Harris's Sparrow 363 



and a number of dark, purplish-brown, zigzag lines, 

 principally at the hinder end. They vary very much 

 in size, but average '80 x "70. 



Morrison found this bird nesting in trees and bushes 

 twenty feet up, in the Arkansas Valley near Fort Lyon, 

 where the ground was liable to be flooded. 



Genus ZONOTRICHIA. 



Medium to rather large Sparrow-like birds, with small, conical bills, 

 and with nostrils, partly at any rate, concealed by bristles ; wings 

 fairly long and pointed, but the difference between the primaries and 

 secondaries less than the tarsus ; the ninth (outer) primary about 

 equal to the fifth or fourth, the intervening sixth to eighth being the 

 longest ; tail long, nearly or quite equal to the wing, always above 

 •90 of the wing, slightly rounded or double rounded ; plumage with 

 streaky back, and a crown either wholly or partially black. 



As restricted by Ridgway, this genus is confined to North America, 

 including Mexico. Of the six recognized forms no less than five have 

 been found in Colorado, but only two of these are at all commonly 

 met with. 



Key of the Species. 



A. Crown black, no median stripe, throat black. Z. querula, p. 363. 



B. Crown black laterally, with a median stripe, yellow anteriorly, 



grey posteriorly. Z. coronata, p. 367. 



C. Crown black laterally, with a median stripe of white. 



a. Supraloral region bright yellow, a well defined throat-patch of 



white. Z. albicollis, p. 367. 



b. Supraloral region black, continuous with crown and extending 



to anterior border of the eye. Z. leucophrys, p. 364. 



c. Supraloral region grey, continuous with the superciliary stripe. 



Z. 1. gambeli, p. 366. 



D. Crown with chestnut-brown lateral stripes. 



a. Lores chestnut-brown. Z. leucophrys, imm., p. 364. 



b. Lores pale buffy, like the superciliary stripe. 



Z. 1. gambeli, inun., p. 366. 



Harris's Sparrow. Zonotrichia querula. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 553 — Colorado Records — Beckham 87, p. 122 ; 

 Morrison 89, p. 37 ; Cooke 94, p. 183 ; 97, pp. 102, 214 ; H. G. Smith 

 08, p. 187. 



