176 



WHITE-CB O WNEB SPARE O W 



White-crowned Sparrow : ZonotricMa leucophrys. 



Adults^ back brownish gray ; breast clear gray ; crown conspicn- 

 ously striped black and white, three middle stripes of equal 

 width. Young, similar, but crown dull gray bordered by 

 brown. Length, about 6| inches. 



Geographic Distribution. — Breeding- from higher mountain 

 ranges of western United States, Sierra Nevada, Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and eastward, north of the Great Lakes, to Labrador ; 

 in winter, over whole of United States, and south into Mexico. 

 (Ridgway.) 



Thousands of White-crowns may be seen in 

 the Mississippi valley, but they are rare in the 



White-throated Sparrow. 



Fig. 93. 

 Wliite-croAvned Sparrow. 



east. Sometimes one of the distinguished looking 

 birds will be discovered in a flock of White- 

 throats. You can tell him from his cousins at a 

 glance, because he has not the white j^atch under 

 the chin, being uniformly gray from his bill to 

 his tail. His crown serves still further to distin- 

 guish him. It is as striking as a soldier's cap. 

 Moreover, he attracts attention by his general 

 bearing, which is unmistakably that of an aristo- 

 crat. His song has much greater variety of note 



