CLAY-COLORED SPARROW 1197 



Plumage. — At hatching, according to Walkinshaw (1939d, 1944a), 

 the young are adorned only \\ith a few dark gray neossoptiles about 

 10 milUmeters long on the frontal, occipital, scapular, and sacral 

 regions. Newly hatched clay-colored sparrows resemble hatchling 

 field sparrows; their do\ni is neither as dark nor as dense as that of 

 new-hatched chipping sparrows. Da\'id K. Wetherbee (1957) states 

 that the clay-colored is more similar to field sparrows in the small 

 amount of do-wTi than either of these species is to the Brewer's or 

 chipping sparrows. When lea\dng the nest, Walkinshaw (1944a) 

 notes, the young show characteristic face markings and a buffy central 

 cro\^Ti stripe; one had the primaries unsheathed about 10 milhmeters 

 and the tail 4 milhmeters. W. K. Salt (196G) says that at the time 

 of leaving the nest: "the contour feathers are well developed but the 

 bases of many of them are still ensheathed. The wing and tail 

 feathers, however, are still largely ensheathed except for about one-half 

 inch of vane exposed at their tips." 



Richard R. Graber (1955) describes the ju venal plumage, based in 

 part on a direct-from-Hfe painting of a Michigan juvenile by G. M. 

 Sutton, as follows: 



"As in adult, crown three-parted with pale buffy or whitish median 

 streak, and lateral darker bro\vn or gray brown parts, all uniformly 

 streaked mth blackish. Nape silvery gray wdth httle or no streaking. 

 Back streaked buffy brown and black. Rump and upper tail coverts 

 buffy, obscurely streaked \vith blackish. Rectrices blackish edged 

 with buffy (median), or buffy white (lateral). Remiges blackish, 

 light edged. Uppermost tertial edged with hght buff, others with 

 light rusty. Coverts edged with light rust, secondary coverts tipped 

 ^\^lth buff (two wing bars). Lores buffy or whitish, eye ring buff. 

 Supercihary buff or whitish. Auriculars buffy, or Ught brown, irregu- 

 larly marked wdth darker broAAm. Postauriculars like nape, subauricu- 

 lars similar, or whitish. Hint of dark mustache on chin. Chin and 

 throat white, obscurely marked wdth pinpoint gray flecks. Chest, 

 sides, and flanks markedly tinged with buffy, suggesting pattern of 

 Melospiza lincolni, and streaked with dark brown or blackish. Belly 

 and crissum white. Legs white, marked wdth brownish. Tail 

 (ventrally) light gray." 



Robert Ridgway (1901) gives the following description of the 

 plumages : 



Adults in summer (sexes alike). — Piloum light brown (pale umber, wood brown 

 or isabella), more or less heavily streaked with black (black sometimes prevailing), 

 with a more or less distinct medium stripe of pale gray or buffy grayish; a broad 

 and very distinct superciliary stripe of pale buffy gray, grayish buffy, or dull 

 buffy whitish; hindneck and sides of neck grayish, the former more or less streaked 

 (narrowly) with dusky; back and scapulars pale buffy broccoli brown, broadly 

 streaked with black; rump pale broccoli or hair brown, the upper tail-covcrta 



