I20 THE OREGON JUNCfli 



y'oiiiKj: '1\)]) iif head and liind-ncck ^rayisli brown stri-akcd with diisky, back 

 and sca]>ulars warmer l)r<iwn strcakcil witli black; throat, chest, sides and flanks 

 ])ale biilTv brown streaked witli lilackish : otherwise as in adult. Lenj,'th of adult 

 males about 0.35 ( iM..^ ) ; wiufj 2m^ I "5 • : tail j.^i> ( 65 i ; bill .43 ( 1 1 ) ; tarsus 

 83 (21). I'V-maU-N ^mailer. 



Recognition Marks. — Sjiarrow size; black of head antl throat contrasting 

 with white of breast; white lateral tail-feathers; head hiack as compared with 

 J. liyi'iiHilis : back reddish brown as compared with J. o. shufcldti. 



Nesting. — Nest: on ground at base of small bush or under fallen branch, 

 sometimes in o])cn wood or set into brushy hillside, of dead grasses and weed 

 stems, scantily lined, or not, with hair; dimensions 2'/.. inches wi<le by i ' .. inches 

 dee|) inside. lUjijs: 2-5, usually 4, varying in ground color from ]>ure white to 

 pinkish white or pale blue, s])otted or freckled and blotched with light reddish 

 brown or brownish black, with occasional light cloudings of lavender; long oval 

 to short ovate; variable in size, .80 .\ .60 ( 20.3 .\ 15.2) to .73 x .36 ( 18.5 x 14.2). 

 Season: fourth week in April to lirst week in July or August according to alti- 

 tude ; two or three broods. 



General Range. — Pacific Coast district; in summer from southern I'ritish 

 Columbia north to ^'akutat liay. Alaska: in winter south irregularly to California 

 ( S.inta Cru/ :iii<l San Mateo counties), straggling across the Cascade-Sierras 

 into interior. 



Range in Washington. — l'"ormerly summer resident, now chiefly migrant 

 and winter resident west of the Cascades; winter resident and migrant east of 

 Cascades. 



Authorities.— ?Townsend. Journ. Ac. Xat. Sci. Phila. \TI., 1837, 188 (part). 

 Jmico orri/uiiiis Sdater. Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX.. i8,8. 467. T. C&S. L'. 

 Rh. D'. Kb. Ra. D--. Kk. P.. 



Specimens. — U. of W. P'. Prov. B. 



IX speaking of Juiicoes it is necessary to distinguish between the rufous- 

 backed bird of winter, the Oregon Juncn proper, and the brownish-gray- 

 backed bird of summer, the Slnifeldt Jimco. A dozen years ago ori\mJiin<; 

 was sup|K)sed to l)e the common breeding bird of Pugct Sound and the 

 neighl)oring foothills, altho Sluifeldt's was well known in the tnore o])en 

 situations. Latterly, however, there has not l)een any authentic account of 

 the nesting of the red-backed bird within the State. 1903 witnessed its last 

 a])iK'arance as a summer bird, and that only in the highlands. Recent speci- 

 mens taken during the breeding season at places .so remote from each other 

 as the prairies of Pierce County, the banks of the Pend crOreillc in Stevens 

 County, and the Migh Cascades in Whatcom County, have all proven to lie 

 J. o. shufcldti. 



The fact apjiears to be that we have detected a Washingtonian instance 

 of that northward trend of siK-cies clearly recognizable in the East, but 

 obscured to our vision heretofore in the West by rca.son of varied con<Iitions 

 and insufficient data. The theory is that the birds are still following the 

 retreat of the glacial ice. \Vc know that the glacial ice-sheet, now confined 



