BAIRD'S SPARROW 755 



Eggs, especially large sets, usually lie in the nest in a definite arrangement. 

 A set of six eggs lying in two rows of three each was several times shifted out of 

 that position, and just as frequently it was returned by the bird to its original 

 order. 



During the first incubation period, the male passes the time in the vicinity of 

 the nest, singing and feeding. Neither his voice nor his actions give any indica- 

 tion of the location of the nest, and even when it is in immediate danger of dis- 

 cover>' his manner does not change. 



I made one incubation check on a nest in 1962; the period between 

 the laying and the hatching of the last egg of the clutch was between 

 11 and 12 days. 



Young. — Cartwright et al. (1937) describe the nestling as follows: 



Newly hatched young of Baird's sparrow are clothed with pale smoky-grey 

 down, this being longest and densest on the head (capital tract). Down also 

 shows along the spinal, humeral, alar (between the elbow and wrist) and femoral 

 tracts. By way of contrast, the down of the savannah sparrow is dull mouse- 

 grej' while that of the chestnut-collared longspur is whitish-grey to buffy-grey. 



The skin is reddish-flesh color, translucent (paler and less orange than the 

 young savannah sparrow of the same age). The young are blind for the first 

 three days of their lives but the eyelids begin to open on the third day in the case 

 of the strongest and most vigorous of a nestful. Development is rapid, the remiges 

 growing more quickly than any other feathers until about the time the young 

 are ready to leave the nest, when general feather growth appears to be retarded 

 except the scapulars which continue to develop steadilj'. 



* * * Iris — rich dark brown; bill — pinkish-grey suffused along the culmen 

 with brownish which intensifies as the young become older; lower mandible pale 

 pink; tarsi, feet and claws — pale pink, translucent. 



* * * For the first day or two they lie prone in the nest with the head turned 

 back toward the body. They are so weak that they can raise their heads to receive 

 food only with difficulty. For two days after hatching the female broods occasion- 

 ally in the daytime, for a period of about three minutes each time. During the 

 night she appears to cover the young every night until they leave. On the fourth 

 day the j'oung birds begin to utter a faint peeping noise. By the fifth day they 

 have acquired sufficient strength to stand up in the nest when being fed. On 

 this date they begin to use a "taepe" note as a food call. 



Young Baird's sparrows depart from the nest on their eighth to tenth day. 

 By then they are well feathered, wide awake, and active, although incapable of 

 flight. They usually leave together, the struggling of the first bird being a 

 sufficient stimulus to urge them all to action. They crawl rapidly away and hide 

 in the grass, where they are lost to view for the next few days. 



By about the thirteenth day of their lives they are able to fly for a few yards. 

 One bird at this stage was found lying in a smaU cup-like hollow almost like a nest. 

 When they are about nineteen days old they have developed to the point where 

 they begin to wander away from their parents' territory. At this time they begin 

 to utter a thin "seeep" which appears to be a flocking note. 



My observations show that the mother cares for the hatchlings 

 alone for the first several days. She feeds them, broods them, and 

 removes and eats all excreta. Then her mate usually comes to her 

 aid. At a nest I found in 1905 the father had only one ej'e. Despite 

 this handicap he proved a model spouse and did his full share of 



