1440 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 3 



turned and flew to a tall spruce with the other in hot pursuit. The 

 chase, and presumably the fight, continued near the top of the big 

 spruce. L3's mate called 'zrrr' from her territory, then flew to a 

 branch of the spruce below the combatants as if to see better what 

 was going on and cheer on her spouse. L2's mate could be heard 

 scolding from her territory, 'tit'ing from cover." 



This account shows plainly that Lincoln's sparrows are not immune 

 from territorial fighting when competition becomes sufficiently severe. 

 Seven pairs on 25 acres might not seem overly crowded, but one must 

 remember that much of the area was pre-empted by other species, 

 notably by man (this was a busy trout-rearing station) and by song 

 sparrows that compete strongly and very successfully against the 

 Lincoln's sparrows. Swamp sparrows were also present in the more 

 marshy areas along the creek; whether they competed with the 

 Lincoln's sparrows in this wetter part of the study area, we could not 

 determine. 



The nesting habitat at Dorion was the edge area between the 

 forest and the buildings with their surrounding lawns and roads. 

 Here were scattered bushes and small trees and a few large poplars 

 and spruces. The area was "brushed" every few years to keep the 

 forest from taking over the property, and the cuttings formed a layer 

 on the ground into which at least one pair had sunk their nest. We 

 found another nest in the grass bordering the roadside ditch. Much 

 of the vegetation was about a foot high and included such plants 

 as anemones, various grasses and sedges, wild roses and raspberries, 

 small dogwood bushes and yoimg evergreen trees, chiefly spruce and 

 balsam fir. Some willows and alders grew along the creek. The 

 actual species of plants are probably unimportant but their size and 

 disposition probably are important. There should be shrub growth 

 less than 8 feet high for concealment and from which the male can 

 sing, openings carpeted with grasses, heaths, or annuals less than 

 2 feet high in which they can forage, and a substratum of brush 

 cuttings, grass clumps, or sphagnum that the nest may be sunk into. 



The actual size of the territory probably varies a good deal, as in 

 other species. Those in the Dorion study area appeared to be about 

 one acre in extent; some were a little larger and some a little smaller. 

 Several of these were used for more than one year, though we did not 

 do enough color-banding to be sure they were occupied by the same 

 individuals. 



In 1956 and 1957 Lincoln's sparrows occupied their territories in 

 the Dorion region as soon after their arrival as the weather warmed up, 

 as manifested by the presence of singing males. Nesting may not 

 begin for another 10 days to 2 weeks. On cool windy days during 

 this interval it was often difficult or impossible to find the owners of 



