Taken near Portland. Photo by W. L. Finley. SIR! YOU INTRUDE! FEMALE SHUFELDT JUNCO ON NEST.Taken near Portland.Photo by W. L. Finley.SIR! YOU INTRUDE!FEMALE SHUFELDT JUNCO ON NEST.
Taken near Portland.Photo by W. L. Finley.SIR! YOU INTRUDE!FEMALE SHUFELDT JUNCO ON NEST.
On a sunny day in March the Juncoes gather for a grand concert. The males mount the bush-tops and hold forth in rival strains, while the females lurk under cover and take counsel of their hearts. Junco’s song is a sweet little tinkling trill, not very pretentious, but tender and winsome. Interspersed with this is a variety of sipping and suckling notes, whose uses are hard to discern. Now and then, also, a forcible kissing sound may be heard, evidently a note of repulsion instead of attraction, for it is employed in the breeding season to frighten enemies. During the progress of the concert some dashing young fellow, unable fully to express his emotion in song,runs amuck, and goes charging about thru the woodsy mazes in a fine frenzy—without, however, quite spilling his brains. Others catch the excitement and the company breaks up in a mad whirl of amorous pursuit.
Taken in Tacoma. Photo by the Author. UNDER A TIN ROOF. THE NEST IN THE CAN CONTAINS FIVE EGGS.Taken in Tacoma.Photo by the Author.UNDER A TIN ROOF.THE NEST IN THE CAN CONTAINS FIVE EGGS.
Taken in Tacoma.Photo by the Author.UNDER A TIN ROOF.THE NEST IN THE CAN CONTAINS FIVE EGGS.
At the end of the brief song period, Juncoes deploy thruout the half-open woods or prairie borders of the entire State, from sea-level to timber-line. The variety and interest of their nesting habits are scarcely exceeded by those of any other bird. In general they appear to be guided by some thought of seclusion or protection in their choice of nesting sites. Steep hillsides or little banks are, therefore, favorite places, for here the bird may excavate a cool grotto in the earth, and allow the drapery of the hillside, mosses and running vines, to festoon and guard the approaches. At Newport we found them nesting in the road-cuts. At Snoqualmie the side of a haystack sheltered a confiding pair. At Tacoma the birds nest at the base of tiny clumps of oak, or under the shelter of brush-piles. Severalnests have been found in old tin cans flung down upon the prairie and only half obscured by growing grasses. Again the birds trust to the density of vegetation, and shelter in the grass of unmowed orchards, weed-lots, and meadows. One site was found in which the bird occupied a carefully chosen fern arbor in the midst of a collection of whitened bones, evidently the mortal remains of a defunct draft horse. The situation was delightfully gruesome, and, touched no doubt with vanity, the owner sat for her portrait at four feet, á la Bernhardt.
Taken in Whatcom County. Photo by the Author. NEST AND EGGS OF SHUFELDT JUNCO.Taken in Whatcom County.Photo by the Author.NEST AND EGGS OF SHUFELDT JUNCO.
Taken in Whatcom County.Photo by the Author.NEST AND EGGS OF SHUFELDT JUNCO.
Juncoes keep very quiet during the nesting season until disturbed, and they are very close sitters. When nearly stepped on the bird bursts off, and, if there are young, crawls and tumbles along the ground within a few feet of the intruder, displaying wings and tail in a most appealing manner. Thetssiksof both birds are incessantly repeated, and the whole woodside is set agog with apprehension.
If one posts himself in a suspected locality not too near the nest, it is only a question of time till the solicitude of the nursing mother will triumph over fear. One such I traced to a charming mossy bank, overlooking awoodland pool; but on the first occasion it took the parent bird exactly half an hour to go thru all the feints and preliminaries before she ventured on the final plunge. There were half-grown babies in this nest, and since we were in summer camp (at Glacier, near the foot of Mt. Baker), I resolved to make friends of this promising family with a view to portraiture.
As I sat next day watching my Juncoes, and waiting for the sun to get around and light up the vicinity of the nest, the call to dinner sounded. The mother bird, not without much misgiving and remonstrance, had just visited her babies, so I rose to go; but as I did so, caught sight of a stout garter snake, who lay watching the scene from a distance of fully twenty feet, a wicked gleam of intelligence in his eye. With quick suspicion of his purpose, I seized stones and hurled at his retreating form; but the ground was rough and he managed to escape into a large brush-pile. At table I ate hurriedly, listening the while for the faintest note of trouble. When it came, a quick outcry from both parents, instead of premonitory notes of discovery, I sprang to my feet, clutched a stick, and rushed down to the spring. Alas for us! Satan had found our Eden! The nest was emptied and the snake lay coiled over it in the act of swallowing one of the little birds. Not daring to strike, I seized him by the throat and released the baby Junco, whose rump only had disappeared into the devouring jaws. Then with the stick I made snake’s-head jelly on a rock and flung the loathsome reptile away. But it was all too late. One young bird lay drowned upon the bottom of the pool, and the other (I think there were only two) soon died of fright and the laceration of the hinder parts attendant upon ophidian deglutition. It was all so horrible! the malignant plan, the stealthy approach, the sudden alarm, the wanton destruction of the fledglings, the grief of the agonized parents, the remorse of the helper who came too late! Is it any wonder that our forbears have pictured the arch-enemy as a serpent?
A. O. U. No. 559 a.Spizella monticola ochraceaBrewster.Description.—Adults: Pileum, a streak behind eye and a small patch on side of chest cinnamon-rufous or light chestnut; a superciliary stripe and remaining portions of head and neck clear ashy gray; throat and chest of same shade superficially but duller by virtue of concealed dusky; an ill defined spot of dusky in center of lower chest; remaining underparts dull white washed on sides with brownish; general color of upperparts light buffy grayish brown, much outcropping black on back, scapulars and tertials; some rusty edging on back feathers, scapulars and greater wing-coverts; middle and greater wing-covertstipped with white, forming two conspicuous bands; flight feathers and rectrices grayish dusky margined with whitish and buffy. Bill blackish above, yellow, tipped with dusky, below; legs brown, feet darker; iris brown.In winterthe cinnamon-rufous of crown is slightly veiled, especially along median area, by ashy skirtings of feathers, and the buffy of upperparts inclines to strengthen. Length about 6.00 (152.4); wing 3.00 (76); tail 2.68 (68); bill .39 (10); tarsus .82 (20.8).Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; resembles Western Chipping Sparrow but much larger; white wing-bars with chestnut of crown distinctive.Nesting.—Does not breed in Washington. “Nest, in low bushes or on the ground, loosely constructed of bark strips, weeds and grasses, warmly lined with feathers.Eggs, 4-6, or even 7, pale green, minutely and regularly sprinkled with reddish brown spots” (Coues). Av. size, .75 × .60 (19.1 × 15.2).General Range.—Breeding from the valley of Anderson River, near the Arctic coast westward thru Alaska to coast of Bering Sea, and for an undetermined distance southward; in winter south thru western North America to Arizona, Texas, etc., eastward across Rocky Mts. to Great Plains (Ridgway).Range in Washington.—Not common winter resident and migrant. Has not recently been reported west of the Cascades.Authorities.—Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VII. 1882, pp. 227, 228. (T). (C&S). Sr. D².Specimens.—(U. of W.). P¹. Prov.
A. O. U. No. 559 a.Spizella monticola ochraceaBrewster.
Description.—Adults: Pileum, a streak behind eye and a small patch on side of chest cinnamon-rufous or light chestnut; a superciliary stripe and remaining portions of head and neck clear ashy gray; throat and chest of same shade superficially but duller by virtue of concealed dusky; an ill defined spot of dusky in center of lower chest; remaining underparts dull white washed on sides with brownish; general color of upperparts light buffy grayish brown, much outcropping black on back, scapulars and tertials; some rusty edging on back feathers, scapulars and greater wing-coverts; middle and greater wing-covertstipped with white, forming two conspicuous bands; flight feathers and rectrices grayish dusky margined with whitish and buffy. Bill blackish above, yellow, tipped with dusky, below; legs brown, feet darker; iris brown.In winterthe cinnamon-rufous of crown is slightly veiled, especially along median area, by ashy skirtings of feathers, and the buffy of upperparts inclines to strengthen. Length about 6.00 (152.4); wing 3.00 (76); tail 2.68 (68); bill .39 (10); tarsus .82 (20.8).
Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; resembles Western Chipping Sparrow but much larger; white wing-bars with chestnut of crown distinctive.
Nesting.—Does not breed in Washington. “Nest, in low bushes or on the ground, loosely constructed of bark strips, weeds and grasses, warmly lined with feathers.Eggs, 4-6, or even 7, pale green, minutely and regularly sprinkled with reddish brown spots” (Coues). Av. size, .75 × .60 (19.1 × 15.2).
General Range.—Breeding from the valley of Anderson River, near the Arctic coast westward thru Alaska to coast of Bering Sea, and for an undetermined distance southward; in winter south thru western North America to Arizona, Texas, etc., eastward across Rocky Mts. to Great Plains (Ridgway).
Range in Washington.—Not common winter resident and migrant. Has not recently been reported west of the Cascades.
Authorities.—Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VII. 1882, pp. 227, 228. (T). (C&S). Sr. D².
Specimens.—(U. of W.). P¹. Prov.
“The sight of the first Tree Sparrow in the fall serves perfectly to call up a vision of impending winter. Here are the hurrying blasts, the leaden skies, the piling snow-drifts, all ready to make the beholder shiver. But here, too, in some unburied weed patch, or thicket of rose-briars, is a company of Tree Sparrows, stout-hearted and cold-defying, setting up a merry tinkling chorus, as eloquent of good cheer as a crackling Yule-log. How many times has the bird-man hastened out after some cruel cold snap, thinking, ’Surely this will settle for my birds,’ only to have his fears rebuked by a troop of these hardy Norsemen revelling in some back pasture as if they had found their Valhalla on this side the icy gates. Ho! brothers! here is food in these capsules of mustard and cockle; here is wine distilled from the rose-hips; here is shelter in the weedy mazes, or under the soft blanket of the snow. What ho! Lift the light song! Pass round the cup again! Let mighty cheer prevail!” (Birds of Ohio).
Truth to tell, the Western Tree Sparrows are somewhat rare winter visitors, in eastern Washington only. In habits they do not appear to differ materially from the typical form, which is very abundant in winter thruout the northern tier of eastern states. In the nature of the case, while with us, their food, consisting as it does of grass- and weed-seeds and dried berries, is found near the ground; and so, for the season, the name Tree Sparrow seems inconsistent. When persistently annoyed, however, the flock will riseto the tree-tops in straggling fashion, and there either await the withdrawal of the intruder, or else make off at a good height.
The song of the Tree Sparrow is sweet and tuneful, affording a pleasing contrast to the monotonous ditty of the Western Chipping Sparrow. Snatches of song may be heard, indeed, on almost any mild day in winter; but the spring awakening assures a more pretentious effort. A common form runs,Swee-ho, sweet, sweet, sweet, with notes of a most flattering tenderness. But we may only guess at the bird’s full powers, for the home-making is in Alaska.
A. O. U. No. 560 a.Spizella passerina arizonæ(Coues).Synonyms.—Chippy. Hair-bird.Description.—Adult: Crown bright chestnut; extreme forehead black with ashy median line; a light ashy superciliary stripe; lore and postocular streak black; underparts and sides of head and neck ashy gray, dullest on breast and sides, clearest on throat where nearly white; hind-neck and wings bluish ash, the former more or less streaked with blackish; back and scapulars light brown (isabella color) heavily streaked with black; wings and tail fuscous. Bill dark; feet light; iris brown.Young birdsare streaked with dusky above and below and lack the chestnut of crown. Length of adult males: 5.00-5.50 (127-139.7); wing 2.83 (72); tail 2.36 (60); bill .39 (10); tarsus .67 (17). Females smaller.Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; chestnut crown and whitish superciliary distinctive.Nesting.—Nest: A compact or careless structure of fine twigs, grasses, and (most commonly and often exclusively) rootlets, heavily lined with horse hair; placed in sage-bush, wild rose thicket or shrubbery, or else on horizontal branch of apple tree or evergreen.Eggs: 3-5, usually 4, greenish blue speckled freely or in narrow ring about larger end with reddish brown and black. Av. size, .71 × .51 (18 × 13).Season: April-July, usually May and June; two broods.General Range.—Western North America from the Rockies to the Coast breeding from the southern border of the United States north to the Yukon Valley in Alaska, east over the western provinces of Canada; south in winter to Mexico and Lower California.Range in Washington.—Common summer resident thruout the State chiefly in settled portions and more open situations.Migrations.—Spring: Yakima, April 12, 1900; Chelan, April 24, 1896; Tacoma, April 12, 1905, April 11, 1906.Authorities.—Spizella socialisBonap.Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 473 part. (T). C&S. D¹. Ra. D². Ss². Kk. J. B. E.Specimens.—U. of W. P¹. Prov. B. E.
A. O. U. No. 560 a.Spizella passerina arizonæ(Coues).
Synonyms.—Chippy. Hair-bird.
Description.—Adult: Crown bright chestnut; extreme forehead black with ashy median line; a light ashy superciliary stripe; lore and postocular streak black; underparts and sides of head and neck ashy gray, dullest on breast and sides, clearest on throat where nearly white; hind-neck and wings bluish ash, the former more or less streaked with blackish; back and scapulars light brown (isabella color) heavily streaked with black; wings and tail fuscous. Bill dark; feet light; iris brown.Young birdsare streaked with dusky above and below and lack the chestnut of crown. Length of adult males: 5.00-5.50 (127-139.7); wing 2.83 (72); tail 2.36 (60); bill .39 (10); tarsus .67 (17). Females smaller.
Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; chestnut crown and whitish superciliary distinctive.
Nesting.—Nest: A compact or careless structure of fine twigs, grasses, and (most commonly and often exclusively) rootlets, heavily lined with horse hair; placed in sage-bush, wild rose thicket or shrubbery, or else on horizontal branch of apple tree or evergreen.Eggs: 3-5, usually 4, greenish blue speckled freely or in narrow ring about larger end with reddish brown and black. Av. size, .71 × .51 (18 × 13).Season: April-July, usually May and June; two broods.
General Range.—Western North America from the Rockies to the Coast breeding from the southern border of the United States north to the Yukon Valley in Alaska, east over the western provinces of Canada; south in winter to Mexico and Lower California.
Range in Washington.—Common summer resident thruout the State chiefly in settled portions and more open situations.
Migrations.—Spring: Yakima, April 12, 1900; Chelan, April 24, 1896; Tacoma, April 12, 1905, April 11, 1906.
Authorities.—Spizella socialisBonap.Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 473 part. (T). C&S. D¹. Ra. D². Ss². Kk. J. B. E.
Specimens.—U. of W. P¹. Prov. B. E.
Not all birds are fitly named, even in the “immutable Latin,” but this one has a very accurate title inSpizella socialis arizonæ[16], which we may freely translate asthe friendly little sparrow of the desert. An obscure little fellow he is to eye, a skit done in faded browns, with a chestnut crown which still does not differentiate the owner from a withered corymb in his native sage. Of the desert he is, for there is no sage-brush wilderness too dreary to boast the presence of at least a few Chipping Sparrows. And friendly he is, beyond question, for there are few dooryards in the eastern part of the State where this bird is not a trustful visitor; and his presence in western Washington is nearly coextensive with that of man. For altho the Chipping Sparrow now abounds in the prairie region of Pierce and adjacent counties, it is instructive to note that its plumage gives no evidence of resaturation, or of departure from the bleached type, as would be the case if it belonged to one of the really “old families” of Puget Sound.
Whatever the weather, Chippy returns to us about the 12th day of April, posts himself on the tip of a fir branch, like a brave little Christmas candle, and proceeds to sputter, in the same part. Of all homely sounds the monotonous trill of the Western Chipping Sparrow is the most homely,—and the most easily forgivable. As music it scarcely ranks above the rattle of castanets; but the little singer pours out his soul full earnestly, and his ardor often leads him to sustained effort thruout the sultry hours when more brilliant vocalists are sulking in the shade; and for this we come to prize his homely ditty like the sound of plashing waters.
Taken in Pierce County. Photo by the Author. JUST ARRIVED. WESTERN CHIPPING SPARROW, ADULT MALE.Taken in Pierce County.Photo by the Author.JUST ARRIVED.WESTERN CHIPPING SPARROW, ADULT MALE.
Taken in Pierce County.Photo by the Author.JUST ARRIVED.WESTERN CHIPPING SPARROW, ADULT MALE.
Two Chipping Sparrow songs heard near Tacoma deserve special mention. One likened itself in our ears to a tool being ground on a small emery wheel. The wheel has a rough place on its periphery which strikesagainst the tool with additional force and serves to mark a single revolution, but the continuous burr which underlies the accented points, or trill-crests, is satisfied by this comparison alone. The other effort, a peculiar buzz of varying intensity, carries forward the same idea of continuous sound, but the comparison changes. In this the song appears to pour from the tiny throat without effort, and its movement is as tho an unseen hand controlled an electric buzz, whose activity varies with the amount of “juice” turned on: zzzzzzzzzzt, zzzzzzzzzzt,zzzzzzzzzzt, ZZZZZZZZZZT, ZZZZZZZZZZT.
Chippy’s nest is a frail affair at best, altho often elaborately constructed of fine twigs, rootlets and grasses with a plentiful lining of horse-hair. In some instances the last-named material is exclusively employed. A sage-bush is the favorite situation on the plains of the Columbia, a horizontal fir branch in the wet country. Rose thickets are always popular, and where the bird frankly forsakes the wilds, ornamental shrubbery and vines are chosen. The nests are often so loosely related to their immediate surroundings as to give the impression of having been constructed elsewhere, and then moved bodily to their present site. Some are set as lightly as feathers upon the tips of evergreen branches, and a heavy storm in season is sure to bring down a shower of Chippies’ nests.
Taken near Chelan. Photo by the Author. “FOUR OF THE CUTEST——.”Taken near Chelan.Photo by the Author.“FOUR OF THE CUTEST——.”
Taken near Chelan.Photo by the Author.“FOUR OF THE CUTEST——.”
Eggs are laid during the first or second week of May in the vicinity of American Lake and from one to three weeks earlier in the sage country. They are among the most familiar objects in Nature, and particular description of them ought to be unnecessary. But every person who knows that we are interested in birds has to stop us on the street to tell about the “cunningest little nest, you know, with four of the cutest——” “Hold on,” we say; “were the eggs blue?” “Yes,” “With dots on them?” “Why, yes; how did you know?”
Incubation lasts only ten days and two broods are raised in each season.Chipping Sparrows are very devoted parents and the sitting female will sometimes allow herself to be taken in the hand. The male bird is not less sedulous in the care of the young, and he sometimes exercises a fatherly oversight of the first batch of babies, while his mate is preparing for the June crop.
A. O. U. No. 562.Spizella breweriCassin.Description.—Adults: Upperparts grayish brown, brightest brown on back, everywhere (save on remiges and rectrices) streaked with black or dusky, narrowly on crown, more broadly on back and scapulars, less distinctly on rump; wing-coverts and tertials varied by edgings of brownish buff; flight-feathers and rectrices dark grayish brown or dusky with some edging of light grayish brown; a broad pale buffy superciliary stripe scarcely contrasting with surroundings; underparts dull whitish tinged on sides and across breast by pale buffy gray. Bill pale brown darkening on tip and along culmen; feet pale brown, iris brown.Youngbirds are less conspicuously streaked above; middle and greater coverts broadly tipped with buffy forming two distinct bands; breast streaked with dusky. Length 5.30 (1.35); wing 2.44 (62); tail 2.38 (60.5); bill .38 (8.8); tarsus .68 (17.4).Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; general streaked appearance;absenceof distinguishing marks practically distinctive; sage-haunting habits.Nesting.—Nest: of small twigs and dried grasses, lined with horse-hair, set loosely in sage-bush.Eggs: 4 or 5, greenish blue, dotted and spotted, sometimes in ring about larger end, with reddish brown. Av. size .67 × .49 (17 × 12.4).Season: April, June; two broods.General Range.—Sage-brush plains of the West, breeding from Arizona to British Columbia and east to western Nebraska and western Texas; south in winter to Mexico and Lower California.Range in Washington.—Open country of the East-side, abundant summer resident; occasionally invades Cascade Mountains (only in late summer?).Migrations.—Spring: Yakima March 29, 1900.Authorities.—[“Brewer’s sparrow,” Johnson, Rep. Gov. W. T. 1884 (1885), 22].Dawson, Auk, XIV, 1897, 178. D². Ss¹. Ss².Specimens.—U. of W. P. C.
A. O. U. No. 562.Spizella breweriCassin.
Description.—Adults: Upperparts grayish brown, brightest brown on back, everywhere (save on remiges and rectrices) streaked with black or dusky, narrowly on crown, more broadly on back and scapulars, less distinctly on rump; wing-coverts and tertials varied by edgings of brownish buff; flight-feathers and rectrices dark grayish brown or dusky with some edging of light grayish brown; a broad pale buffy superciliary stripe scarcely contrasting with surroundings; underparts dull whitish tinged on sides and across breast by pale buffy gray. Bill pale brown darkening on tip and along culmen; feet pale brown, iris brown.Youngbirds are less conspicuously streaked above; middle and greater coverts broadly tipped with buffy forming two distinct bands; breast streaked with dusky. Length 5.30 (1.35); wing 2.44 (62); tail 2.38 (60.5); bill .38 (8.8); tarsus .68 (17.4).
Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; general streaked appearance;absenceof distinguishing marks practically distinctive; sage-haunting habits.
Nesting.—Nest: of small twigs and dried grasses, lined with horse-hair, set loosely in sage-bush.Eggs: 4 or 5, greenish blue, dotted and spotted, sometimes in ring about larger end, with reddish brown. Av. size .67 × .49 (17 × 12.4).Season: April, June; two broods.
General Range.—Sage-brush plains of the West, breeding from Arizona to British Columbia and east to western Nebraska and western Texas; south in winter to Mexico and Lower California.
Range in Washington.—Open country of the East-side, abundant summer resident; occasionally invades Cascade Mountains (only in late summer?).
Migrations.—Spring: Yakima March 29, 1900.
Authorities.—[“Brewer’s sparrow,” Johnson, Rep. Gov. W. T. 1884 (1885), 22].Dawson, Auk, XIV, 1897, 178. D². Ss¹. Ss².
Specimens.—U. of W. P. C.
It is never quite fair to say that Nature produces a creature which harmonizes perfectly with its surroundings, for the moment we yield tribute of admiration to one creature, we discover amid the same circumstances another as nearly perfect but entirely different. When we consider the Sage Sparrow we think that Nature cannot improve much upon his soft grays by way of fitness for his desert environment; but when we come upon the Brewer Sparrow, we are ready to wager that here the dame has done herutmost to produce a bird of non-committal appearance. Mere brown might have been conspicuous by default, but brownish, broken up by hazy streakings of other brownish or dusky—call it what you will—has given us a bird which, so far as plumage is concerned, may be said to have no mark of distinction whatever—just bird.
Taken in Douglas County. Photo by the Author. NEST AND EGGS OF BREWER SPARROW.Taken in Douglas County.Photo by the Author.NEST AND EGGS OF BREWER SPARROW.
Taken in Douglas County.Photo by the Author.NEST AND EGGS OF BREWER SPARROW.
The Sage Sparrow fits into the gray-green massy scheme of color harmony in the artemisia, while Brewer’s fits into the somber, brown-and-streaky scheme of its twigs and branches. To carry out the comparison, do not look forbreweriearly in the season, when the breath of the rain rises from the ground and the air is astir: he is there, of course, but disregard him. Wait, rather, until the season is advanced, when the incomparable sun of Yakima has filled the sage-brush full to overflowing, and it begins to ooze out heat in drowsy, indolent waves. Then listen:Weeeezzz, tubitubitubitubitub, the first part an inspired trill, and the remainder an exquisitely modulated expirated trill in descending cadence. Instantly one conceives a great respect for this plain dot in feathers, whose very existence may have passed unnoticed before. The descending strain of the common song has, in some individuals, all the fine shading heard in certain imported canaries. Pitch is conceded by infinitesimal gradations, whereby the singer, from some heaven of fancy, brings us down gently to a topmost twig of earthly attainment. Nor does the song in other forms lack variety. In fact, a midday chorus of Brewer Sparrows is a treat which makes a tramp in the sage memorable.
Brewer’s Sparrow is of the sage sagey, and its range in Washington is almost exactly co-extensive with the distribution of that doughty shrub; but it is of record thatSpizella breweriindulges in some romantic vacations, a specimen being once taken by me (July 25, 1900) at 8000 feet, upon the glacier levels of Wright’s Peak.
A. O. U. No. 557.Zonotrichia coronata(Pall.).Description.—Adults: A broad crown stripe gamboge-yellow, changing abruptly to ashy gray on occiput; this bounded on each side by broad stripe of silky black meeting fellow on forehead; remaining upperparts grayish brown, broadly streaked with black on back, more or less edged with dull chestnut on back, wing-coverts and tertials, glossed with olive on rump and tail; middle and greater coverts tipped with white forming conspicuous bars; chin, throat and sides of head ashy gray with obscure vermiculations of dusky; remaining underparts washed with buffy brown, darkest on sides and flanks, lightest, to dull white, on belly, obsoletely and finely barred on breast. Bill blackish above, paler below; feet pale; iris brown.Immature: Without definite head-stripe; crown broadly dull olive-yellow, clearest on forehead, elsewhere sharply flecked with blackish in wedge-shaped marks, giving way to grayish brown or dull chestnut behind and to blackish on sides (variably according to age?). Length 7.20 (182.8); wing 3.28 (83.3); tail 3.06 (77.7); bill .48 (12.2); tarsus .96 (24.3).Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; yellow of crown distinctive in any plumage.Nesting.—Does not breed in Washington.Nestandeggssaid to be very similar to those ofZ. l. nuttalli.General Range.—Pacific Coast and Bering Sea districts of Alaska; south in winter thru the Pacific States to Lower California; occasionally straggles eastward.Range in Washington.—Spring and fall migrant both sides of the Cascades, more common westerly.Migrations.—Spring: c. April 21 (West-side); c. May 20 (Chelan).Authorities.—?Emberiza atricapillaAud. Orn. Biog. V. 1839, 47; pl. 394.Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. Vol. IX. 1858, 462. C&S. L². D¹. Kb. Ra. Kk. B. E.Specimens.—U. of W. Prov. E.
A. O. U. No. 557.Zonotrichia coronata(Pall.).
Description.—Adults: A broad crown stripe gamboge-yellow, changing abruptly to ashy gray on occiput; this bounded on each side by broad stripe of silky black meeting fellow on forehead; remaining upperparts grayish brown, broadly streaked with black on back, more or less edged with dull chestnut on back, wing-coverts and tertials, glossed with olive on rump and tail; middle and greater coverts tipped with white forming conspicuous bars; chin, throat and sides of head ashy gray with obscure vermiculations of dusky; remaining underparts washed with buffy brown, darkest on sides and flanks, lightest, to dull white, on belly, obsoletely and finely barred on breast. Bill blackish above, paler below; feet pale; iris brown.Immature: Without definite head-stripe; crown broadly dull olive-yellow, clearest on forehead, elsewhere sharply flecked with blackish in wedge-shaped marks, giving way to grayish brown or dull chestnut behind and to blackish on sides (variably according to age?). Length 7.20 (182.8); wing 3.28 (83.3); tail 3.06 (77.7); bill .48 (12.2); tarsus .96 (24.3).
Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; yellow of crown distinctive in any plumage.
Nesting.—Does not breed in Washington.Nestandeggssaid to be very similar to those ofZ. l. nuttalli.
General Range.—Pacific Coast and Bering Sea districts of Alaska; south in winter thru the Pacific States to Lower California; occasionally straggles eastward.
Range in Washington.—Spring and fall migrant both sides of the Cascades, more common westerly.
Migrations.—Spring: c. April 21 (West-side); c. May 20 (Chelan).
Authorities.—?Emberiza atricapillaAud. Orn. Biog. V. 1839, 47; pl. 394.Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. Vol. IX. 1858, 462. C&S. L². D¹. Kb. Ra. Kk. B. E.
Specimens.—U. of W. Prov. E.
Regal tho he be, this sparrow is discreet in the matter of appearances, and does not cultivate the public eye. Washington is only a way-station in his travels, and the splendors and liberties of court life are reserved for Alaska. Appearing at Tacoma during the last week in April, demure companies of Golden-crowns may not infrequently be seen associated with migrating Nuttalls. They are in no hurry, or perhaps the haste of midnight flight is over when we see them yawning sleepily in the bushes of a morning. They are languid too as they deploy upon the park lawns, always within reach of cover, in search of fallen seeds or lurking beetles. Their leisurely movements contrast strongly with the bustling activities of the local Nuttalls; for the latter are burdened with the care of children, before the Alaskan migrants have forsworn bachelorhood. East of the Cascade Mountains the northward movement of this species is even more tardy, and May 18-22 are the dates at which I have recorded it at Chelan.
Migrating Zonotrichias are all coquettishly retiring, and the first hint of danger sends them scuttling into the bushes. If one presses up to the edge of the brush, he may hear an uncanny rustling among the leaves and branches as the birds retreat, but not a single note is uttered. Left to themselves, the birds become sociable with manyzinkscommon to the genus; and, if unusually merry, the Golden-crowns indulge a sweet, preparatoryhooheewhich reminds one of both the White-crowned (Z. leucophrys) and White-throated (Z. albicollis) Sparrows of the East; but the song has never been completed here to our knowledge.
Suckley said that Golden-crowned Sparrows were abundant in summer both at Fort Dalles and Fort Steilacoom, but this was undoubtedly a mistake, as the records of alleged nesting in California proved to be. On the other hand they may winter with us to some extent, since Mr. Bowles took a specimen on December 16, 1907, in the Puyallup Valley.
A. O. U. No. 554 a.Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii(Nuttall).Synonyms.—Intermediate-crowned Sparrow. Intermediate Sparrow.Description.—Adults: Crown pure white, becoming gray behind; lateral crown-stripes meeting in front, and post-ocular stripes, jet black, separated by white stripe continuous with lore; remainder of head, neck all around, and entire underparts slaty gray, darkest on nape, whitening on chin and belly, with a tawny wash on flanks and crissum; back and scapulars brown (burnt umber) edged with gray; rump and upper tail-coverts tawny olivaceous; wings and tail fuscous, the tertials dark-centered with edgings of bay and white; middle and greater coverts tipped with white, forming two inconspicuous wing-bars; rectrices with brown shafts and tawny edgings, bill reddish brown above, saffron yellow below, with tip of maxilla black.Youngof the year have the black of head replaced by light chestnut, and the white by ochraceo-fuscous or gray; in general darker and browner above than adult. Length 6.50-7.00 (165-180); wing 3.07 (78); tail 2.76 (70); bill .42 (10.7); tarsus .89 (22.5).Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; broad white crown and jet black lateral stripes strongly contrasting; slightly larger and general coloration lighter than inZ. l. nuttalli; white crown-stripe broader.Nesting.—As next; not known to breed in Washington but probably does so.General Range.—Western North America, breeding from Montana, eastern Oregon, etc., northward between coast mountains of British Columbia and Alaska and the interior plains to the lower Mackenzie and Anderson River Valleys, thence westward thruout Alaska to the coast of Bering Sea; in winter southward across western United States into Mexico and Lower California, straggling eastward across the Great Plains.Range in Washington.—Abundant spring and fall migrant on the East-side, possibly summer resident; doubtless migrant west of Cascades, but no specimens taken.Migrations.—Spring: April 20-May 20. Wallula, April 24, 1905; Chelan, April 24, 1896; Brook Lake, June 7, 1908.Authorities.—Fringilla gambeliiNuttall, Man. Orn. U. S. & Canada, 2d Ed., 1, 1840, 556.Z. gambeli intermediaBrewster, B. N. O. C. VII. 1882, p. 227. D¹. Sr. D². Kk. J.Specimens.—U. of W. C. P.
A. O. U. No. 554 a.Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii(Nuttall).
Synonyms.—Intermediate-crowned Sparrow. Intermediate Sparrow.
Description.—Adults: Crown pure white, becoming gray behind; lateral crown-stripes meeting in front, and post-ocular stripes, jet black, separated by white stripe continuous with lore; remainder of head, neck all around, and entire underparts slaty gray, darkest on nape, whitening on chin and belly, with a tawny wash on flanks and crissum; back and scapulars brown (burnt umber) edged with gray; rump and upper tail-coverts tawny olivaceous; wings and tail fuscous, the tertials dark-centered with edgings of bay and white; middle and greater coverts tipped with white, forming two inconspicuous wing-bars; rectrices with brown shafts and tawny edgings, bill reddish brown above, saffron yellow below, with tip of maxilla black.Youngof the year have the black of head replaced by light chestnut, and the white by ochraceo-fuscous or gray; in general darker and browner above than adult. Length 6.50-7.00 (165-180); wing 3.07 (78); tail 2.76 (70); bill .42 (10.7); tarsus .89 (22.5).
Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; broad white crown and jet black lateral stripes strongly contrasting; slightly larger and general coloration lighter than inZ. l. nuttalli; white crown-stripe broader.
Nesting.—As next; not known to breed in Washington but probably does so.
General Range.—Western North America, breeding from Montana, eastern Oregon, etc., northward between coast mountains of British Columbia and Alaska and the interior plains to the lower Mackenzie and Anderson River Valleys, thence westward thruout Alaska to the coast of Bering Sea; in winter southward across western United States into Mexico and Lower California, straggling eastward across the Great Plains.
Range in Washington.—Abundant spring and fall migrant on the East-side, possibly summer resident; doubtless migrant west of Cascades, but no specimens taken.
Migrations.—Spring: April 20-May 20. Wallula, April 24, 1905; Chelan, April 24, 1896; Brook Lake, June 7, 1908.
Authorities.—Fringilla gambeliiNuttall, Man. Orn. U. S. & Canada, 2d Ed., 1, 1840, 556.Z. gambeli intermediaBrewster, B. N. O. C. VII. 1882, p. 227. D¹. Sr. D². Kk. J.
Specimens.—U. of W. C. P.
It is probably safe to say that during the height of their spring migrations, viz., April 15th to May 15th, these birds exceed in numbers all the other sparrows of eastern Washington combined. Indeed, on certain occasions, it would seem that they are more numerous than all other birds combined. And this altho they do not move in great flocks in the open, like Redpolls, but flit and skulk wherever there is show of cover. Wayside thickets, spring draws, and the timbered banks of streams are favorite places. The more isolated the cover the more certain it is to be held as a Zonotrichianstronghold, and they are sometimes so hard put to it for shelter that they resort in numbers to the sage-brush, where they affect great secretiveness.
These handsome and courtly gentlemen with their no less interesting, if somewhat plainer, wives are far more reserved than their talents would warrant. Our approach has sent a score of them scurrying into cover, a neglected rose-briar patch which screens a fence, and now we cannot see one of them. An occasional sharpdzinkof warning or protest comes out of the screen, or a suppressed titter of excitement, as two birds jostle in their effort to keep out of sight. We are being scrutinized, however, by twenty pairs of sharp eyes, and when our probation is ended, now one bird and now another hops up to an exposed branch to see and be seen.
What distinguished foreigners they are, indeed, with their white crowns, slightly raised and sharply offset by the black stripes which flank them,—Russians, perhaps, with shakos of sable and ermine. The bird has an aristocratic air which is unmistakable; and, once he has deigned to show himself, appears to expect deference as his due. What a pity they will not make their homes with us, but must needs go further north!
As diligently as I have searched for this species, I have never found a specimen in the summer months[17], nor is there any record of the bird’s nesting in Washington. This is the more remarkable in that the type form (Z. leucophrys) breeds extensively “thruout the high mountain districts of the western United States” (Ridgway), exclusive of Washington and Oregon, southward to the San Francisco Mountains of Arizona, “northward to northern California (Mount Shasta, etc.).” In view of this, one may feel free to suggest that the Camp Harney record[18], referred togambelii, is really referable to the typical form, and that as such it represents a northern extension ofleucophrys, rather than a southern extension ofgambelii.
A. O. U. No. 554 b.Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalliRidgw.Synonyms.—Formerly calledGambel’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow(name properly confined toZ. leucophrys).Crown Sparrow.Description.—Adults: Like preceding but general tone of coloration much darker; streaks of back and scapulars deepest brown or blackish; general ground-color of upperparts light olive-gray; median crown-stripe narrower, dull white;underparts more strongly washed with brownish gray; axillaries and bend of wing more strongly yellow; bill yellowish with dark tip.Immature: Similar to that of preceding form, but underparts yellowish; upperparts light olive buff; crown-stripe cinnamomeous, or pale chestnut.Very youngbirds are more extensively black-streaked above, and finely streaked below on chin, throat, chest, and sides; bill brighter yellow; feet paler. Length of adult males, 5.90-6.70 (150-170); wing 2.95 (75); tail 2.83 (72); bill .43 (11); tarsus .93 (23.5). Females smaller.“A MILITARY GENTLEMAN IN A GRAY CLOAK.”“A MILITARY GENTLEMAN IN A GRAY CLOAK.”Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; black-and-white striping of crown distinctive in range; much darker than preceding.Nesting.—Nest: on ground or low in bushes; rarely in trees up to 25 feet; a rather pretentious structure of bark-strips, dead grass, and rootlets, with alining of fine dead grass and horse-hair; measures externally 6 in. wide by 4 deep; internally 2½, wide by 1 deep.Eggs: 4 or 5, pale bluish white, profusely dotted and spotted, or blotched, with varying shades of reddish brown. Av. size .86 × .64 (21.8 × 16.3).Season: Last week in April, and May 25-June 10; two broods.General Range.—Pacific Coast district, breeding from Monterey, California, to Fort Simpson, British Columbia; south in winter to San Pedro Martir Mountains, Lower California.Range in Washington.—Of general distribution west of the Cascade Mountains at lower altitudes; casually winter resident.Migrations.—Spring: March 25-April 1.Authorities.—Z. gambeliiGambel,Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 461. (T.) C&S. L¹.(?) L². Rh. Kb. Ra. Kk. B. E.Specimens.—U. of W. P. B. BN. E.
A. O. U. No. 554 b.Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalliRidgw.
Synonyms.—Formerly calledGambel’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow(name properly confined toZ. leucophrys).Crown Sparrow.
Description.—Adults: Like preceding but general tone of coloration much darker; streaks of back and scapulars deepest brown or blackish; general ground-color of upperparts light olive-gray; median crown-stripe narrower, dull white;underparts more strongly washed with brownish gray; axillaries and bend of wing more strongly yellow; bill yellowish with dark tip.Immature: Similar to that of preceding form, but underparts yellowish; upperparts light olive buff; crown-stripe cinnamomeous, or pale chestnut.Very youngbirds are more extensively black-streaked above, and finely streaked below on chin, throat, chest, and sides; bill brighter yellow; feet paler. Length of adult males, 5.90-6.70 (150-170); wing 2.95 (75); tail 2.83 (72); bill .43 (11); tarsus .93 (23.5). Females smaller.
“A MILITARY GENTLEMAN IN A GRAY CLOAK.”“A MILITARY GENTLEMAN IN A GRAY CLOAK.”
“A MILITARY GENTLEMAN IN A GRAY CLOAK.”
Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; black-and-white striping of crown distinctive in range; much darker than preceding.
Nesting.—Nest: on ground or low in bushes; rarely in trees up to 25 feet; a rather pretentious structure of bark-strips, dead grass, and rootlets, with alining of fine dead grass and horse-hair; measures externally 6 in. wide by 4 deep; internally 2½, wide by 1 deep.Eggs: 4 or 5, pale bluish white, profusely dotted and spotted, or blotched, with varying shades of reddish brown. Av. size .86 × .64 (21.8 × 16.3).Season: Last week in April, and May 25-June 10; two broods.
General Range.—Pacific Coast district, breeding from Monterey, California, to Fort Simpson, British Columbia; south in winter to San Pedro Martir Mountains, Lower California.
Range in Washington.—Of general distribution west of the Cascade Mountains at lower altitudes; casually winter resident.
Migrations.—Spring: March 25-April 1.
Authorities.—Z. gambeliiGambel,Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 461. (T.) C&S. L¹.(?) L². Rh. Kb. Ra. Kk. B. E.
Specimens.—U. of W. P. B. BN. E.
When you enter a bit of shrubbery at the edge of town in May or June, your intrusion is almost sure to be questioned by a military gentleman in a gray cloak with black-and-white trimmings. Your business may be personal, not public, but somehow you feel as if the authority of the law had been invoked, and that you would better be careful how you conduct yourself in the presence of this military person. Usually retiring, the Nuttall Sparrow courts exposure where the welfare of his family is in question, and a metallic scolding note,zink, ordzink, is made to do incessant service on such occasions. A thoroly aroused pair, worms in beak, and crests uplifted, may voice their suspicions for half an hour from fir-tip and brush-pile, without once disclosing the whereabouts of their young.
Nuttall’s Sparrow is the familiar spirit of brush-lots, fence tangles, berry patches, and half-open situations in general. He is among the last to quit the confines of the city before the advancing ranks of apartment houses and sky-scrapers, and he maintains stoutly any vantage ground of vacant lot, disordered hedge-row, or neglected swamplet left to him. After the Rusty Song Sparrow, he is perhaps the commonest Sparrow in western Washington—unquestionably so within the borders of settlement.
As a songster this Sparrow is not a conspicuous success, altho he works at his trade with commendable diligence. He chooses a prominent station, such as the topmost sprig of a fir sapling, and holds forth at regular intervals in a prosy, iterative ditty, from which the slight musical quality vanishes with distance.Hee ho, chee weé, chee weé chee wéééandHee, wudge, i-wudge i-wudge i-wééééare vocalized examples. The preliminaryhee hois sometimes clear and sweet enough to prepare one’s ear for the Vesper Sparrow’s strain, but the succeeding syllables are tasteless, and the trill with which the effort concludes has a wooden quality which we may overlook ina friend but should certainly ridicule in a stranger. We are humbled in view of the vocal limitations of this bird when we recall that the voice of the White-crowned Sparrow (Z. leucophrys), of which ours is a local race, is noted for its sweet, pure quality. Surely our bird has caught a bad cold.
In selecting a nesting site, the Nuttall displays a marked difference of taste from the Rusty Song Sparrow, in that it selects a dry situation. The first nest, prepared during the third week in April, is almost invariably built upon the ground. A slight hollow is scratched at the base of a bush or sapling, and a rather pretentious structure of bark strips, dried grasses and rootlets is reared, with a lining of fine grass and horse-hair. A nest found on Flat-top was set in high grass at the foot of a tiny oak sapling, and was composed externally of dried yarrow leaves with a few coarse grasses; internally of fine coiled grass of a very light color, supplemented by four or five white gull feathers. The eggs, four or five in number, are of a handsome light green or bluish green shade, and are heavily dotted, spotted, or blotched with reddish brown.
Taken in Seattle. Photo by the Author. FEMALE NUTTALL SPARROW.Taken in Seattle.Photo by the Author.FEMALE NUTTALL SPARROW.
Taken in Seattle.Photo by the Author.FEMALE NUTTALL SPARROW.
A second set is prepared a month or so later than the first, and occasionally a third. Second nests are built, as likely as not, in bushes or trees; and Mr. Bowles has taken them as high as twenty-five feet from the ground.
Young birds lack the parti-colored head-stripes of the adult, altho the pattern is sketched in browns; and they are best identified by the unfailing solicitude of the parents, which attends their every movement. They are rather bumptious little creatures for all; a company of them romping about a pasture fence brings a wholesome recollection of school-boy days, and there are girls among them, too, for my! how they giggle!
A. O. U. No. 581 b.Melospiza melodia montana(Henshaw).Description[19].—Adults: Crown dull bay streaked with black and divided by ashy-gray median stripe; rufous brown post-ocular and rictal stripes, enclosing grayish-brown auriculars; remaining upperparts ashy-gray varied by reddish brown, the gray due to broad edgings of feathers and occupying from one-half to two-thirds the total area according to season, feathers of back and scapulars sharply streaked with blackish centrally; wings and tail brown varied by minor markings and edgings of dusky, brownish gray and ashy-gray; below white, or sordid, heavily streaked on sides of throat, breast and sides by blackish and rufous, markings wedge-shaped, tear-shaped or elongated, confluent on sides of throat as maxillary stripes and often on center of breast as indistinct blotch. Bill horn-color above, lighter below; feet pale brown, toes darker; iris brown.Young: Like adults but duller, all markings less sharply defined, streaks of underparts narrower. Length of adult male (skins): 6.00 (150); wings 2.73 (69.3); tail 2.74 (69.6); bill .48 (12.2); tarsus .88 (22.4).Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; heavy streaking of breast and back, withvaried head markings, distinctive; lighter, grayer and more sharply streaked as compared withM. m. merrilli.Nesting.—As next.General Range.—“Rocky Mountain district of the United States west to and including the Sierra Nevada, in California; north to eastern Oregon, southern Idaho and southern Montana; south in winter to western Texas and northern Mexico” (Ridgway). Probably also north into British Columbia and southwestern Alberta.Range in Washington.—Migrant and winter resident along eastern borders.Authorities.—? Snodgrass, Auk, XX. 1903, 207. W. T. Shawin epist., Dec. 31, 1908. Sr?Specimens.—P¹ (32 spec.).
A. O. U. No. 581 b.Melospiza melodia montana(Henshaw).
Description[19].—Adults: Crown dull bay streaked with black and divided by ashy-gray median stripe; rufous brown post-ocular and rictal stripes, enclosing grayish-brown auriculars; remaining upperparts ashy-gray varied by reddish brown, the gray due to broad edgings of feathers and occupying from one-half to two-thirds the total area according to season, feathers of back and scapulars sharply streaked with blackish centrally; wings and tail brown varied by minor markings and edgings of dusky, brownish gray and ashy-gray; below white, or sordid, heavily streaked on sides of throat, breast and sides by blackish and rufous, markings wedge-shaped, tear-shaped or elongated, confluent on sides of throat as maxillary stripes and often on center of breast as indistinct blotch. Bill horn-color above, lighter below; feet pale brown, toes darker; iris brown.Young: Like adults but duller, all markings less sharply defined, streaks of underparts narrower. Length of adult male (skins): 6.00 (150); wings 2.73 (69.3); tail 2.74 (69.6); bill .48 (12.2); tarsus .88 (22.4).
Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; heavy streaking of breast and back, withvaried head markings, distinctive; lighter, grayer and more sharply streaked as compared withM. m. merrilli.
Nesting.—As next.
General Range.—“Rocky Mountain district of the United States west to and including the Sierra Nevada, in California; north to eastern Oregon, southern Idaho and southern Montana; south in winter to western Texas and northern Mexico” (Ridgway). Probably also north into British Columbia and southwestern Alberta.
Range in Washington.—Migrant and winter resident along eastern borders.
Authorities.—? Snodgrass, Auk, XX. 1903, 207. W. T. Shawin epist., Dec. 31, 1908. Sr?
Specimens.—P¹ (32 spec.).
Whether or not the Song Sparrows of northern Montana and eastern British Columbia are typicalmontana, the doctors must settle; but certain it is that sparrows of a type decidedly lighter, that is, ashier, in coloration, than ourmerrilli, pass thru our eastern borders during migrations. Of such a bird, examined narrowly at Spokane on November 4, 1905, my note-book says (comparing at every point withmerrilli): “Ashy gray and brown of head strongly contrasting; ashy of back and scapulars very extensive, brown areas of feathers not exceeding one-third their total width; underparts clearer white; streaking lighter rusty and more sharply defined, more narrow on sides.”
A. O. U. No. 581 k.Melospiza melodia merrilli(Brewster).Synonyms.—Dusky Song Sparrow. Silver-tongue.Description.—Characters intermediate between those ofM. m. montanaandM. m. morphna. In general, darker than preceding with plumage more blended, proportion of gray in back about one-third; lighter than next, not so brown, streakings more distinct.Nesting.—Nest: a substantial structure of twigs, grasses, coiled bark-strips, dead leaves, etc.; lined carefully with fine dead grass, rootlets or horse-hair, placed indifferently in bushes or on the ground.Eggs: 4-6, usually 5, greenish-, grayish-, or bluish-white, heavily spotted and blotched with reddish browns which sometimes conceal the background. Av. size .83 × .61 (21 × 15.5).Season: April-July; two or three broods.General Range.—The eastern slopes of the Cascades from northern California to southern British Columbia, east (at least) to northern Idaho.Range in Washington.—East-side—theoretically inclusive. Specimens from the central valleys of the Cascades may be calledmorphnaand those from the Palouse countrymontana, at pleasure.Authorities.—M. fasciata guttata,Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VII. 1882, 227, 229. D¹. Ss¹. J.Specimens.—P¹.
A. O. U. No. 581 k.Melospiza melodia merrilli(Brewster).
Synonyms.—Dusky Song Sparrow. Silver-tongue.
Description.—Characters intermediate between those ofM. m. montanaandM. m. morphna. In general, darker than preceding with plumage more blended, proportion of gray in back about one-third; lighter than next, not so brown, streakings more distinct.
Nesting.—Nest: a substantial structure of twigs, grasses, coiled bark-strips, dead leaves, etc.; lined carefully with fine dead grass, rootlets or horse-hair, placed indifferently in bushes or on the ground.Eggs: 4-6, usually 5, greenish-, grayish-, or bluish-white, heavily spotted and blotched with reddish browns which sometimes conceal the background. Av. size .83 × .61 (21 × 15.5).Season: April-July; two or three broods.
General Range.—The eastern slopes of the Cascades from northern California to southern British Columbia, east (at least) to northern Idaho.
Range in Washington.—East-side—theoretically inclusive. Specimens from the central valleys of the Cascades may be calledmorphnaand those from the Palouse countrymontana, at pleasure.
Authorities.—M. fasciata guttata,Brewster, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, VII. 1882, 227, 229. D¹. Ss¹. J.
Specimens.—P¹.
This, the connecting link betweenmontanaandmorphna, is the characteristic Song Sparrow of eastern Washington, and abounds along timbered water courses and in all cultivated districts. While closely resembling the Rusty Song Sparrow of the West-side, it may be distinguished from it by the sharper color pattern of its plumage; and the points of divergence frommontanaare maintained with substantial uniformity, at least along the eastern slopes of the Cascades, and in the northern tier of counties.
Altho subjected to considerable rigors in winter, this species is partially resident, being largely confined during the cold season to the shelter of tule beds, wild rose thickets, clematis bowers, and the like. Nesting begins about the second week in April and continues with undiminished ardor till July or August. Incubation requires twelve days, and the young are ready to fly in as many more, so that a devoted pair is able to raise three and sometimes four broods in a season.
At this rate we should be overrun with Song Sparrows if there were not so many agencies to hold the species in check. A young Song Sparrowis the choice morsel of everything that preys,—cats, skunks, weasels, chipmunks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Crows, Magpies, Black-headed Jays, and garter snakes. How would this motley company fare were it not for the annual crop of Song Sparrows? And the wonder of it is that the brave heart holds out and sings its song of trust and love with the ruins of three nests behind it and the harvest not yet past.
Taken in Oregon. Photo by A. W. Anthony. A PROFESSIONAL OOLOGIST.Taken in Oregon.Photo by A. W. Anthony.A PROFESSIONAL OOLOGIST.
Taken in Oregon.Photo by A. W. Anthony.A PROFESSIONAL OOLOGIST.
A little glimpse of Nature’s prodigality in this regard was afforded by a pair which nested on my grounds in the Ahtanum Valley. On the 4th of June I came upon a nest in a rose bush, containing four young just hatched, and these almost immediately disappeared—a second, or possibly a third, attempt for the season. On July 4th in an adjoining clump the same pair was discovered with three well-fledged young, which, for aught I know, reached days of self-dependence. On July 24th a nest was found some twenty feet away containing four eggs, which I knew, both by the familiar notes and by elimination, to belong to this pair; but the nest was empty on the day following.
At the beginning of the season nests are frequently made upon the ground under cover of old vegetation, or at the base of protecting bush clumps in swamps. Occasional ground nests may also be found thruout the season. One seen at Stehekin on August 3d was nestled loosely in a recumbent potato vine. At other times any situation in bush or tree, up to twenty feet, is acceptable, if only within convenient reach of water. Afavorite building site is amid the debris of last year’s flood water, caught in the willow clumps of creek or lagoon. With high boots one may wade the bed of a brushy creek near Yakima and count certainly on finding a Merrill Song Sparrow’s nest every five or ten rods.
A. O. U. No. 581 e.Melospiza melodia morphnaOberholser.Description.—Adults: Somewhat likeM. m. montanabut coloration much more rufescent, general color of upperparts rich rusty brown, ashy gray ofM. m. montanarepresented by rusty olive and this reduced or (in some plumages) almost wanting; black mesial streaks of scapulars, etc., much reduced, indistinct or sometimes wanting; underparts heavily and broadly streaked with chestnut usually without black shaft lines; sides and flanks washed with olivaceous. “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” (Ridgway). Length about 6.40 (162.5); wing 2.60 (66); tail 2.56 (65); bill .50 (12.7); tarsus .67 (17).Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; rusty brown coloration; heavily spotting of underparts distinctive save for thePasserella iliacagroup from which it is further distinguished by smaller size and varied head markings.Nesting.—Nest: As in preceding.Eggs: usually 4, averaging darker in coloration and larger than inM. m. merrilli. Av. size, .87 × .63 (22.1 × 16).Season: second week in April to July; two or three broods.General Range.—“Breeding from extreme southern portion of Alaska through British Columbia (including Vancouver Island) to western Oregon (north of Rogue River Mountains); in winter, south to southern California (Fort Tejon, etc.)” (Ridgway).Range in Washington.—Common resident west of the Cascades; found chiefly in vicinity of water.Authorities.—? Audubon, Orn. Biog. V. 1839, 22.M. rufina,Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, p. 481. (T). C&S. L¹. Rh. Kb. Ra. Kk. B. E.Specimens.—U. of W. P. Prov. B. BN. E.
A. O. U. No. 581 e.Melospiza melodia morphnaOberholser.
Description.—Adults: Somewhat likeM. m. montanabut coloration much more rufescent, general color of upperparts rich rusty brown, ashy gray ofM. m. montanarepresented by rusty olive and this reduced or (in some plumages) almost wanting; black mesial streaks of scapulars, etc., much reduced, indistinct or sometimes wanting; underparts heavily and broadly streaked with chestnut usually without black shaft lines; sides and flanks washed with olivaceous. “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” (Ridgway). Length about 6.40 (162.5); wing 2.60 (66); tail 2.56 (65); bill .50 (12.7); tarsus .67 (17).
Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; rusty brown coloration; heavily spotting of underparts distinctive save for thePasserella iliacagroup from which it is further distinguished by smaller size and varied head markings.
Nesting.—Nest: As in preceding.Eggs: usually 4, averaging darker in coloration and larger than inM. m. merrilli. Av. size, .87 × .63 (22.1 × 16).Season: second week in April to July; two or three broods.
General Range.—“Breeding from extreme southern portion of Alaska through British Columbia (including Vancouver Island) to western Oregon (north of Rogue River Mountains); in winter, south to southern California (Fort Tejon, etc.)” (Ridgway).
Range in Washington.—Common resident west of the Cascades; found chiefly in vicinity of water.
Authorities.—? Audubon, Orn. Biog. V. 1839, 22.M. rufina,Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, p. 481. (T). C&S. L¹. Rh. Kb. Ra. Kk. B. E.
Specimens.—U. of W. P. Prov. B. BN. E.
If one were to write a book about the blessings of common things, an early chapter must needs be devoted to the Song Sparrow. How blessed a thing it is that we do not all of us have to go to greenhouses for our flowers, nor to foreign shores for birds. Why, there is more lavish loveliness in a dandelion than there is in an imported orchid; and I fancy we should tire of the Nightingale, if we had to exchange for him our sweet poet of common day, the Song Sparrow.