GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW 1361 



When loafing, they are more tolerant of their own kind and other 

 species. Mixed flocks of Zonotrichias spend much of their time 

 perched in or near the tops of bushes whisper-singing, preening, and 

 carrying on twittering small talk. When such flocks are disturbed, 

 they rarely fly en masse to new cover, but string along in singles and 

 small groups. One thing I have particularly noted of interest to me 

 is the fact that they rarely climb very high in trees during the winter, 

 and about 25 feet would be near the maximum. However, in the 

 spring during or just prior to the general move, they often go up to 

 60 or 70 feet. It has also been noted that most flights from these 

 heights have been northward unless startled or forced in some other 

 direction." 



When they are excited, and sometimes when they are about to take 

 flight or move to another perch, birds raise the feathers of the crown. 



Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) write "* * * this bird does not 

 normally fly long distances but, when pressed closely, moves from one 

 bush to another. It is adept at flying close to the ground from one 

 patch of cover to gain access to another before becoming visible to 

 an observer and is conspicuous only when it is in song during the 

 breeding season and as an element of the feeding hordes of migrant 

 sparrows in the fall." 



Through observations on banded and color-stained birds, John B. 

 Price (1931) found that golden crowns wintering on the Stanford 

 campus, instead of establishing individual territories, formed distinct 

 flocks that stayed within definite circumscribed areas of about 15 or 

 20 acres. Individuals from one flock seldom intermingled with those 

 of other flocks on adjoining territories. He also found that individual 

 birds returning to Stanford in successive winters tended strongly to 

 return to the same flock territory. Eustace L. Sumner, Sr. (1933) 

 discusses the species' homing instincts and flocking proclivities at 

 Berkeley where he found similar fidelity to wintering territories and 

 adds "The birds may desert the dry hillsides for the bottom of the 

 canyon because in the latter location more green food is to be had; 

 or they may leave because they do not like hot weather." 



Field marks. — The golden-crown is the largest of the "crowned" 

 sparrows and is darker brown than most of them. Peterson (1941) 

 calls the adult "Like a White-crowned Sparrow with no white line over 

 the eye and a golden yellow, instead of white, stripe through the center 

 of the crown. Immature White-crowns (Gambel's, etc.) have the 

 center of the crown bufTy and resemble the Golden-crown, but have 

 broad buffy lines over the eyes, which the latter species lacks. Im- 

 mature Golden-crowns look like large female House Sparrows, but 

 are browner and sometimes have a dull yellowish suffusion on the 

 crown. Often they lack this yellow suffusion and are very plain. 



