttall’s white-
crowned sparrow, 1292, 1310,
1314
Wing, K., on gray-headed junco, 1109
Wing, L., on Brewer’s sparrow, 1209,
1213
Winter wren, 952, 958, 1400
Wisner, R. L., on lazuli bunting, 115
Witherby, H. F., et al., on Alaska
longspur, 1625
on British bullfinch, 259, 261
on common crossbill, 497
on common redpoll, 412
on eastern rustic bunting, 1682,
1683
on European bullfinch, 259, 260,
261
on European goldfinch, 386, 387,
388, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395
on Japanese hawfinch, 200, 202
on snow bunting, 1653, 1654, 1657,
1663, 1664, 1665, 1666, 1667,
1669
Wolf, L., on ashy rufous-crowned
sparrow, 950, 951
on California rufous-crowned spar-
row, 937
on Laguna rufous-crowned sparrow,
956
on Santa Cruz rufous-crowned
sparrow, 942
Lloyd R., om rock rufous-
crowned sparrow, 920, 921, 922
on varied bunting, 132
Wolfson, A., on Oregon junco, 1053
on Point Pinos Oregon junco, 1085
on rufous-winged sparrow, 907
on White-throated sparrow, 1374
Wolley, John, on brambling, 198
Wood, Harold Bacon, on Churchill
Savannah sparrow, 697
Wood, J. D., on Japanese hawfinch, 202
Wood, Merrill, on Lincoln’s sparrow,
1462
Wolfe,
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237
PART 3
Wood, Norman A., on Baird’s sparrow,
747
on dickcissel, 164, 185
on eastern cardinal, 2
on eastern fox sparrow, 1411
on lark bunting, 654
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1462
Wood pewee, 37, 622, 785, 958
Wood, 8. F., and Herman, C. M., on
Mexican evening grosbeak, 255
Wood thrush, 36
Woodbury, A. M., on house finch, 302
on lazuli bunting, 113
on spurred towhee, 588
Woodbury, A. M., and Cottam, C., on
desert black-throated sparrow,
994
Woodbury, A. M., Cottam, C., and
Sugden, J. W., on green-tailed
towhee, 550
Woodbury, A. M., and Russell, H. N.,
Jr., on Nevada Savannah spar-
row, 710
on western chipping sparrow, 1185
Woodhouse jay, 588
Wood-Lark, 1434
Woodpecker, 332, 509, 1055
California, 294
downy, 1066
Gila, 629
hairy, 46
red-cockaded, 958
Woods, Robert 8., on golden-crowned
sparrow, 1359
on house finch, 290
on Nuttall’s white-crowned spar-
row, 13807
on San Diego song sparrow, 1556
Woolfenden, G. E., on Acadian sharp-
tailed sparrow, 791
eastern sharp-tailed sparrow,
798, 799, 801, 802, 803, 805, 806,
807
on northern seaside sparrow, S19
Worthen, Charles K., on Le Conte’s
sparrow, 767
wortheni, Spizella wortheni, 1236
Worthen’s sparrow, 1236
Wren, 635
Bewick’s 590, 1512
cactus, 1000
Carolina, 1, 959
on
INDEX
Wren—Continued
house, 13, 98, 929, 1231, 1434, 1452,
14538, 1470
long-billed marsh, 807, 831, 841,
1452
marsh, 760, 800, 829, 848
prairie marsh, 771
rock, 291, 320, 1557
short-billed marsh, 780, 1476, 1560
winter, 952, 958, 1400
Wright, Albert Hazen, and Allen,
Arthur A., on red crossbill, 501
Wright, H., and Synder, G. K., on song
sparrow: Pacific Insular subsp.,
1557
Wright, Mabel Osgood, on indigo bun-
ting, 92
Wyman, L. E., on lazuli bunting, 127,
128
Wyman, L. E., and Burnell, E. F., on
lazuli bunting, 128
Wynne-Edwards, V. C., on common
Lapland longspur, 1597, 1600,
1601, 1602, 1603, 1604
on common redpoll, 411
x
Xantos, John, on San Lucas brown
towhee, 621
xerophilus, 1020
x
Yakutat fox sparrow, 1419
song sparrow, 1633
Yamashina, Yoshimaro,
bullfinch, 261, 262
on Japanese hawfinch, 200, 201, 203,
205
Yellow rail, 790, 818
warbler, 464, 559, 780, 11438, 1476,
1505, 1560
Yellow-bellied flycatcher, 745, 1400
Yellow-billed cuckoo, 545
Yellow-birds (see eastern goldfinch), 458
Yellow-breasted chat, 547, 638
Yellow-carpalled sparrow, 976
Yellowhead or Riley song sparrow, 1527
Yellowlegs, 678
greater, 333
Yellowthroat, 780, 977, 1476, 1560
Yellow-winged sparrow, 807
Young, Howard, on indigo bunting, 88
on Japanese
1889
Youngworth, William, on Baird’s spar-
row, 749
on Canadian pine grosbeak, 330
on clay-colored sparrow, 1188, 1200,
1205
on dickcissel, 164
on eastern blue grosbeak, 72
on eastern cardinal, 5
on Harris’ sparrow, 1250, 1251, 1269
on indigo bunting, 98, 107
on lark bunting, 638, 648
on lazuli bunting, 114, 126
Yukon fox sparrow, 1415, 1418
Z
zaboria, Passerella iliaca, 1392, 1416,
1419
Zenaidura macroura, 241
Zimmer, John T., on grasshopper spar-
row, 737
on lark bunting, 648, 650
Zimmerman, D. A., on eastern cardinal,
13
on eastern goldfinch, 464
on indigo bunting, 98
on Lincoln’s sparrow, 1463
on rose-breasted grosbeak, 47
Zonotrichia, 560, 1266, 1283, 1322,
1355, 1356, 13858, 13859, 1360,
1861, 1862, 1875
albicollis, 560, 1364, 1498
atricapilla, 560, 1362
capensis, 1375
coronata, 1315, 1357
leucophrys, 1063, 1105, 1306, 1320,
1321, 1357
leucophrys gambelii,
1298, 1294, 1300,
13138, 1315, 1321, 1322,
1824, 1339, 1340, 1357
leucophrys leucophrys, 1273, 1314
leucophrys nuttalli, 941, 1089, 1292,
1328, 1329, 1339, 1342, 1345,
1347, 1348, 13849, 1350, 1357
leucophrys oriantha, 1275, 1292,
1293, 1294, 1296, 1300, 1312,
1313, 1314, 1338
leucophrys pugetensis, 1292, 1293,
1304, 1312, 13138, 13821, 1322,
1324, 1327, 1328, 1329, 1332,
1334, 1335, 1344
querula, 1249
1292,
1312,
1323,
560,
1304,
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NEST AND EGGS OF HARRIS’ SPARROW
Churchill, Manitoba, June 25, 1947 A. 8. Judd
NEST AND EGGS OF WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW
646-737—6S8—pt. 342
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U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM
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U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PLATE 71
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NEST AND EGGS OF WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW FEEDING YOUNG
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PLATE 72
Uinta Mountains, Utah
Tulare County, Calif., May 27, 1939 J. S. Rowley
NEST OF STEPHENS’ FOX SPARROW
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PEATEZS
San Bernardino Mountains, Calif. W. M. Pierce
NEST AND EGGS OF LINCOLN'S SPARROW
Uinta Mountains, Utah \. D. Cruickshank
LINCOLN’S SPARROW AT NEST
BULLETIN 237 PLATE 74
S. A. Grimes
NEST AND EGGS OF SWAMP SPARROW
June 1928
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NEST AND EGGS OF SONG SPARROW
1950
SONG SPARROW AT NEST
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 PLATE 76
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BULLETIN 237 PLATE 77
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NEST AND EGGS OF CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR
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