1420 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part 3 



abundant and widely distributed land bird at Knight Island, Prince 

 William Sound, found from the beach to the timberline, but mostly 

 in deciduous thickets. R. Rausch (1958) says that on Middleton 

 Island in the same area, 



Next to the Savannah Sparrow, the Fox Sparrow was the most numerous 

 passeriform bird on the island. It was closely restricted to the zone of high 

 shrubs and its borders. Although generally shy, the birds often could be called 

 in. The males sang from the tops of the higher willows, or from the high stalks 

 of Rubus spectabilis along the upper bluff. * * * Fox Sparrows were often ob- 

 served * * * along the edge ot the bluff where the vegetation was contiguous 

 with the dense growth on the side of the bluff. Farther south, near the beginning 

 of the sea cliff, Fox Sparrows were common in a relatively wide zone of vegetation. 

 Foraging and singing were observed here, but there was no evidence of nesting. 



George Willett (1914) noted that townsendi was partial to the 

 smaller grass and brush-covered islands in the vicinity of Sitka. He 

 (1915) characterizes it as the most abundant land bird on Forrester 

 Island, found "in wooded localities everywhere. Seemingly at least 

 two broods are raised in a season. The location of the nests noted 

 varied greatly, some being ten or twelve feet up in trees, some in 

 brush thickets and on fallen logs and others on the ground. A brood 

 of young left a nest near camp May 24 and fresh eggs were found as 

 late as June 22." Here Harold Heath (1915) states: "This species 

 of sparrow was the most abundant land bird in the region, being 

 found from one end of Forrester Island to the other as well as on 

 Lawrie and South islands. It was especially numerous in the vicinity 

 of the camp where it fed at the boxes several of the fishermen pro- 

 vided for their feathered friends. Nests were also plentiful, prin- 

 cipally in the roots of stumps and in crevices of the rocky cliffs. 

 Judging from three pairs close to the tent, two broods are raised 

 each year." 



A. M. Bailey (1927) encountered the first ones in Hooniah Sound 



May 7 to 24, 



when from one to ten were seen daily. They were especially fond of the little 

 mountain streams, where they fed in the dense tangle of undergrowth. They 

 had become common at Juneau by May 26, and June 12 to 20, they were seen 

 along the wooded mainland shores of Glacier Bay and on the beach of the outer 

 Beardslee Island. * * * We found a nest on July 10 with four eggs apparently 

 well incubated; another nest with four small young was seen July 19. They 

 nest somewhat as do the Juncos, hiding their nest in the moss on some little 

 slope, or under a log, or along a boulder; their nests are neatly made, and usually 

 well concealed, the parent bird taking pains to slip away without attractng 

 attention. 



Grinnell (1909) describes a nest of townsendi from Admiralty 

 Island as "a bulky structure 120 mm. high by 160 mm. across, the 

 walls being very thick. The inner cavity is 70 mm. across by 50 

 deep. The main part of the nest is a matted mass of dead twigs, 



