ARIZONA BLACK-CHINNED SPARROW 1243 



Johnson, Bryant, and Miller (1948) found, in the Providence 

 Mountains of California, "a nest with three eggs * * * on May 28 

 [1938] at 5,500 feet. It was wholly concealed from view in the center 

 of one of DQany dense clumps of sagebrush that grew near the bed of a 

 small wash. The nest was 26 inches from the ground in a bush 40 

 inches high. The outside diameter and depth were each 4 inches, the 

 inside diameter and depth each 1% inches. The framework consisted 

 chiefly of closely woven dry fibers from leaves of Ytocca baccata; 

 the lining was of brown and white cow hairs." 



Laurence M. Huey (1915) describes what appears to be an atypical 

 nest, found by a friend inside the city limits of San Diego on May 9, 

 1912: "The nest was in an extremely open spot, it being easily seen 

 for fifty yards in any direction, and was entirely built of grasses and 

 placed about 18 inches above the ground in an upright fork of a 

 slender chaparral." 



Eggs. — The black-chinned sparrow lays from two to four, and 

 occasionally five ovate eggs. They are very pale blue and slightly 

 glossy. The majority are unmarked, while others have a few small 

 scattered spots of brown such as "mummy brown" which are often 

 so dark that they appear to be black. Wilson C. Hanna, who has 

 had considerable experience with this species writes that of the sets he 

 has examined "38 percent contained eggs without any markings; 32 

 percent had both marked and unmarked eggs, and in 30 percent all 

 eggs were spotted." The measurements of 74 eggs average 17.6 

 by 13.3 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 19.S 

 by 12.6, 18.5 by 15.1, 15.5 by 13.0, and 16.1 by 12.3 millimeters. 



Young. — No information seems to be available on length of incuba- 

 tion, hatching, or care of young in the nest. It seems fairly well 

 established, however, that fledglings are cared for by both parents. 

 Miller (1929) reports both a male and a female feeding young just out 

 of the nest. BaQey (1928) observed young being fed out of the nest 

 in the Big Hatchet Mountains, N. Mex. And Frank Stephens (1903) 

 writes: "Saw a female carrying a larva of some kind in her bill, on 

 Providence Mountains [California], about June first. She came 

 quite close to me and acted as if her family were near. A month later 

 I saw several at about the same altitude (6,000 feet) on the Hualapai 

 Mountains [Arizona]. These appeared to be parents and young of 

 the year." 



Plumages. — Ridgway (1901) says that the young in ju venal plumage 

 are "Very similar to adult females without black on chin, etc., but 

 streaks on back narrower and less sharply defined, edges of wing- 

 coverts and tertials more rusty, and gray of underparts paler, the 

 chest nearly white, very indistinctly streaked with light gray." 



