996 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part 2 



seeds of composites. The last were apparently selected because of the 

 soft, plumelike pappus." A nest in Nevada Jean M. Linsdale (1938) 

 describes "measured 55 mm. inside and 95 mm. outside. The struc- 

 ture was made of whitish material and was lined partly with black 

 horsehair." J. M. Linsdale also reports on two other nests. One 

 "was composed of fine material — grass blades and stems, Eriogonum, 

 and small twigs. The lining was whitish. The exposure was mainly 

 to the east, but slightly to the south, and the nest was partly in the 

 shade." The third nest "was composed of twigs and fibers of sage 

 brush, and it was lined with light colored rabbit fur." Cowhair 

 is a component of nests described by Taylor (1912) in Nevada and 

 Griffing Bancroft (1930) in Baja California. Mrs. Bailey (1928) 

 reports "A nest partly lined with wool, as is the custom in the sheep 

 country." Apparently black-throated sparrows like hair, and are 

 not too particular as to the kind; H. Brandt (1951) mentions a nest 

 with a "lining of finer grasses, plant down, and a few porcupine hairs." 



Eggs. — Three or four eggs constitute the normal clutch for the 

 black-throated sparrow. The relatively few pubhshed reports of 

 what may be taken as complete clutches seem to indicate a tendency 

 toward larger clutches to the west and north. Nests in New Mexico 

 (Bailey, 1928) and Arizona (Osgood, 1903; Brandt, 1951) are usually 

 reported with three eggs or young, whereas those in Nevada (Lins- 

 dale, 1938) and Cahfornia (Johnson, Bryant, and MiUer, 1948) more 

 often have four eggs. A family of four young was observed near 

 San FeHpe, Baja Cahfornia (Huey, 1927), but a nest farther south, 

 on Angel de la Guarda Island, contained three eggs (MaiUiard, 1923). 

 At the southern edge of the range, in central Baja California, Grifling 

 Bancroft (1930) found two nests with two eggs each. 



Little information is available on the color or size of the eggs of this 

 race of the black-throated sparrow. Of those in central Baja Cali- 

 fornia, G. Bancroft (1930) says: "The two eggs we collected are hght 

 blue, unspotted, and averaged 17.3 x 13.8 mm." J. G. Cooper 

 (1870) spoke of a nest in the Providence Mountains of Cahfornia 

 containing white eggs. WiUiam L. Dawson (1923) describes the 

 eggs as "3 to 5; bluish white, unmarked; av. size 17.2 x 13.3 (.67 x 

 .52)." OHver Davie (1886) does not refer to a particular subspecies 

 in his book; he gives the color as "pure white, vnih a shght tinge of 

 blue" and the size as ".70 to .75 (inch) length, .55 to .60 breadth." 

 In speaking of the more eastern form, A. h. bilineata, WiUiam Lloyd 

 (1887) mentions that "The eggs have a bluish tinge until blown, 

 when they become pure white." This probably holds true for the 

 entire species. 



Young. — Jean M. Linsdale (1936b) wTites that in 1927 "my at- 

 tention was attracted to the strikingly whitish linings in several nests 



