Clay-coloured Sparrow 371 



another July 4th with four eggs slightly incubated, 

 and July 11th with two chicks just hatched. Dennis 

 Gale states that at Gold Hill, Chipping Sparrows arrive 

 about April 30th, build June 20th, and lay July 4th. 



Clay-coloured Sparrow. Spizella pallida. 



A.O.U. Checklist no 561— Colorado Records— Allen 72, p. 149 ; 

 Ridgway 73, pp. 182, 191 ; Allen & Brewster 83, p. 191 ; Drew 85, p. 16 ; 

 Beckham 85, p. 141 ; Morrison 89, p. 38 ; Kellogg 90, p. 89 ; Cooke 

 97, pp. 19, 104 ; Warren 06, p. 22. 



Description. — Male — Above pale clay-coloured brown, heavily 

 streaked with black ; the head with a more or less distinct median 

 stripe of grey or buffy, and a superciliary stripe of the same colour ; 

 a wash of grey round the hind-neck, forming a collar ; wings and tail 

 dusky, the former with rufous edgings and tips to most of the feathers, 

 but no distinct wing-bands ; ear-coverts brown, margined above and 

 below with a narrow streak of dusky ; a rictal streak as well on the 

 sides of the throat ; below dull whitish with a faint buffy wash on the 

 chest and flanks ; upper mandible dusky, lower much paler, legs pale 

 homy. Length 5-1 ; wing 2-40 ; tail 2-5 ; culmen -37 ; tarsus -65. 



The sexes are alike, in winter the black streaks, especially on the head, 

 are narrower ; the young birds are streaked with blackish on the breast. 



Distribution. — The great plains region of North America, breeding 

 from Saskatchewan to Nebraska and north-western Illinois and in 

 eastern Colorado ; south in winter to Lower California and over the 

 Mexican plateau to the State of Oaxaca. 



In Colorado the Clay-coloured Sparrow appears to be confined to the 

 eastern plains section of the State, where it is fairly common on migra- 

 tion, and breeds, according to Aiken, commonly in El Paso and Fremont 

 COS., as well as in the San Luis Valley. It reaches Colorado Springs in 

 May, and is again seen in September, the extreme dates for El Paso co. 

 in the Aiken collection being May 11th and September 28th. The only 

 notice of its occurrence in the naountains is that of Kellogg, who pro- 

 cured a single example in Estes Park on August 10th. Other records 

 are : Lincoln co.. May (Aiken), Pueblo (Beckham), Baca co., common 

 after May 4th (Warren). 



Habits. — The Clay-coloured Sparrow is a characteristic 

 bird of the great plains region, and is generally found 

 about thickets and bush along river valleys ; it has much 

 the same habits as the Chipping Sparrow, which it closely 

 resembles, and with which it is often associated. I 



AA 2 



