370 Birds of Colorado 



the coverts edged and tipped with pale rufous, not forming a very distinct 

 wing-band ; a white supercihary band, margined below by a generally 

 rather ill-defined postocular black streak ; below pale ashy-grey, 

 whitish on the throat and under-tail-coverts, darkest on the ear-coverts ; 

 iris brown, bill black, legs homy-brown. Length 5 05 ; wing 2-9 ; 

 tail 2-55, culmen 40 ; tarsus -70. 



The female resembles the male, but often has the crown-patch 

 streaked with dusky. In winter the bill is brown, palest on the lower 

 mandible. Young birds have no chestnut on the crown, which is 

 streaked like the back ; the lower-parts are also streaked with dusky ; 

 in the fall the breast-streaks disappear, and the birds then closely 

 resemble Brewer's Sparrow ; but the crown now begins to show the 

 chestnut, especially at the bases of the feathers. 



Distribution. — Western North America, breeding from Alaska to the 

 Jlexican border and from western Kansas to the Pacific, south in 

 winter to southern Mexico. 



In Colorado the Western Chipping Sparrow is a common summer 

 visitor, breeding chiefly in the foothills and mountains up to about 

 10,000 feet. The highest record I have met with is Ward, Boulder co., 

 10,000 feet (D. Gale), but it is most commonly found between 6,000 and 

 7,000 feet. It reaches Colorado Springs from the south early in April, 

 and remains in flocks till the middle of May, when it moves up into the 

 mountains ; it goes south again in October. The earUest date of 

 arrival is March 24th, latest date October 24th in El Paso co., according 

 to Aiken. It is a common sununer bird in Mesa co. (Rockwell). 



I have followed Ridgway in including all the Colorado Chipping 

 Sparrows under the western subspecies. There is a very extensive 

 series in the Aiken collection, most of which are imdoubtedly the 

 western form, though some appear to be somewhat intermediate ; 

 but the distinctive characters of the two races — that of dimensions, 

 the western race certainly averaging larger — are very fine drawn. 



Habits. — ^The Chipping Sparrow frequents cultivated 

 jBelds and waste-places, and is very often to be seen in 

 gardens and parks near houses, and is a somewhat 

 famiHar and domestic bird. It gets its name from its 

 sharp, characteristic " Chip." The nest is placed low 

 down, seldom over twelve feet from the ground, in a 

 thick bush ; the eggs, four or five in number, are pale 

 blue, slightly spotted Avith reddish and purplish-brown, 

 and measure -70 x '51 ; Scott found three nests at Twin 

 Lakes (9,500 feet), one June 14th with four fresh eggs. 



