188 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 233 



Rusty -crowned Ground Sparrow 



Melozone kieneri (Bonaparte) 



In Morelos, J. Stuart Rowley (mss.) found 11 nests of this sparrow, 

 no less than 9 of which contained from 1 to 5 eggs of the bronzed cow- 

 bird. The local race of the host is M.k. rubricatum; the parasite is 

 the nominate race, T.a. aeneus. One of the parasitized nests also 

 contained an egg of the brown-headed cowbird. 



Black-chested Sparrow 



Aimophila humeralis (Cabanis) 



This little known black-chested sparrow recently has been found to 

 be a host of the nominate race of the bronzed cowbird in Morelos; 

 J. Stuart Rowley (mss.) discovered a parasitized nest near Acatlipa 

 on June 25, 1960. 



Russet-tailed Sparrow 



Aimophila ruficauda (Bonaparte) 



J. Stuart Rowley (mss.) recently has added this sparrow (race A.r. 

 acuminata) to the known hosts of the nominate race of the bronzed 

 cowbird in Morelos. Near Acatlipa on July 25, 1960, he found three 

 nests, one of which contained 1 egg of the parasite in addition to 3 of 

 the sparrow. 



Rusty Sparrow 



Aimophila rufescens (Swainson) 



The rusty sparrow has been recorded as a host of the bronzed cow- 

 bird in Veracruz by Sumichrast (1869, p. 551; 1870, p. 309) and by 

 Herrera (1911, p. 124). Herrera's statement seems to be based on 

 Sumichrast rather than on any additional data. The rusty sparrow 

 found in Veracruz is of the race A.r. pyrgitoides the parasite is of the 

 nominate race, T.a. aeneus. In Morelos, J. Stuart Rowley (mss.) 

 found eight nests of this sparrow about five miles east of Cuernavaca; 

 one of these contained an egg of the bronzed cowbird. The host in 

 Morelos is the nominate race, A.r. rufescens. 



Song Sparrow 

 Melospiza melodia Wilson 

 In Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, Dickerman (1960, p. 472) 

 found 13 nests of the song sparrow, of which 6 proved to contain eggs 

 or young of the bronzed cowbird. The number of parasitic eggs 

 varied from 1 to 3 in these nests. The 13 nests contained a total of 

 14 eggs and six young of the sparrow plus 13 eggs and two young of 

 the cowbu'd. Dickerman reported that some of the parasitized nests 

 had been deserted, but it is not clear if they had already been aban- 

 doned when the parasite laid in them or if the desertion was due to its 

 visits. The local race of the song sparrow is M.m. mexicana; the 

 cowbird, T.a. aeneus. 



