FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 251 



Passerella iliaca unalaschcensis 



The three subspecies of the unalaschcensis group that are in- 

 volved in the present study are unalaschcensis, insularis, and 

 sinuosa. Minute examination of material available, which was 

 strictly segregated into seasonal lots, brought out general differ- 

 ences as follows : All are brown in general coloration, but unalasch- 

 censis is the palest and grayest of the three. Insularis averages 

 browner, sometimes with a slight olivaceous trend, and often 

 is a markedly richer brown. Sinuosa is the darkest; in some 

 seasons it is a deeper, "ruddier," brown, sometimes merely more 

 dusky. Probably the chief distinction of sinuosa is the darker, 

 or duskier, quality. These forms are very close and are very 

 difficult to distinguish, especially the difference between insularis 

 and sinuosa. Incidentally, in some instances it was found that 

 worn July specimens could not be assigned with certainty. Au- 

 gust specimens, with their fresh plumage, were very satisfactory, 

 but they were not comparable with spring specimens. Further- 

 more, it was found that considerable change takes place in the 

 plumage during the spring from April through June, and ap- 

 parently this change is much greater than the change that takes 

 place throughout the entire winter period. It was only by a 

 faithful adherence to seasonal segregation of specimens that 

 reasonable identification could be made. 



The Shumagin fox sparrow, as stated above, is characterized 

 by a grayer coloration, and some specimens from Unimak Island 

 show this to a remarkable degree. In fact, fox sparrows from 

 Unimak seem to be slightly different from fox sparrows in the 

 Shumagins and the Peninsula. However, this extreme grayish 

 character is not entirely consistent even among Unimak Island 

 specimens, and it is possible that there is a slight dichromatism 

 in this group. At least, there is variation. 



We heard fox sparrows singing at Chignik, May 14, 1936, and 

 on May 16, we saw them in the Shumagins on Unga, Nagai 

 (abundant), and Popof (common). Specimens were taken. In 

 August, they were very common in the alders at False Pass. On 

 May 24, 1937, we saw several and collected two on Dolgoi Island. 



Gianini (1917) saw a few at Stepovak Bay. In 1911, Wetmore 

 saw them in the mountains west of Morzhovoi Bay, and he 

 found them nesting commonly at King Cove and at the east 

 base of Frosty Peak. In 1940, Gabrielson saw the birds on the 

 Semidis, Chignik Bay, and at Sand Point in the Shumagins. 



There is an important specimen in the collection of the Museum 

 of Vertebrate Zoology, at Berkeley, Calif., which is an adult male 



