1526 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part 3 



grass, alfalfa, in hollows under sage and willows, among ferns under 

 fallen trees, and in cattails at slight elevations. Elevated nests have 

 been found as high as 11 feet, and willows and lodgepole pines are 

 numbered among the nest trees. The nest itself is described in the 

 same terms as are the nests of the eastern races and apparently does 

 not differ significantly. As an example, M. S. Ray (1910) has re- 

 ported a nest in a flooded alfalfa field. It was made "of grasses and 

 weed stems with a lining of horsehair, was placed on slightly higher 

 ground," and well concealed, and contained an unusual clutch of 6 eggs. 

 Nests are sometimes built over water (Rust, 1917). Jean M. Lins- 

 dale (1936), in testing the hypothesis that colors of nest linings and 

 downy plumage of nestlings are adapted to the degree of exposure to 

 sun, studied these points in the Toyabe Mountains of Nevada, where 

 the breeding race of the song sparrow is montana. Linsdale found 

 five nests "close to the ground" and "covered" so they were not ex- 

 posed to sun. The down of the nestlings he classed as intermediate 

 between light and dark in color, but the nest linings were dark, with 

 the result that they would absorb warmth rather than reflect it. 



Nesting continues until mid-summer, e.g., in Oregon until at least 

 mid-July. 



The male is said by Niedrach and Rockwell (1937) to help in nest 

 building. 



Eggs. — The measurements of 40 eggs average 19.9 by 14.9 milli- 

 meters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 22.6 by 15.2, 

 20.8 by 15.5, 18.3 by 14.2, and 19.3 by 13.5 millimeters. 



Incubation. — Courtship feeding by the male of the female as she sits 

 on the eggs has been attributed to this race by Niedrach and Rockwell 

 (1937). However, because these authors give no details and because 

 Mrs. Nice (1943) did not observe such behavior in euphonia, con- 

 firmation seems desirable. David Lack (1940b) in his review of 

 courtship feeding states, "Typically [it] seems absent in * * * 

 American sparrows, including the well-studied * * * Melospiza 

 (Song Sparrow)." 



Plumage. — Ridgway (1901) states that montana is similar to 

 melodia, "but wing, tail and tarsi averaging decidedly longer, bill 

 smaller and relatively more slender, and coloration grayer; young with 

 ground color or under parts dull white or grayish white, instead of 

 more or less buffy, that of upper parts less tawny than the young 

 of * * * melodia." H. W. Henshaw (1884) states that fall speci- 

 mens of montana are "browner" than the r&cefallax with the markings 

 generally less distinct, i.e., more diffused. The black streaks of the 

 back are always present. M. S. Ray (1913) found a partially albino 

 nestling in a brood of three; "the entire underparts were pure white 

 and iris light reddish." 



