1017 BIRDS OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ISLANDS 81 



Check-list, 3d ed., 1910, p. 274. (/J) Howell and van Rossem, Condor, xiii, 1911, p. 



210. (lU) Willett, Pac. Coast Avlf., 7, 1912, p. 84. (/?) Grinnell, Pac. Coast Avif., 8, 



1912, p. 22. (IS) Wright and Snyder, Condor, xv, 1913, p. 91. (19) Grinnell, Pac. 



Coast Avif., 11, 1915, p. 125. 

 Melospiza cinerea graminea (20) Ridgway, Birds North & Mid. Am., i, 1901, p. 369. (21) 



A. O. U. Committee, Auk, xx, 1903, p. 35. 

 Melospiza graminea (22) Grinnell, Pac. Coast Avit'., 3, 1902, p. 56. 



Mlelospiza]. m\_elodia]. graminea (23) Coues, Key N. Am. Birds, 5th ed., 1903, p. 420. 

 Mlelospiza]. c[merea]. graminea (2Ji) Bailey, Handb. Birds West. U. S., 2d ed., 1904, p. 



358. (25) Reed, N. Am. Birds' Eggs, 1904, p. 267. 

 Melospiza graminea (?) (26) Linton, Condor, x, 1908, p. 128. 



Abundant resident of Santa Barbara Island, and less common on Santa 

 Cruz. C. H. ToM-nsend (5) described this subspecies from an adult male taken 

 on Santa Barbara Island, February 12, 1889. It is quite similar to the next 

 form (Melospiza tn. clementae) , but much smaller. In the type locality the first 

 of ^lay, 1908, I found these birds fairly swarming, flushing from the short scrub 

 at my approach and flitting to the tops of nearby bushes. J. Grinnell (7) says 

 that during the middle of May, 1897, full grown juveniles were numerous, and 

 the adults apparently engaged in building their second nests. Their song, notes 

 and actions were just as those of the mainland bird. He and H. Gay lord dis- 

 covered five nests, a typical one being supported by the obliquely-growing twigs 

 of a bush, and lined and internally composed of fine yellow grasses, in marked 

 contrast to the larger brown grass and weed stems of which this nest is basally 

 built. From three to five eggs are laid. Five sets, aggregating nineteen eggs, 

 secured on May 1-1 and 15, average .61x.78 inches. Extremes are .70 to .82 in 

 length, and .57 to .64 in diameter. The markings are indistinguishable from 

 those of the eggs of the mainland bird. As previously mentioned there is a 

 young bird in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (no. -1142), taken on Santa 

 Barbara Island, May 30, 1863, by J. G. Cooper, and labelled by him ''Poospiza 

 belli or Feucea ruficeps". 



A. van Rossem {15) heard two song sparrows near Prisoner's Harbor, Santa 

 Cruz Island the last of April, 1911, but we failed to see any. J. Mailliard {9) 

 states that during April, 1898, he found none except in a certain cypress hedge. 

 If those were shot several more w^ould appear to take their places in a day or two. 

 C. B, Linton {26) found them fairly common on this island in November and 

 December, 1907. Coues {23) says that the subspecies occurs on the adjacent 

 mainland during the winter, but I know of no specimen having been taken to 

 confirm this statement and consider the occurrence as doubtful in the extreme. 



On Catalina Island, in April, 1908, I twice heard the song of this species in 

 the same patch of brush. No song sparrow has been taken on this island. If the 

 bird that I heard was one of a resident race it was probably of the subspecies 

 graminea, but if a migrant or winter visitant, it is more likely to have been a 

 straggler from the mainland. 



146. Melospiza melodia clementae C. H. Townsend 



San Clemente Song Sparrow 

 Melospiza heermanni (1) Cooper, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., iv, 1870, p. 78. 



