uf> THE SAGE SPARROW* 



of tliat iiortliwaiil trend of species wliicli \vc shall have fre(|ueiit occasion 

 to remark. The passion of the .\t)rth I'ole quest is not merely a human 

 weakness; it is a deep-rooted instinct which we only sliare with the birtls. 

 There was once a near-I^den yonder, a Pliocene paradise, from which tlic 

 cruel ice evicted us — birds and men — \onii- '"'"fJ 'iK"- ^^ ^ K'> "'>w to reclaim 

 our own. 



No. 45. 



SAGE SPARROW. 



.•\. ( ). I'. \u. 574.1. Amphispiza nevadensis iRidgw. I. 



Synonyms. — Akti:misi.\ Sparkow. Nkvai).\ Sack Stakkow. 



Description. — .Idttlts: L'ppiTi)arts ( including anriculars and sides of neck ) 

 ashy grav to asliv hmwn, clearer and grayer anteriorly. hmwiier |)osteriorly ; pileuin, 

 back and scapulars shar|)ly and narrowly streaked with black; wings and tail 

 dull black with light brownish or pale grayish edging; the rectrices marked with 

 white nnicb as in |)rcceding species ; a supraloral sjKit. an orbital ring and 

 (usually) a short median line on f(»reliead white; sides of head slaty gray: lores 

 dusky ; underparts white, clearest f>n throat where liounded and set off from white 

 of malar area by interru|)tc<l chain of dusky streaks, occasionally with chisky 

 spot on center of breast. marke<l ou sides and tlanks with bufTy and streaked 

 with dusky; edge of wing pale yellow or yellowish white. Itill lilackish above, 

 lighter below; legs dark brown, toes darker; iris brown. )'ouii(j: "Pileum, hind- 

 neck, chest and sides, as well as back, streaked with dusky ; otherwise essentially 

 as in adults" ( Ridgway). Underparts save on throat sometimes tinged with 

 yellowish or buffy. Length of adult male about 6.00 ( 152.4) ; wing 3.1 1 (79) ; 

 tail 2.05 ( 75 ) ; bill ■?,<) ( to) : tarsus .84 (21.5). Female a little smaller. 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow size (barely); ashy gray plumage; zcliite 

 throat dclined by du.sky .streaks. 



Nesting.^.Vc.v/.- of twigs, .sage bark, and "hemp" warmly lined with wool, 

 rabbit-fur. cow-hair or feathers, placed low in crotch of sage bush, lu/f/s: 3-5. 

 usuallv 4. brownish- or greenish-gray as to ground, dotted, spotted or clouded, 

 rarelv scrawled, with chestnut or sepia and with some purjilish shell markings. 

 Av. size .Ho x /<n ( 20. _^ x 15.2). Season: ,\]iril. June; two ])roo(ls. 



General Ran^e. — Great Basin region of the Western United States, west 

 to eastern base of Sierra Nevada, cast to eastern base of Rm-kies. north ( at least ) 

 to northern Washington; south, in winter, into southern .\rizona. etc. 



Range in Washington. — I'pper Sonoran and .Arid Transition life zones in 

 eastern Washington north at least to the Grand Coulee; summer resident. 



Authorities. — ["Sagebrush Sparrow" Johnson, Rep. Cnv. W. T. 1884 ( 1885), 

 22. 1 . //ii/i/ii.f/'ird hclli iicadciisis, Dawson, Wilson nullctin. Xo. .V'- Jnne. j<)02. 

 p. 65. S-'. S>'. 



Specimens. — l'. of W. V. 



