White-crowned Sparrow 365 



The female is like the male but is smaller — wing about 2 -9 ; and the 

 •white crown-stripe is sometimes narrower. A young bird has the 

 lateral stripes on the head rich chestnut, not black, and the median 

 stripe pale brown, and the ground-colour of the back cinnamon-brown 

 rather than grey. 



Distribution. — Breeding from Vermont and Manitoba northwards 

 to Labrador and Greenland and south along the Rocky Mountains 

 and Sierra Nevada to New Mexico and Arizona, south in winter over the 

 eastern and southern states to Mexico as far as Mexico City. 



In Colorado the White-crowned Sparrow is very common in the plains 

 and along the foothills, and also on the western slope during the migra- 

 tion periods, but is confined to the naountains, from about 8,000 feet 

 to timber line, during the breeding season. It arrives at Colorado 

 Springs about the last week in April, and gradually moves up into the 

 mountains, reaching timber line about the middle of June. After nest- 

 ing it descends in September and October to lower levels, and lingers 

 till early in November. Dennis Gale saw one on December 13th in the 

 Boulder Valley, and believed that a few regularly wintered there. 



Breeding records are : Near Ward, Boulder co., 10,000 feet (Gale), 

 Chicago Lakes, 11,500 feet, Clear Creek co. (Trippe), Mount Lincoln 

 AUen), Bailey, Park co., 7,700 feet, and Pikes Peak (Keyser), Salida, 

 arriving April 19th and breeding (Frey). 



Habits. — The White-crowned Sparrow is a somewhat 

 terrestrial bird, frequenting the scrubby banks of streams, 

 but seldom venturing on the open hill-sides ; it is most 

 abimdant in June and July in the dense thickets that 

 mark, as a rule, the upper limits of the timber. The male 

 sings constantly during June, July and August, usually 

 mounting on the top of a high bush or some other well- 

 elevated perch for this purpose, and continuing often 

 till late at night, while the female is incubating ; the 

 nest is placed sometimes on the ground under a bush, 

 sometimes in a low bush twelve to thirty inches up. 

 It is made of grass stems, and lined with finer material 

 of the same sort, sometimes with a few hairs. The date 

 of nesting is rather variable ; Dennis Gale found fresh 

 eggs at various dates between June 22nd and July 27th. 

 The clutch numbers four or five, and the eggs are hght 

 greenish-white, mottled and speckled with two shades 



