132 THE GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. 



moiiy ill the arteniisia, while Brewer's fits into the somber, bn)wn-and-streal<y 

 scheme of its twigs and brandies. To carry out the comparison, do not look 

 for b)-ezi.'eri early in the season, when the breath of the rain rises from the 

 ground and the air is astir: he is there, of course, ]>ut disregard him. Wait, 

 rather, until the season is advanced, when the incoin]jarable sun of Yakima 

 has filled the sage-brush full to overflowing, and it begins to ooze out lieat 

 in drowsy, indolent wa\'es. Then listen: JJ'ceccccc. tuhiluhituhitiihituh, the 

 first part an inspired trill, and the remainder an ex(|uisitely modulated ex- 

 pirated trill in descending cadence. Instantly one ccjiiceives a great respect 

 for this plain dot in feathers, whose very existence may have passed unnoticed 

 fiefore. The descending strain of the common song has, in some indi\-iduals, 

 all the fine shading heard in certain imported canaries. Pitch is conceded 

 b\' infinitesimal gradations, whereby the singer, from some heaven of fancy, 

 l^rings us down gently tO' a topmost twig of earthly attainment. Nor does 

 the song in other forms lack variety. In fact, a midday chorus of Brewer 

 Sparrows is a treat wliich makes a tramp in the sage memorable. 



Brewer's Sparrow is of the sage sagey, and its range in Washington is 

 almost exactly co-extensive with the distribution of that doughty shrub; but it 

 is of record that Spi-zcUa hmvcri indulges in some romantic vacations, a speci- 

 men being once taken by me ( Jul}' 25, 1900) at 8000 feet, upon the glacier 

 levels of Wright's Peak. 



No. 52. 



GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. 



A. O. U. No. 557. Zonotrichia coronata (Pall. I. 



Description. — .Idults: A broad crown stripe gamboge-yellow, changing 

 abruptly to ashy gray on occiput : this bounded on each side by broad stripe of 

 silky black meeting fellow on forehead ; remaining upperparts grayish brown, 

 broadly streaked with black on back, more or less edged with dull chestnut on 

 back, wing-coverts and tertials, glossed with olive on rump and tail : middle and 

 greater coverts tipped with white forming conspicuous bars ; chin, throat and 

 sides of head ashy gray with obscure vermiculations of dusky ; remaining under- 

 parts washed with buffy brown, darkest on sides and flanks, lightest, to dull 

 white, on belly, obsoletely and finely barred on breast. Bill blackish above, paler 

 below; feet pale; iris brown. luiinature: W'ithout definite head-stripe; crown 

 broadly dull olive-yellow, clearest on forehead, elsewhere sharply flecked with 

 blackish in wedge-shaped marks, giving way to grayish brown or dull chestnut 

 behind and to blackish on sides (variably according to age?). Length 7.20 

 (182.8) ; wing 3.28 (83.3) ; tail 3.06 (77.7) \ bill .48 (12.2) ; tarsus .96 (24.3). 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow size ; yellow of crown distinctive in any 

 plumage. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in Washington. Nest and eggs said to be very 

 similar to those of Z. I. uuttalli. 



