PRIORITY INDEX 



None assigned. 



DESCRIPTION 



M. m. graminea is small, brownish gray above, 

 white streaked with black below, with a black 

 spot on chest. It is distinguished from related 

 races of song sparrow by shorter wings and tail, 

 and, except for tnicronyx of San Miguel Island, 

 by more grayish (less brownish) coloration. It 

 differs from M. m. clementae of the Other Chan- 

 nel Islands in smaller bill, tarsus, and feet; from 

 M. m. cooperi, of the adjoining mainland; in 

 smaller bill; from coronatorum of Los Coronados 

 Islands in larger tarsi and feet. Nineteen adults 

 measured: length, 5.50 - 6.12 in (140 - 155 mm) 

 av. 5.80 in (147 mm); wing, 2.25 - 2.50 in (57.2 

 - 63.5 mm) av. 2.35 in (59.7 mm); bill, 0.40 - 

 0.46 in (10.2 - 11.7 mm) av. 0.43 in (10.9 mm) 

 (Townsend 1896, Grinnell 1897, 1928, Van 

 Rossen 1924). 



RANGE 



Formerly a permanent resident on Santa Bar- 

 bara Island off southwestern California, it was 

 confined to that island (Willett 1933; Grinnell 

 and Miller 1944, American Ornithologist Union 

 1957). 



RANGE MAP 



See range map on following page. 



STATES/COUNTIES 



C^difomia: Los Angeles. 



HABITAT 



Santa Barbara Island, with an area of only 2.6 

 km^ , is 61 km from the mainland and 37 km 

 from the nearest other island (Santa Catalina). No 

 permanent fresh water is present on the island. A 

 low ridge extends along the western edge with 

 high points 171 and 193 m above sea level. The 

 central portion is a graded slope, almost level in 

 some areas, then falling steeply to the ocean on 

 the eastern edge, which is cut by a number of 

 canyons. It has an equable climate, and practically 

 never frosts; rainfall is only 12 in (30.5 cm), but 

 wet fogs are frequent. Vegetation was formerly 

 long, coarse grass growing thick and tangled every- 

 where, making walking difficult (Townsend 1890). 

 Sparse brush covered slopes and ravines (Grirmell 



1897). The song sparrows were found where the 

 brush afforded protection (Wright and Snyder 

 1913). Song sparrows used bushes for nesting, 

 and fog supplied the moisture essential to birds of 

 this type (Grinnell and Miller 1944). In more 

 recent times, thickets of giant tree-sunflower 

 {Coreopsis gigantea) were abundant (Philbrick 

 1972; Sumner 1958). Gross changes in vegetation 

 have taken place in the 20th century as a result of 

 agriculture, the effect of overgrazing by rabbits, 

 and more recently, a severe fire ( 1959) that burned 

 over almost the entire island and eliminated most 

 of the remaining vegetation (Small and Henderson 

 1974). 



FOOD AND FORAGING BEHAVIOR 



No information is available, but the diet pre- 

 sumably consisted of insects and small seeds, the 

 same as mainland populations. 



SHELTER REQUIREMENTS 



Dense growths of grass (Townsend 1890), 

 sparse brush cover on slopes and ravines used for 

 nesting (GrinneU 1897), and thickets of giant 

 tree-sunflower (Small and Henderson 1974) were 

 all important cover vegetation for song sparrows. 



NESTING AND BEDDING 



Five nests were all practically the same size 

 and composition. A typical one was supported by 

 obliquely growing twigs of a bush and lined with 

 yellow grasses, in marked contrast to the larger 

 brown grass and weed stems of which the nest 

 structure was built (Grinnell 1897). 



RITUAL REQUIREMENTS 



Song, notes and actions are the same as those 

 of mainland races of song sparrow, a strongly 

 territorial species. 



OTHER CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

 REQUIREMENTS 



None is known other than dense vegetative 

 cover for nesting and concealment. 



POPULATION NUMBERS AND TRENDS 



Once extremely abundant - in fact, the most 

 abundant bird - on the small island of Santa Bar- 

 bara (Townsend 1890). They were numerous 



