SONG SPARROW! ALASKAN 1535 



Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) say, 



Nests are almost invariably placed either on the ground or very close to it in 

 a clump of grass. Those in the Aleutians and along the south side of the Alaska 

 Peninsula are usually built in the beach grass just above the high tide line or in 

 the same grass in the little bays and stream bottoms which it occasionally follows 

 for a short distance into the interior. In southeastern Alaska, it builds in similar 

 situations, although sometimes the nests are woven around the taller grass stems, 

 and elevated a few inches above the ground. The nests are rather bulky and 

 rough on the outside, and are usually built of coarse grass stems not too well 

 put together. They are usually lined with finer dried grasses that are more 

 carefully woven into the interlining. 



Joseph Grinnell (1910b) describes two nests of M. m. kenaiensis. 

 Both were placed in beach grass growing on sand spits and both were 

 alike in structure, composed principally of coarse, dry, mildewed 

 grass stalks, arranged concentrically but not intertwined, "so that if 

 rougldy handled the nest would readily fall to pieces. The inner 

 lining is thin and of fine, round, yellow grass stems, the majority 

 approaching a position parallel to the rim of the nest. Although 

 many stems are also incorporated cross-wise, the interweaving is not 

 a conspicuous feature. The inner wall of the nest has a slippery 

 feeling because of the smoothness of the grass-stems and the ease with 

 which they slide, one over another; and it is extremely porous. Yet 

 there is a moderate firmness about the whole structure." The dimen- 

 sions of one nest were taken after shipment and may have been 

 inaccurate; the diameter externally was 142 millimeters and internally 

 70 millimeters, while the depths were 67 and 32 millimeters externally 

 and internally. 



Two ground nests of sanaka that Swarth (1934) examined were 

 made of grass, one built in a hollow, fairly well concealed by over- 

 hanging ferns and salmon berry on a steep mossy bank, the other on a 

 hillside 30 feet above the water. One of these had an external diam- 

 eter of about 150 millimeters and an internal diameter of 80 milli- 

 meters. R. C. McGregor (i960) describes a nest of sanaka in similar 

 terms; it was in the face of a low cliff and had external and internal 

 diameters of 140 and 160 millimeters and depths of 100 and 60 milli- 

 meters, respectively. 



J. C. Howell (1948) found eight nests of insignis on the ground on 

 Kodiak [sland. 



Eggs. — The measurements of 20 eggs of M.m. sanaka average 24.1 

 by 17.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 

 25.0 by 17.8, 24.5 by 18.3, and 21.8 by 16.3 millimeters. 



The measurements of 20 eggs of M.m. insignis average 22.5 by 16.7 

 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 23.9 by 

 16.3, 23.4 by 17.3. 21.3 by 16.8, and 21.8 by 15.8 millimeters. 



