1132 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 pakt 2 



least noisy, as its song is of such a high pitch that the faint trill can 

 be detected only by a trained, keen ear. In spite of the lack of volume, 

 in April and May the bird pours forth its tiny heart many times during 

 the day, with a vigor that belies its weak accomplishment." R. T. 

 Peterson (1961) says the song is "musical, unjuncolike, more com- 

 plicated; 3-parted, often thus: chip chip chip, wheedle wheedle, che che 

 che che che." 



Veghte (MS.) writes: "When I first heard the song of this bird it 

 instantly reminded me of the chipping sparrow's trill. Shortly I had 

 the good fortune to hear both these birds singing simultaneously, and 

 the chipping sparrow's was sharper, clearer, more pronounced, while 

 the junco's trill was lower pitched, not too loud, and had a rather 

 ventrHoquial quality. The song most frequently heard I transcribed 

 in my notes as kwill-ill-ill-iil-ill, the notes blending together in a 

 continuous trill. A variation started with two lower, slower notes, 

 chwal-twill-ill-ill-ill, with the accent on the wal. Another, heard most 

 often in the evening, was a soft, liquid chwee-kee-kee-kee-kee-verit, 

 the notes going up and down the scale. Three times during my stay 

 I heard a curious finch-like song uttered by the male when he chased 

 the female. The alarm note was a sharp chip or a softer tip or tsspt 

 either given singly or repeated." 



Behavior. — Brandt (1951) characterizes the bird as one of "a quiet, 

 unobtrusive demeanor * * * a bird of smooth, slow movement, little 

 given to attracting attention * * * [which] differs from the more 

 northern birds of its family also in that it usually walks mth delibera- 

 tion, rather than hops. Its motion on the ground reminds one of the 

 Ovenbird, for it moves about leisurely, never appearing to be in a 

 hurry. It is in the Arizona highlands the most confiding bird towards 

 man, thus an enjoyable attraction at nearly every camp and cabin in 

 its coniferous habitat." 



PhiUips et al. (1964) describe the gait as "a peculiar shuffle, between 

 a hop and a walk," which MiUer (1955a) also notes as distinctive and 

 characteristic of the species. 



Marshall (1957) states: "I was astonished to see three birds feeding 

 in the water at Rucker Creek. They picked up small light-colored 

 objects (poUen or seeds) which were either floating in the slowly moving 

 shallow water or were stuck against rocks at the waterline. The 

 birds jumped in and fed while standing in water covering the feet 

 or which reached the beUy; then they would hop or fly out again, 

 Also they shuffled along the rocks that stuck out of the water, reached 

 to the surface to pick up objects, and made prodigious leaps from one 

 rock to another, sometimes aided by the wings." 



Winter. — As noted above, the species is resident throughout its range, 

 but occasionaUy moves vertically to below the forests during periods 



