SONG SPARROW: ALASKAN 1539 



Winter. — The behavior of maxima, as Sutton and Wilson (1946) 

 describe it, ma} 7 be inferred to be typical of that race during the winter 

 and not likely to differ much from that of any of the other sedentary 

 Alaskan races. Wilson, in another paper (1948) states that on Attu 

 song sparrows usually stayed in pairs the year round and that he 

 noted them only "occasionally singly, never in a flock." 



Those birds of caurina (and apparently kenaiensis) that migrate 

 remain essentially shore dwellers on the winter range. Thus Alfred 

 Shelton (1915) reports collecting two specimens of caurina in Oregon 

 after he saw one fly up to elude a breaker and then light again at 

 the surf's edge. A similar observation made by C. I. Clay is 

 reported by Grinnell (1910a), who also indicates that the bird was 

 adhering closely to a winter foraging range 200 yards long on a strip 

 of shore in California. The bird was seen repeatedly feeding among 

 driftwood, and it could never be driven beyond the bounds of its 

 range. Its flights were short and apparently undertaken reluctantly, 

 and it preferred to skulk on foot. Interestingly, song sparrows were 

 said by Allen Hasselborg, quoted by Swarth (1912), to have been 

 distributed singly along 200-yard stretches of stony beach at Juneau, 

 Alaska, in winter. 



Distribution 



Giant Song Sparrow (m. m. maxima) 



Range.— The giant song sparrow is resident in the Aleutian Islands, 

 Alaska, from Attu Island to Atka Island. 



Aleutian Song Sparrow (M. m. sanaka) 



Range. — The Aleutian song sparrow is resident in the eastern 

 Aleutian Islands, Alaska (Seguam Island to Unimak Island), the 

 Alaska Peninsula east to Stepovak Bay, and the islands south of the 

 Alaska Peninsula from Sanak Island to the Semidi Islands. 



Casual records. — Casual in fall and winter on the Pribilof Islands 

 (St. George) and the coast of western Alaska (Nushagak). 



Amak Song Sparrow (M. m. amaka) 



Range. — The Amak song sparrow is resident on Amak Island, north 

 of the western end of the Alaska Peninsula. 



Bischoff's Song Sparrow (M. m. insignis) 



Range. — The Bischoff's song sparrow is resident in the Kodiak 

 Island group (Barren Islands to Sitkalidak Island) and the adjacent 

 Alaska Peninsula (Kukak, Katmai). 



