322 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETm 237 i-abt i 



Egg dates. — Guadalupe Islands: 14 records, March 21 to May 2.5; 

 7 records, March 24 to March 26. 



SPOROPHILA TORQUEOLA SHARPEI Lawence 



Sharpe's Seedeater 



Habits 



Some confusion has existed in the nomenclature of the seedeaters, 

 but I understand that the above name is now established for the 

 race of these tiny finches (the white-collared seedeater of the 1957 

 A.O.U. Check-List) that is to be found in the lower Rio Grande Valley 

 of southern Texas and in adjacent regions in northern Mexico. Other 

 races of the species occur elsewhere in Mexico and Central America. 



As I had but a fleeting glimpse of this little midget near Browns- 

 ville, Tex., and as very little has been published about its habits, 

 we must be content with what our contributors have sent to us, 

 regarding this and closely allied forms of the species. 



I wrote to L. Irby Davis, who lives within the breeding range of 

 this subspecies at Harlingen, Tex., for information about it. He has 

 sent me some interesting notes from which I quote: "The males 

 had regular territory areas selected by early April and spent con- 

 siderable time each day in singing from several favorite perches 

 within the area. They usually moved from one perch to another 

 in about 5 minutes time, but sometimes even less. The females 

 were seldom seen, as they were feeding in the grass most of the time 

 before nesting. They are not extremely vigorous in defense of ter- 

 ritory; however, a male will often chase an intruder quite some 

 distance when the latter approaches a singing post that is occupied 

 at the moment. When the male is at the far side of his territory, 

 a visiting male may perch in a favorite bush or feed beneath it without 

 being disturbed." 



Alexander F. Skutch has sent me a copy of his chapter on this 

 species for his proposed work on life histories of Central American 

 birds. He says that the seedeaters "live in open, grassy places, 

 including pastures, roadsides, weedy fields, and even marshlands 

 covered with tall coarse grasses." 



George B. Sennett (1879) says "its habit of frequenting low bushes 

 and weeds preclude its frequent observation where there is so much 

 undergrowth. One specimen was shot in a small tree, and about 

 nine feet from the ground, which was the only one observed at such 

 height. It is tame and quite fearless," 



Nesting. — Davis writes to me of a nest that he had been watching: 



"The nest was 3 feet up from the ground in the crotch (where a 



