Widmann — A Preliminary Catalog of the Birds of Missouri. 183 



558. ZoNOTRicHiA ALBicoLLis (Gmel.)- White-throated Spar- 

 row. 



Fringilla albicollis. Fringilla pensylvanica. Zonotridda pensylvanica. Pea- 

 body Bird. 



Geog. Dist. — Eastern North America; breeding from Massa- 

 chusetts, northern New York, Ontario, northern Michigan, Wis- 

 consin, northern Minnesota, eastern Wyoming, eastern Mon- 

 tana, etc., northward to Great Bear Lake, west shore of Hudson 

 Bay, Laborador and Newfoundland. In winter from Massa- 

 chusetts and southern New York, along the Atlantic coast to 

 Florida and in the Mississippi Valley from the mouth of the 

 Missouri River to Louisiana and southern Texas. 



In Missouri a very common transient visitant ; one of the most 

 numerous and universally distributed of migrants in spring and 

 fall, and in southeastern Missouri one of the most numerous 

 winter residents. In sheltered places, chiefly river bottoms, 

 small numbers winter regularly in the vicinity of St. Louis, but 

 keep very quiet until migration begins early in March. Between 

 the tenth and twentieth the first White-throats appear in many 

 places in central Missouri where they have not wintered. From 

 this time to the middle of April there is not much change visible, 

 the species being only fairly common, though comparatively 

 prominent, because often in song. The great army of transient 

 White-tlii'oats appears in the southern part of the state April 15, 

 in the central April 20, and in the most northern, April 25. They 

 are in large flocks with many individuals in high dress and fuU 

 of song. Their presence in such numbers lasts about eight days, 

 after which a change is noticeable; most of the high dressed 

 adult birds are gone, and the flocks contain principally birds of 

 the second year, plain dressed and not so musical. Large troops, 

 mostly females, remain through the first week of May; small 

 parties are also found during the second week, but after the 

 middle of May they are always rare if present at all. The ''last 

 seen " in the state are dated between May 15 and 20, exceptionally 

 later, as May 24, 1883, at St. Louis. Southward migi-ation of 

 White-throats reaches Missouri some years in the last days of 

 September, but usually not before the first week of October in 

 the north, and the second week in the south of the state. Earli- 

 est date for St. Louis, September 24, 1887; for Keokuk, Sep- 

 tember 28, 1902. Between October 8 and 12 they arrive at St. 

 Louis in large flocks, many adults in fine dress and song among 



