48 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



BLACK-THROATED SPARROW 

 Amphispiza bilineata bilineata (Cassin) 



A. O. U. Number 573 



Other Name. — Black-throat. 



General Description. — Length, sJj inches. Upper 

 parts, gray ; under parts, white. Bill, small ; wing, long 

 and slightly rounded; tail, trifle shorter than wing, 

 rounded or double rounded, the feathers broad and 

 rounded at the ends. 



Color. — Adults : Conspicuous stripe over eye and 

 on cheeks, pure zchite; the front portion of the cheek 

 region, together with the chin, throat, and center por- 

 tion of chest, uniform black, the last with a convex 

 (sometimes angular) posterior outline; rest of under 

 parts, white shading into grayish on sides and flanks ; 

 the latter, together with anal region and under tail- 

 coverts, tinged with buffy in winter plumage; upper 

 parts, deep, slightly brownish, gray, becoming more 

 brownish (nearly hair-brown) on back and wings; 



sides of head (between the two white stripes), plain 

 gray like crown ; the tail, blackish z^.'ilh white on edge 

 and tip of outermost feathers; iris, deep brown. 

 Young : Similar to adults but without any distinct 

 black markings on head. etc. ; the chin and throat, white 

 sometimes flecked with grayish ; the chest streaked with 

 the same. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Placed in sagebrush, 

 cactus, or other desert shrubs, near ground ; constructed 

 of fine shreds of bark, dried grasses, lined with fine 

 blades of the latter. Eggs : 3 or 4, plain greenish or 

 bluish white. 



Distribution. — Middle and eastern Te.xas (except 

 along Gulf coast?), north to Oklahoma, western Kan- 

 sas, and eastern Colorado ( "O, south into States of 

 northeastern Mexico. 



The Black-throated Sparrow is a very plentiful 

 and beatttiful songster of the one area of the 

 United States that certainly does need song. If 

 there is any area in the world that is more dreary 



Drawing by R. I. Brasher 



BLACK-THROATED SPARROW ^ aat. size) 



than another it is a desert. A song is needed and 

 many of them to cheer the weary humans that 

 travel the long hot routes across the southwest- 

 ern country. Mrs. Bailey gives the bird the 

 credit due to him when she says : " On all 

 our walks through the thorn brush and climbs 

 over the agave-speared hills we found the lovely 

 little bird everywhere, sitting on top of the 



bushes singing with head thrown back in fine 

 enjoyment of his bright lay." The bird has a 

 most winsome manner, all out of keeping 

 with the surroundings. Its cheery tra-rcc'-rah, 

 rcc'-rah-rcc with many variations can be heard 

 throughout all our southwestern desert country 

 and far down on the Mexican plateau. In most 

 places it is very common, exceeding in frequency 

 all other birds in the area. 



The ornithologists have found slight differ- 

 ences by which they define three species. The 

 eastern race, the common Black-throated Spar- 

 row, extends from western Kansas south 

 through Texas and across the Rio Grande into 

 the nearer Mexican States. The western race is 

 named justly the Desert Sparrow or Desert 

 Black-throat (Auipliispi.'^a bilineata descrticola). 

 and has much the larger breeding area. It ex- 

 tends from the Pecos cotmtry of Texas, west to 

 the Pacific, and from Nevada and Utah south 

 to Lower California, .Sonora. and Chihuahua. 

 The third race is the Mexican Black-throated 

 S]iarrow (Aiiiplu'spi::a bilineata grisca) that 

 ranges over the central Mexico plateau. 



Mrs. Bailey gives very clear reasons for en- 

 thusiasm for this bird. She says, " When we 

 camped on the arid mesa of the Pecos River, 

 among the sounds that were oftenest in our ears 

 were the songs of the Mockingbird and Non- 

 pareil, the iterant pe-cos' of the Scaled Quail, and 

 the calls of the Verdin and Roadrtinner, while, 

 mingled with them, always tinkling from the 

 bushes, was the cheery little tune of A)npliis- 

 pica." 



