368 Birds of Colorado 



near Pueblo, October 24th, 1886 (Beckham), at the same place October 

 18th, 1893, by Nash (Cooke), and at Coal Creek, eight miles east of 

 Denver, October 5th, 1892 (H. G. Smith). 



Genus SPIZELLA. 



Small Sparrow-like birds with the wing about three inches or under, 

 with small bills and nostrils at least partially hidden by bristles ; wing 

 rather long and pointed ; ninth (outer) primary usually shorter than 

 the sixth, fifth to eighth the longest ; tail long, always more than -87 

 of the wing, sometimes exceeding it ; forked or occasionally rounded. 

 Plumage streaked above, plain grey below in adults, no yellow on the 

 wing or elsewhere. 



Ridgway recognizes seven species and twelve subspecies in this 

 genus, ranging over North and Central Anaerica. Five occur in 

 Colorado. 



Key of the Species. 



A. Larger ; wing over 3 -0 ; a dark spot in the middle of the breast. 



S. m. ochracea, p. 368. 



B. Smaller ; wing under 3-0 ; no dark spot on the breast. 



a. Crown rufous. 



a} A black or dusky streak through the eye. 



S. p. arizonae, p. 369, 

 b^ No black or dusky streak tlxrough the eye. 



S. p. arenacea, p. 373. 



b. Crown streaked like the bsick. 



a^ Back more heavily streaked with black on a richer brown 

 ground ; crown with traces of rufous at the bases of 

 the feathers. S. p. arizonae, juv., p. 369. 



b^ Back less heavily streaked on a paler greyish-brown 

 grovmd ; crown without any traces of rufous. 



S. breweri, p. 372, 



c. Crown with a median paler-greyish stripe, bordered by two 



lateral, very heavily streaked stripes. S. pallida, p. 371. 



Western Tree-Sparrow. Spizdla monticola ochracea. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 659a — Colorado Records — Aiken 72, p. 200 ; 

 Trippe 74, p. 147 ; Henshaw 75, p. 277 ; Drew 81, p. 91 ; 85, p. 16 ; 

 Beckham 87, p. 122 ; Morrison 88, p. 74 ; 89, p. 37 ; Cooke 97, pp. 103, 

 215 ; Henderson 03, p. 236 ; 09, p. 237 ; Oilman 07, p. 157 ; Rockwell 

 08, p. 172. 



Description. — Male — Crown and occiput, a postocular stripe and a 

 patch on side of breast rich chestnut ; a broad, grey superciliary stripe ; 

 above pale brown, the middle of the back and scapulars with black 



