HARRIS' SPARROW 1271 



28 percent interchange with my station. Between the farthest distant 

 stations, % mile apart, there was only 2 percent interchange. 



Similar studies by Charles E. Harkins (1937), P. J. Park (1936), 

 and P. J. Steelman and K. E. Herde (1937) demonstrate the strong 

 homing instinct in Harris' sparrows and the birds' fidelity to their 

 winter territory. Birds caught at one station and released at another 

 were never taken where freed — they either returned to the original sta- 

 tion or disappeared. Individuals homed successfully to their territories 

 from 2 miles away. 



In March new birds surge in again, presumably migrants from 

 farther south, which usually repeat a time or two and pass on. Some 

 that come in with the March snows may linger into April or May and 

 return another year, suggesting that they occupied nearby territories 

 throughout the season. At this time many of the winter regulars 

 make their last appearance. 



April is generally a static period when the traps are visited primarily 

 by the remaining repeaters. May brings a few more migrants and 

 sees the departure of the last winter residents, which are usually the 

 latest to leave. Though my last date for a new bird is May 11, the 

 last repeats of the season are made characteristically by the all-winter 

 residents, which have made the late records for Oklahoma of May 18, 

 19, and 26. 



The many returns to the place of banding on the wintering grounds 

 year after year indicate that attachment to the winter territory is 

 strong and evidently established during the first year. Within their 

 little circuits, and certainly on the wintering grounds, home is home to 

 the Harris' sparrows throughout their brief and unpretentious little 

 lives. 



DlSTBIBUTION 



Harris' Sparrow 



Range. — Mackenzie and southern Keewatin south to southern 

 California, central Arizona, south central Texas, northwestern 

 Louisiana, and Tennessee. Primarily mid-continental. 



Breeding range. — The Harris' sparrow breeds from northwestern and 

 central eastern Mackenzie (Mackenzie Delta, Kah-duonay and 

 Crystal Islands) and southern Keewatin (Sandhill Lake) south to 

 northern Manitoba (Cochrane River, Lac Du Brochet, Bird) ; casually 

 east in summer to northwestern Ontario (Fort Severn). 



Winter range. — Winters from southern British Columbia (Victoria, 

 Comox, Lillooet, Vancouver, Okanagan Landing), southern Idaho 

 (Nampa), Wyoming, Utah (Centerville, Lin wood), northern Colorado 

 (Fruita, Boulder, Longmont), east central and southeastern South 

 Dakota (Huron, Yankton, Sioux Falls), and central Iowa (Woodbury 



