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Subfamily SPIZELLINÆ.—The Sparrows

Char. Bill variable, usually almost straight; sometimes curved. Commissure generally nearly straight, or slightly concave. Upper mandible wider than lower. Nostrils exposed. Wings moderate; the outer primaries not much rounded. Tail variable. Feet large; tarsi mostly longer than the middle toe.

The species are usually small, and of dull color, though frequently handsomely marked. Nearly all are streaked on the back and crown, often on the belly. None of the United States species have any red, blue, or orange, and the yellow, when present, is as a superciliary streak, or on the elbow edge of the wing.

In the arrangement of this subfamily, as of the others belonging to the Fringillidæ, we do not profess to give anything like a natural system, but merely an attempt at a convenient artificial scheme by which the determination of the genera may be facilitated.

A. Tail small and short; considerably or decidedly shorter than the wings, owing either to the elongation of the wing or the shortening of the tail. Lateral toes shorter than the middle without its claw. Species streaked above and below. (Passerculeæ.)

a. Thickly streaked everywhere above, on the sides, and across the breast. Wing pointed; longest primaries considerably longer than the secondaries. Tail forked.

Centronyx. Hind claw very large; rather longer than its digit. The hind toe and claw, together, as long as or longer than the middle toe and claw. Other toes as in Passerculus. Claws gently curved. Tertials shorter than the secondaries. Tail forked, but the lateral feathers shorter.

Passerculus. Hind claw as long as its digit; the toe equal to the middle one without its claw; lateral toes falling considerably short of the middle claw. Wings very long; first primary longest. Tertials as long as the primaries. Tail forked; feathers acute.

Poocætes. Hind claw shorter than its digit; the whole toe less than the middle toe without its claw. Lateral toes nearly equal to the middle one, without its claw. Tertials but little longer than secondaries. Tail stiffened, forked; feathers acute, outer ones white.

b. Moderately streaked above, on the sides, and on the breast, the latter sometimes unstreaked; the dorsal streaks broader, the others fainter than in the last. Wings short, reaching a little beyond the base of the tail. Not much difference between the primaries and secondaries. Tail short, graduated, and the feathers lanceolate, acute.

Coturniculus. Bill short; thick. Tertials almost equal to the primaries; truncate at the end. Claws small, weak; hinder one shorter than its digit. Outstretched feet not reaching the tip of the tail. Tail-feathers not stiffened. (In one species tail nearly equal to the wing.)

Ammodromus. Bill slender, small at base, and elongated. Tertials not longer than the secondaries; rounded at the tip. Claws large, hinder one equal to its digit. Outstretched toes reaching considerably beyond the end of the stiffened, almost scansorial tail.

B. Tail longer and broader; nearly or quite as long as, sometimes a very little longer than, the wings, which are rather lengthened. The primaries considerably longer than the secondaries. None of the species streaked beneath, and the back alone streaked above. (Spizelleæ.)

a. Tail rounded or slightly graduated.

Chondestes. Tail considerably graduated, not emarginated. Lateral toes considerably shorter than the middle toe, without its claw. Wings very long, decidedly longer than the tail, reaching the middle of the tail. First quill longest. Head striped. Back streaked. White beneath. A white blotch on the end of the tail-feathers.

Zonotrichia. Tail moderately graduated. Wings moderate, about as long as the tail, reaching about over the basal fourth of the tail; first quill less than the second to fourth. Feet large. Head striped with black and white, or with brown and ochraceous. Back streaked.

Junco. Tail very nearly equal to the wings, slightly emarginate, and decidedly rounded. Outer toe rather longer than inner, reaching the middle claw. No streaks anywhere except in young; black or ash-color above; belly white; with or without a rufous back and sides. Outer tail-feathers white.

Poospiza. Tail lengthened, slightly graduated; the feathers unusually broad to the end. Bill slender. Wings about as long as the tail, reaching but little beyond its external base. Tertials broad, and, with the secondaries, rather lengthened. Second to fifth quills nearly equal, and longest. Bill dark lead-color. Tail black. Uniform ashy-brown above; white beneath. Sides of head with stripes of black and white.

b. Tail decidedly forked; a little shorter than the wing, sometimes a little longer.

Spizella. Size rather small. Wings long. Lower mandible largest. Uniform beneath, or with a pectoral spot or the chin black.

C. Tail lengthened and graduated; decidedly longer than the wings, which are very short, scarcely extending beyond the external base of the tail. Feet reaching but little beyond the middle of the tail. Species all streaked above; streaked or nearly unicolor beneath. No white on wings or tail. Outer lateral toe the longer. First quill not the shortest of the primaries. (Melospizeæ.)

Melospiza. Culmen and commissure nearly straight. Claws stout; hinder one as large as its digit. Tail-feathers rather broad. Body streaked beneath.

Peucæa. Culmen and commissure curved. Claws weak; hinder one not much curved, decidedly shorter than its digit. Tail-feathers narrow. Without streaks beneath, excepting a narrow maxillary stripe.

D. Tail rather short, and much graduated; longer than the wings; the midrib more median. Culmen curved. Tarsus considerably longer than middle toe. Outer toe longer. But little difference in the length of the quills; the outer ones much rounded; even the second quill is shorter than any other primary except the first.

Embernagra. Color, olive-green above.

Genus CENTRONYX, Baird

Centronyx, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 440. (Type, Emberiza bairdi, Aud.)

Gen. Char. Bill elongated; the lower mandible smaller; outlines nearly straight. Tarsus lengthened, considerably exceeding the middle toe. Lateral toes equal, not reaching the base of the middle claw. Hind toe very large; the claw rather longer than its digit, and in its elongation resembling Plectrophanes, but more curved; the digit and claw together rather longer than the middle toe and claw. Wings very long, reaching beyond the middle of the tail, and beyond the end of the coverts. Tertials shorter than the primaries, and but little longer than the secondaries. Tail short, much less than from the carpal joint to end of secondaries; little more than two thirds the entire wing. It is slightly forked, and moderately rounded laterally; the feathers all acute. Color somewhat as in Passerculus.

This genus differs from Passerculus, as stated in the description of the species farther on. It would be taken for Plectrophanes on account of its lengthened hind claw, which, however, is more curved than in that genus; the tarsi are much longer, the tertials less elongated, and the coloration different, though closely resembling that of the female Plectrophanes. But one species has thus far been recognized.

Centronyx bairdi, Baird

BAIRD’S BUNTING

Emberiza bairdi, Aud. Birds Am. VII, 1843, 359, pl. d., Coturniculus bairdi, Bon. Syn. 1850, 481. Centronyx bairdi, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 441.

Centronyx bairdi, Baird.

1885

Sp. Char. Somewhat similar in general appearance to Passerculus savanna. Back grayish, streaked with dusky. Crown nearly covered by black streaks, but divided by a broad median band of brownish-yellow. Eyelids and a faint superciliary stripe yellowish-white. Beneath white, with a maxillary blackish stripe and some narrow streaks on the upper part of the breast, and sides of the throat and body. Outer edges and tips of tail-feathers white; the two outer feathers obsoletely white. Bend of wing white. Length, 4.75; wing, 2.80; tail, 2.20.

Hab. Mouth of the Yellowstone River. One specimen only known.

This species has somewhat of the general appearance of Passerculus savanna, but with important differences both of form and color. The bill is much longer, and more slender in proportion. The wings are quite unusually long; the primaries more than half an inch longer than the tertiaries; the first quill as long as the fourth, and but little less than the second and third. The tail is very short; the feathers narrow and pointed. The feet are large; the hind claw very long and considerably curved, as are the other claws generally.

Centronyx bairdi.

The species was based by Mr. Audubon on a skin brought by him from the mouth of the Yellowstone River, in 1843, in rather defective and worn plumage. This has hitherto served as the basis of all the descriptions of the species which is justly considered one of the rarest in the North American fauna.

Habits. In regard to the habits, distribution, or general history of this very rare species, but little is known, only one specimen having been met with. This was procured by Mr. Audubon’s party to the Yellowstone River, in Dakota, on the last day of July, 1843. That it is a resident where obtained, certainly during the breeding-season, is a natural inference from the circumstances of its capture. That it may be a common bird in certain other portions of the region, immediately north of Dakota, is quite probable. Its close habits, as described by Mr. Audubon, favor its escaping notice wherever it may exist.

The specimen was met with in a wet place, overgrown closely by a kind of slender rush-like grass, from the midst of which the notes of these birds were heard, and at first mistaken for those of the Marsh Wren. A search was immediately instituted for the singers, which Mr. Bell soon ascertained could not be the Wren in question, the notes being much softer and more prolonged. Much difficulty was encountered in the endeavor to raise them from the long close grass to which they closely confined themselves, and they were several times nearly trodden on before they would take wing, almost instantaneously realighting within a few steps, and running like mice through the grass. After a while two were shot while on the wing, and proved to be adult male and female. The party found this species quite abundant in all such situations, and there seems to have been no doubt that it was breeding.

Genus PASSERCULUS, Bonap

Passerculus, Bonap. Comp. List Birds, 1838. (Type, Fringilla savanna.)

Passerculus savanna.

7108

Gen. Char. Bill moderately conical; the lower mandible smaller; both outlines nearly straight. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe. Lateral toes about equal, their claws falling far short of the middle one. Hind toe much longer than the lateral ones, reaching as far as the middle of the middle claw; its claws moderately curved. Wings unusually long, reaching to the middle of the tail, and almost to the end of the upper coverts. The tertials nearly or quite as long as the primaries; the first primary longest. The tail is quite short, considerably shorter than the wings; as long as from the carpal joint to the end of the secondaries. It is emarginate, and slightly rounded; the feathers pointed and narrow.

The essential characters of this well-marked genus lie in the elongated wings, longer than the tail, the tertiaries equal to the primaries, the first quill almost longest. The legs are long, the outstretched toes reaching to the end of the tail; the lateral toe considerably shorter than the middle, which is not much longer than the hinder. The tail is short, narrow, and emarginate; the feathers acute.

Species and Varieties

Common Characters. Above grayish-brown, beneath white; whole upper surface, as well as the breast and sides, streaked with dusky. A light superciliary stripe, and a whitish maxillary one, the latter bordered above and below by stripes of coalesced dusky streaks.

A. Bill small, the culmen slightly concave in the middle portion; a median light stripe on the crown.

1. P. savanna. Superciliary stripe yellow anteriorly; streaks on the back blackish, sharply defined.

Throat and upper part of abdomen unstreaked; vertex-stripe without yellow tinge

Bill .34 from forehead and .25 in depth at the base; wing, 2.85; tail, 2.30. Colors deep; outer surface of wing (in spring) decidedly reddish. Hab. Eastern Province of North America … var. savanna.

Bill, .32 and .20, or less; wing, 2.75; tail, 2.10. Colors very pale; outer surface of wing (in spring) pale ashy. Hab. Western Province of North America, except coast of California, where replaced by var. anthinus … var. alaudinus.

Bill, .37 and .27, or considerably more; wing, 3.10; tail, 2.40. Colors as in savanna. Hab. Northwest coast of North America. … var. sandwichensis.

Throat and upper part of abdomen streaked; vertex-stripe strongly tinged with yellow

Bill, .33 and .19; wing, 2.50; tail, 1.90. Colors darker than var. savanna, the ground-color more uniform, and the black streaks heavier and more numerous. Hab. Coast of California. … var. anthinus.

2. P. princeps. Superciliary stripe white anteriorly; streaks on the back sandy-brown, badly defined. Wing, 3.25; tail, 2.60; bill, .45 and .23; tarsus, .95; middle toe, .80. Hab. Eastern Massachusetts (northern regions in summer?).

B. Bill robust, the culmen arched; no median light stripe on the crown. Superciliary stripe white anteriorly; streaks on the back sandy-brown, obsolete.

3. P. rostratus.

Bill, .43 and .30; wing, 2.90; tail, 2.25. Ground-color above fulvous-gray, beneath white; the streaks, above and below, sandy-brown. Colors much as in P. princeps. Hab. Coast of California, to the mouth of the Colorado River; Cape St. Lucas in winter … var. rostratus.

Bill, .33 and .22; wing, 2.55; tail, 2.00. Ground-color above plumbeous-gray; beneath white; streaks blackish-brown. Hab. Cape St. Lucas (resident?) … var. guttatus.

Passerculus savanna.

A careful examination of the very large series of Passerculus allied to savanna in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution, recently made, brings us to the same conclusion as that reached in 1858, namely, that, granting a single species extending over the whole of North America, there are several geographical races in different regions. Thus, taking the eastern bird as the standard, with its dark colors, reddish wings, and deep yellow superciliary stripe, and the comparative or entire absence of spots on the lower part of breast, we have in the middle province, and to some extent in the western, a race rather smaller, with more attenuated and longer bill, and paler colors; the wings grayish, the yellow of head being scarcely appreciable (var. alaudinus). On the coast of California, another series of the size and proportions of the last, but with dark yellow superciliary stripe,—the vertex-stripe even yellowish,—dark colors, and the lower part of breast, as well as the throat, decidedly streaked, as well as the jugulum (var. anthinus); and finally on the northwest coast, from Puget Sound to Kodiak, a fourth race, much larger than typical P. savanna, but absolutely undistinguishable in color, proportion of bill, etc. (var. sandwichensis). P. anthinus is not found north of California, but the other two of the western race may occur together at any point of the coast north, perhaps, of the Columbia River.

Passerculus savanna, Bonap

SAVANNA SPARROW

Fringilla savanna, Wilson, Am. Orn. III, 1811, 55, pl. xxii, f. 2.—Ib. IV, 1811, 72, pl. xxxiv, f. 4.—Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 63; V, 1839, 516, pl. cix. Passerculus savanna, Bon. List, 1838.—Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 480.—Cab. Mus. Hein. 1851, 131.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 442.—Coues, P. A. N. S. 1861, 223.—Samuels, 301. Emberiza savanna, Aud. Syn. 1839, 103.—Ib. Birds Am. III, 1841, 68, pl. clx. ? Fringilla hyemalis, Gm. I, 1788, 922.—Licht. Verzeichniss, 1823, No. 250. Gmelin’s description, based on Pennant Arctic Zoöl. II, 376 (winter Finch), applies equally well to a large number of species. Linaria savanna, Richardson, List, 1837.

Sp. Char. Feathers of the upper parts generally with a central streak of blackish-brown; the streaks of the back with a slight rufous suffusion laterally; the feathers edged with gray, which is lightest on the scapulars, and forms there two gray stripes. Crown with a broad median stripe of yellowish-gray. A superciliary streak from the bill to the back of the head, eyelids, and edge of the elbow, yellow, paler behind. A yellowish-white mandibular stripe curving behind the ear-coverts, and margined above and below by brown. The lower margin is a series of thickly crowded spots on the sides of the throat, which are also found on the sides of the neck, across the upper part of the breast, and on the sides of body, a dusky line back of the eye, making three on the side of head (including the two mandibular). A few faint spots on the throat and chin. Rest of under parts white. Outer tail-feathers and primaries edged with white. Length, 5.50; wing, 2.70; tail, 2.10.

Young. Ground-color of the upper parts (except wings and tail) light ochraceous, more brownish on top of head, upper part of back, and on upper tail-coverts; the streaks blacker and more conspicuous than in the adult. Beneath with an ochraceous tinge anteriorly, the streaks broader, and deeper black, than in the adult, though less sharply defined. The infra-maxillary streak expanded into a broad blackish elongated blotch.

Hab. Eastern North America to the Missouri plains, and northwest to Alaska. Cuba, winter (Cab. Jour. IV, 6).

Specimens vary considerably in size, color, and shape of bill, but the average is as described. Spring birds have the markings sharper and clearer, the dark streaks with little or no suffusion of rufous.

Habits. The Savanna Sparrow is an abundant species throughout North America, from the Atlantic sea-board to the Great Plains. It is, however, everywhere much less common in the interior than nearer the shore. The Smithsonian specimens are from points as far south as Georgia and Louisiana, and as far west as the Black Hills of Wyoming. It passes north through Massachusetts, from the first to the middle of April, and some remain to breed in the eastern part of the State. Mr. Maynard speaks of it as a common summer resident. This, however, is true only of a few restricted maritime localities, but is not so of the entire eastern portion of the State. It occurs both in the salt marshes of Charles River and in the vicinity of Fresh Pond, but I could never trace it in any of the neighboring towns. It is occasionally met with in inland situations where we would not naturally look for it. In the summer of 1869, Mr. William Brewster found quite a colony of these birds in an open field near the Glen House, at the foot of Mt. Washington. They had nests with eggs the last of July and the first of August.

In Western Massachusetts, according to Mr. Allen, it rarely or never stops to breed. In Western Maine, Mr. Verrill mentions it as a common summer visitant, and as breeding there in the latter part of May. In the vicinity of Eastport, and in all the islands of the Grand Menan group, I found these Sparrows very abundant. They almost invariably built their nests in depressions on the edge or just under the projecting tops of high bluffs of land near the sea. They were by far the most abundant of the land-birds, and it was quite common to find their nests in close proximity one to another. They arrive there in April, and leave in September, passing slowly south more in reference to the abundance of their food than the severity of the season, until the weather becomes very severe, when they all disappear. They winter in the Southern States, from Virginia to Georgia, and are especially abundant in the Carolinas. Dr. Coues states that they were very common about Columbia from October to April, moving in large flocks and associating with other species. Wilson states that he met with this species, from Savannah to New York, in all the low country, and regarded it as resident in those places, but rarely found at a distance from the sea-shore. He found them especially numerous at Great Egg Harbor, N. J.

Dr. Coues, in his visit to Labrador, in 1860, found this Sparrow abundant in that region in low moist meadows and marshy tracts near the sea-shore, but never noticed it in any other situations. He frequently observed it there feeding on the beds of dried eel-grass along the rocky shores, searching for food in company with the Titlarks and small Sandpipers.

During my visits to the islands of the Bay of Fundy, in one of which I remained a number of days, I had a good opportunity to notice these birds. In many respects their habits undergo noticeable changes during the breeding-season. As they pass north or south in their migrations, they are not particularly shy or difficult to approach, but when they had nests they seemed to become particularly cautious and mistrustful. The male and female sat by turns upon their eggs, but generally one remained within hailing distance, and always gave promptly a signal of danger when the nest was approached, at which the other would glide from the nest, running off on the ground like a mouse. I found it impossible to identify by shooting the parent on the nest, and only accomplished its identification by means of snares. When once lost in the tall grass, it was impossible to find it again, or if it reappeared it was impossible to tell which of the many chirping Sparrows, all of them out of reach of shot, and keeping a sharp lookout on my movements, had any connection with the nest. This manœuvre was gone through with in every nest I found, but I soon learned to distinguish them without the need of gun or snare.

This Sparrow is eminently terrestrial, confining itself almost entirely to the ground, and rarely alighting on anything even so high as a fence. Though frequenting low moist grounds, its nest is always in a dry spot and usually somewhat elevated. The nest is almost always sunk into the ground, is made very simply and loosely of dry grasses, with a lining of softer materials of the same. I have never found any other material than this in the many nests I have examined, although nests of var. alaudinus, in the vicinity of Fort Anderson, are frequently lined with feathers or deers’ hair, according to MacFarlane.

The eggs, five or six in number, vary considerably in their appearance. In shape they are a rounded oval, one end being much more pointed than the other. They measure .68 by .55 of an inch. In some the ground-color, which is of a greenish-white, is plainly visible, being only partially covered by blotches of brown, shaded with red and purple. These blotches are more numerous about the larger end, becoming confluent and forming a corona. In others, the ground-color is entirely concealed by confluent ferruginous fine dots, over which are darker markings of brown and purple and a still darker ring of the same about the larger end.

Passerculus savanna, var. alaudinus, Bonap

WESTERN SAVANNA SPARROW

Passerculus alaudinus, Bp. Comptes Rendus, XXXVII, Dec. 1853, 918, California.—Ib. Notes Ornithologiques Delattre, 1854, 18 (reprint of preceding).—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 446, pl. xlvi.—Cooper & Suckley, 197, pl. xxviii, f. 2.—Elliot, Illust. Am. B. III.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 284 (Alaska).—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 181. Passerculus savanna and P. anthinus, Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, pp. 283, 284.

Sp. Char. Similar to P. savanna, but smaller; the bill slenderer and more elongated. Little of yellow in the superciliary stripe (most distinct anteriorly); the rest of the head without any tinge of the same. General color much paler and grayer than in P. savanna. Breast with only a few spots. Length, 5.25; wing, 2.75; tail, 2.30.

Hab. Middle and Western Provinces of North America; south to Orizaba, north to Alaska (Kodiak) and the Arctic coast. Oaxaca (Scl. Oct.); Vera Cruz (winter, Sumichrast).

This western race of P. savanna is smaller, considerably paler in general colors, the superciliary stripe with little yellow in it, and the bill more slender, and longer. In coloration, some Atlantic coast specimens often exhibit an approximation, especially in the pale tint of the superciliary stripe; but the bill is always decidedly more attenuated in alaudinus.

The Western Savanna Sparrow is a common species throughout the Western Province of North America, from the plains to California, and from Alaska to Mexico. In California it appears to be replaced along the Pacific coast by the variety anthinus, a quite different and very local form. In Alaska, specimens were obtained by the naturalists of the Russian Telegraph Expedition at various localities, chiefly in the interior, and on the Yukon it was obtained by Mr. Lockhart. Dr. Cooper found it at Fort Steilacoom, in Washington Territory, where it was in company with P. sandwichensis, in the wet meadows. In California this species inhabits chiefly, according to Dr. Cooper, the dry plains of the interior of the State. The statement of the occurrence of this form anywhere along the coast of California should be received with considerable doubt, since in the large series of these birds all specimens from this region are of the variety anthinus, an exclusively littoral type.

Habits. The Western Savanna Sparrow was found throughout the Great Basin, by Mr. Ridgway, in all wet, grassy situations, in which preference it is like its eastern relative. It was very abundant at Carson City, inhabiting exclusively the meadows. At Salt Lake City it was also very abundant, frequenting the wet meadows near the Jordan.

This bird was also obtained at Sitka by Bischoff, and was found on the Yukon by Mr. Lockhart. It is the only species found in the Valley of the Mackenzie, up to the Arctic coast.

Dr. Cooper also met with it among the low meadows of Washington Territory, where they arrived in March, and remained until late in October. They were usually found among the grass, from which they rarely rise, except to sing their faint and lisping trill from a weed or some low bush. Mr. Ridgway represents this song as corresponding with the syllables witz-witz-wih´-tzull. This, he states, is uttered in a weak and lisping manner, as the bird perches on a bush beside the brook, or on a fence, or as it nestles among the grass on the ground.

Dr. Cooper speaks of them as only winter visitants in California, and there residing only on the dry interior plains, as far south as San Diego, where they remain in large flocks until April. He has never met with this bird during the summer months, though some are supposed to remain and breed in the high prairies. He did not meet with any about the summits of the Sierra Nevada, in September. They appeared to prefer the dry rolling prairies to marshes, though they were occasionally found in the latter.

This species is also a migratory visitant to the Department of Vera Cruz, Mexico, where they are said by Sumichrast to pass the winter.

Their nests are built upon the ground, and are composed almost entirely of the dry stems of grasses, and are lined with finer materials of the same. Their eggs measure .75 of an inch in length by .52 in breadth, have a greenish-white ground, over which are distributed numerous markings, spots, and blotches of various sizes, of a light purplish-brown and a deeper red-brown, confluent about the larger end, where they form a crown.

Near Fort Anderson nests were found in great numbers, no less than two hundred and four having been obtained during four summers in that locality. These nests were all taken on the ground, under low grass, in dry spots in a large marshy prairie, and it is stated that they were never found in any other situation or locality.

Passerculus savanna, var. sandwichensis, Baird

NORTHWESTERN SAVANNA SPARROW

Emberiza sandwichensis, Gm. I, 1788, 875. Emberiza arctica, Latham, Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 414. Fringilla arctica, Vigors, Zoöl. of Blossom, 1839, 20 (perhaps one of the smaller species).—“Brandt, Icon. Ross. 2, 6.” Euspiza arctica, Bp. Conspectus, 1850, 469. Zonotrichia arctica, Finsch, 1872. Emberiza chrysops, Pallas, Zoög. Rosso-As. II, 1811, 45, tab. xlviii, fig. 1 (Unalaska). Sandwich Bunting, Lath. Syn. II, 1783, 202. Unalaska Bunting, Pennant, Arctic Zoöl. II, 363, 320, No. 229.(not of p. 364, No. 233). Passerculus sandwichensis, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 444.—Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 284.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 180. Passerculus savanna, Dall & Bannister, Tr. Ch. Ac. I, 1869, 283.

Sp. Char. Almost exactly like P. savanna, but half an inch longer, with much larger bill. Length, 6.12 inches; wing, 3.00; tail, 2.55. Bill above, .50; below, .36; gape, .56; depth, .27.

Hab. Northwestern coast from the Columbia River to Russian America.

Specimens of this race from Sitka are absolutely undistinguishable from eastern P. savanna except in size; the colors and proportion of bill being the same. A young bird (from Kodiak) differs from that of savanna in larger size, and a bright reddish-fulvous tinge to upper parts, and a deep yellowish-fulvous tinge on jugulum and along the sides.

Habits. This variety is the northwest-coast form of the common Savanna Sparrow, and is found during the summer from Oregon to Alaska. Dr. Suckley states that he found this species an abundant spring visitor at Fort Steilacoom. Dr. Cooper, in his Zoology of Washington Territory, states it to be only a passenger through that section, migrating northward, at the end of April, in pairs, and not returning until the end of September. They come back in flocks, and frequent the shores and prairies along the sea-coast. Their plumage seems to be the same at all seasons. Nothing is known of their note. They are supposed to spend their winters in Southern Oregon and California, though their actual presence has not been detected in either State. They do not remain during the summer near the Columbia, but pass to the north, or to the interior plains east of the Cascade Range. Dr. Cooper states that their habits closely resemble those of P. anthinus.