BAIRD'S SPARROW 763 



hen cowbird the opportunity she seldom misses when a nest is near 

 such cover. 



Cartwright et al. (1937) report two cases of Baird's sparrow being 

 \'ictimized by the brown-headed cowbird. The first was reported by 

 Roberts (in litt.) from North Dakota June 18, 1883. The second was 

 a nest II. D. Harris found at Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 7, 1931 with 

 three Baird's sparrow eggs; the following day a cowbird egg had been 

 added to the clutch, which Harris removed. In addition to citing 

 these two records, H. Friedmann (1963) lists two parasitized bairdii 

 nests collected by L. B. Bishop in North Dakota, and tw^o others with- 

 out definite locahty data. In writing me of these ho comments: "the 

 fact remains that Baird's sparrow has been recorded but seldom as a 

 host of the cowbird." 



Fall. — As summer wanes, the tinkle-bell pealings of the males 

 gradually fade away and Baird's sparrow once more assumes its 

 will-o'-the-%visp character. This lapse into silence usually coincides 

 with the appearance of the fledged young. 



Where the hatch is late, the young may not be on the wing until 

 mid-August. When leaving their birthplace they are usually accom- 

 panied by their parents. They wander about the countryside in little 

 family groups while the juvenile wings strengthen for the faU migra- 

 tion. As dates of latest sightings on the summer range vary from 

 mid-September to late October, the autumn leave-taking extends over 

 a 5- to 6-week period. 



In early August, while the main population of Bau'd's sparrow is 

 still in the north, some juveniles and adults in worn breeding plumage 

 occasionally appear on the fringes of the winter range. This led to 

 speculation at one time on a possible breeding population on the high 

 grassy plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona. However, Richard R. 

 Graber (1955) points out that only the presence of stub-tailed 

 juveniles would lend credence to this suggestion, and that these have 

 never been found in the southwest. 



Winter. — Baird's sparrows spend the winter months in their usual 

 inconspicuous manner, wandering about alone or rarely in twos or 

 threes. Allan R. Phillips writes me from Mexico that: "The species 

 is never found in flocks, so far as my knowledge goes. Nor have I 

 heard any of them sing." 



Wliile most of the population continue their migration until they 

 reach northern Sonora (south of Sasabe), Durango (Ojito), and 

 Coahuila (Saltillo), a few remain in the southw^estern United States 

 in western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. In Arizona their 

 numbers vary greatly from year to year, according to Gale W. 

 Monson (1960) who states: "Baird's sparrows, usually very rare in 

 Arizona, were almost common in some localities; they were collected 



