1426 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 3 



Of the habitat brevicauda occupies in summer they say: "brushland 

 consisting of Ceanothus cordulatus, Prunus emarginaia and man- 

 zanitas, often intermingled with young conifers, especially firs. 

 The infrequent meadowland in the range of this race may be oc- 

 cupied also if alder thickets or growths of false hellebore provide 

 protecting cover. The brushland may exist in large tracts or in 

 clumps in the open Canadian-zone forest. Burned-over forest land 

 in recovery stages with heavy growth of brush is particularly favora- 

 ble terrain." 



They say monoensis prefers "brush composed of manzanita and 

 ceanothus, and, commonly, streamside thickets of willows and wild 

 rose and low aspen scrub with associated forbs about springs and 

 wet meadows. Thus habitats characteristic for both P. i. megarhyn- 

 chus and P. i. canescens are occupied." 



The same authors note that stephensi occupies "in summer, chin- 

 quapin and ceanothus brush; less commonly brakes, willow thickets, 

 and gooseberry brushes about mountain streams and springs. Al- 

 though the brushland provides the same essential protecting cover 

 and the somewhat moist ground-forage beat as in the ranges of more 

 northern races of Fox Sparrows breeding in California, it is on the 

 average drier and warmer. Presumably the leaf litter is prevailingly 

 harsher. Less often are moist seeps available, although they are 

 sought out by the birds when present. Nest sites and song posts are 

 available much as in the ranges of P. i. megarhynchus and P. i. brevi- 

 cauda." 



Nesting .—Bendire (1889) writes of schistacea: 



The Slate-colored Sparrow, according to my observations, prefers to nest in 

 willow thickets, next in dense wild rose bushes, and occasionally in a bunch of 

 tall rye grass, but always close to water. The nests are generally placed some 

 little distance from the ground, rarely at a greater height than three feet, and are 

 invariably well hidden. But a single instance came under my observation where 

 the nest was placed directly on the ground ; in this case it was hidden by an over- 

 hanging bunch of some species of swamp grass. 



The nests of this form are bulky, but exceedingly well constructed affairs. 

 The material composing the outer body is used at least in a very damp, if not in 

 a positively wet state. It is thoroughly welded together in this condition, forming 

 when dry a compact, solid structure which will retain its shape perfectly. They 

 are rather deep for the small size of the bird, and cup-shaped. The finer finishing 

 touches are attended to by the female, which fits the material used as the inner 

 lining of the nest carefully in its place. As a rule two or three days are consumed 

 in the construction of a nest, but I have positive evidence, in one instance at 

 least, that a pair of these birds built an entirely new nest, and did it well too, 

 between sunrise and sunset of the same day, and an egg was deposited in it that 

 evening. 



A typical nest Bendire describes as "outwardly constructed of 

 various coarse plant fibers, willow bark, and marsh grass, and lined 



