894 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part 2 



unsuccessful nests earlier in the season. The tendency of most pairs 

 after fledging young was to join with other families in flocks in the 

 nearby fields. A pair that successfully fledged a brood June 7 re- 

 mained with one surviving young in the vicinity of the station through- 

 out the summer and made no attempt to build another nest. 



On July 17 1 found a pair of lark sparrows about 15 miles from the 

 station feeding three fledglings only a day or two old. They were 

 also feeding two young lark sparrows about a month old perched in 

 a tree close by. That these represented an earlier brood cannot be 

 assumed, for they may have been "adopted." One color-banded 

 female whose brood fledged in early July started to build another 

 nest on July 18, but she deserted it after 2 days' work, and 3 days 

 later joined, with her mate and young, a large flock of lark spaiTows 

 that had gathered near by. 



Plumages. — At hatching, the young bird is sparsely covered with 

 brownish-gray down. When the nestling is 2 days old, primaries 

 and secondaries appear, but they are entirely sheathed. On the 3rd 

 day the chick can partly open its eyes. On the 4th day the eyes are 

 open wide, the remiges have lengthened but are still mostly sheathed, 

 the rectrices have begun to appear, and the feathers on the breast 

 to develop. Diu-ing the 5th day the terminal third of each primary 

 and secondary is out of the sheath, the rectrices are still very short 

 and entirely sheathed, and the underparts begin to look white with 

 brown streaks. Dm-ing the 6th day the rectrices begin to break out 

 of their sheaths, and by the 7th day the chick looks well-feathered, 

 although considerable down still clings to the feathers, especially 

 those on the head and neck. The feathers continue to grow on the 

 8th day, and on the 9th, when the bird can usually fly, he is well 

 feathered, although the wing feathers are not quite fully developed 

 and the tail is still very short. 



R. R. Graber (1955) describes the juvenal plumages as foUows: 

 "Lores dusky in stub-tailed birds (superciliary not complete). Supra- 

 and post-ocular stripe buffy white. Median crown stripe white or 

 buffy white. Otherwise, forehead and crown brown, streaked with 

 dark brown or blackish. Feathers of hind-neck and back black 

 edged with buff or buffy white. (Pattern heavy streaking of black 

 and buff.) Rump and upper tail coverts buffy or bufly brown, 

 obscurely streaked with black. Rectrices black, outer four (at least) 

 marked white terminaUy. Remiges black, outer primary edged with 

 white. Tertials edged with light buffy. Greaters edged with cinna- 

 mon, tipped with buffy white (two wing-bars). Eye-ring and feathers 

 about eye white. Auriculars light brown, dark-margined. Post- and 

 subauriculars white (definite cheek-patch). Underparts white, more 

 or less buffy tinged on chest, sides, flanks, and crissum. Chest, 



