1334 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 3 



sparrows that same year at Hope Ranch (September 20) is at least 

 60 days. This estimated migration period is over 1% times as long 

 as that estimated for the flight north in spring. Oakeson (1954) 

 estimated that it requires approximately 35 days for the flight north 

 from the latitudes of southern California to those of Mountain Village, 

 Alaska, an air distance of about 2,700 miles. 



An individual bird flying in about 60 days from the latitude of 

 College to that of Santa Barbara, a distance of about 2,450 air miles, 

 would average about 41 miles per day, which a white-crown flying at 

 20 miles per hour (Pearson 1961) could cover in about 2 hours. The 

 birds should be able to fly twice as long, and twice as far daily, and 

 still have ample time each day to forage and rest. 



Winter. — In winter the Gambel's sparrow, like the Puget Sound 

 sparrow, forms flocks that are homogeneous assemblages, with no 

 hint of the tendency of flock members to pair off. Also like pugetensis, 

 the gambelii flocks observed at Davis were approximately stable as to 

 size and tended to restrict their daily movements to a limited area. 

 The following quotation from Blanchard and Erickson (1949) refers 

 to flocks whose members were color-banded at Davis in 1942-1943. 



Throughout the winter the birds flock in groups of 30 to 50. Each flock is 

 restricted to a given area, though there may be a substantial overlapping of 

 areas. Of the 48 individuals either retrapped or identified by sight at Davis, 

 29 were found at the same spot where they had been banded, 12 were found not 

 more than 500 yards away, which is not over the normal maximum distance 

 traveled by any one flock in the course of a day. The remaining few were seen 

 up to a maximum of 976 yards away. General localization of each flock to a 

 specific area is further indicated by many hours of observation of individual 

 flocks throughout the winter. Each flock had its headquarters, within a few 

 yards of which it spent the greater part of each day. 



Once the birds were established, behavior during the ensuing five months until 

 mid-March showed little change. No fights and few pursuits were seen. Singing 

 continued sporadically but was lacking in force, and the individuals which sang 

 always did so as integral parts of the flock. 



Not only may individuals stay in a restricted area one winter, but 

 they may also return to the same place year after year. Bird-banders 

 have furnished a wealth of data on returns of white-crowned sparrows 

 Blanchard and Erickson (1949) note: "In Santa Barbara between 

 1943 and 1947, 282 Gambel sparrows were banded at stations where 

 traps were operated at least occasionally throughout the months 

 from September to May. One hundred, or 35 percent of the 282, 

 were taken again. Of these 100, 47 were retaken in two succeeding 

 winters, two in three, and one in four winters." Of 223 Gambel's 

 sparrows Mrs. Phillips banded at Hope Ranch in 1957-1958, 14 re- 

 turned the following fall. Of 129 birds banded there in 1958-1959, 

 8 were recaptured in the fall of 1959. F. G. Crawford (personal 

 communication) states that "in preparing return records for Gambel 



