THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 235 



552 Chondestes grammacus (Say). 

 Lark Sparrow. 



Adults. — Length, 6.25. Wing, 3.50. Above, grayish-brown, streaked on the 

 back with black ; head with a chestnut stripe down each side of the crown, 

 becoming black at the base of the bill ; ear-coverts, chestnut, connected with 

 the bill by a black line and another black line down the side of the throat ; 

 wing-coverts tipped with buff and a buff spot on the base of the outer pri- 

 maries ; tail, black, all but the middle pair of feathers tipped with white, the 

 outer ones nearly half white. 



Very rare straggler from the west. 



One was taken at Schraalenburg, November 26th, 1885, by F. H. 

 Chapman,^ which is the only New Jersey record. 



554 Zonotrichia leucophrys (Forster). 

 White-crowned Sparrow. 



Adults. — Length, 6.50-7.50. Wing, 3.25. Above, grayish-brown, broadly 

 striped on the back with rich brown, the feathers edged with gray : head, black, 

 with a broad snowy white band down the middle, extending onto the hind neck, 

 and a narrow white line over the eye ; two narrow white wing bars ; under 

 parts, pale gray, rather lighter on the throat and abdomen ; under tail-coverts, 

 buff. 



Young in first autumn. — Buffy-brown above, streaked on the back with dark 

 brown ; head, chestnut-brown, instead of black ; light stripes dull buff instead 

 of white ; under surface tinged with buff. 



Rather rare transient visitant. Spring, May 2d to 13th ; autumn, 

 October. 



This bird is often confused with the White-throated Sparrow, from 

 the fact that the young and old of the latter differ so much in the 

 coloration of the head. The old White-throats have such a brilliant 

 white and black crown, contrasted with the dull-colored head of the 

 young bird, that they are at once set down as White-crowns. As a 

 matter of fact, the White-crown in my experience does not mingle 

 with the other species, being more solitary in habits. Its crown stripe 

 is broader than the most highly-colored White-throat, and the area in 

 front of the eye is black instead of yellow. There is, moreover, no 



1 Auk, 1886, p. 136. 



