920 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 pakt 2 



although A. H. Miller (1941c) considered this "rather distinctive," 

 differing from eremoeca by its "dark coloration and slender, less 

 conical bill." 



On the Great Plains there is no shortage of grass; thus rocky glades 

 and edges of mesas become the limiting factor to eremoeca, as its old 

 name "rock sparrow" told us. Farther west its habitat is like that 

 of scottii — "boulder-strewn hillsides" in Brewster County, Texas 

 (Van Tyne and Sutton, 1937). Its general habits (Simmons, 1925) 

 hardly differ from those of A. r. scottii, save perhaps for the male's 

 "singing from a conspicuous perch atop a small tree near the nest." 

 A. P. Smith (1916) mentions a similar habit somewhat farther west. 



Nesting season. — The generally better moisture conditions in early 

 spring on the plains of Oklahoma, enable eremoeca to nest earher there 

 than is usual for scottii. Thus in the Arbuckle Mountains G. M. 

 Sutton (MS.) took a female with a well defined brood patch and males 

 with large testes on Apr. 17, 1954 at which time he also observed 

 "several pairs" carrying food. Similarly in Quartz Mountains State 

 Park, Greer County, he notes "several adults seen feeding young out 

 of nests" May 4 to 6, 1956. Nesting continues through May, but 

 apparently not all the birds nest at this time. Thus in the Wichita 

 Mountains, June 4 and 5, 1929, Margaret M. Nice (1929) writes that 

 "None of the many birds I had seen had been carrying food, nor had 

 they objected in any way to my presence * * *" (though evidently 

 singing was common), except for a single pair carrying food to young. 

 No young on the wing are mentioned. Juvenal-plumaged young are 

 apparently rare in eastern and central Oklahoma after July (Sutton, 

 MS.), though in the west they were taken with molting adults in late 

 September 1933 (Sutton, 1934). Of special interest is the finding 

 (Sutton, MS.) that "great enlargement of the testes of a singing male 

 in worn breeding feather taken in Arbuckle Mountains on Sept. 11, 

 1953, after an exceedingly dry summer, suggests that species may 

 occasionally breed in fall when precipitation at that season assures a 

 supply of insect food for young." 



Nesting in central Texas is, curiously, somewhat later. Pairing 

 apparently occurs in April, or earher; the song was first heard at 

 Boerne, near San Antonio, on Feb. 25, 1880 (N. C. Brown, 1882). 

 Eggs have been found from Apr. 9 (1882, Comal County — Doe col- 

 lection, Florida State Museum, Jide W. G. F. Harris) to June 2 (1952, 

 near Kerrville; "apparently nearly fresh"; L. R. Wolfe, MS.). In 

 Bexar County it "nests in the latter part of May and in June" (QuiUin 

 and Holleman, 1918). While Smimons (1925) and Wolfe (MS) both 

 suggest that two broods may be raised, this cannot yet be considered 

 as an estabhshed fact. Interestingly, L. R. Wolfe wTites me that 

 "I don't beheve that rains here have anything to do with their nest- 

 ing." This would seem to be a worth-while subject for research. 



