THE NUTTALL SPARROW. 137 



lining of tine dcacl grass and horse-hair; measiu-es cNtcrnall)- (1 in. wide by 4 

 deep: internally 2j.> wide by i tlee]). JSygs: 4 or 5, pale bkiish while, profusely 

 dotted and spotted, or blotched, with varying shades of reddish brown. Av. size 

 .86 X .64 (2i.8x 16.3). Season: Last week in April, and May 25-June 10; two 

 broods. 



General Range. — racillc Coast district, breeding from Monterey, California, 

 to Fort Simpson, llritish Cohnnbia ; south in winter to San I'edro Martir 

 Mountains, Lower California. 



Range in Washington. — Of general distribution west of the Cascade 

 Mountains at lower altitudes; casually winter resident. 



Migrations. — Spriiuj: March 23-ApriI i. 



Authorities. — Z. gainbrlii (lanibel, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858, 

 461. (T.) C&S. L-.( ?) L-'. Rh. Kb. Ra. Kk. H. E. 



Specimens.— l^ of W. P. P.. PX. E. 



W'llEX yiiu enter a bit of shrubbery at the edge of town in ALiy or 

 June, your intrusion is almost sure to be questioned by a military gentleman 

 in a gray cli>ak with black-and-white trimmings. Your business may he 

 personal, not public, hut somehow you feel as if the authority of the law had 

 been invoked, and that you would better be careful how you conduct yourself 

 in the presence of this military person. Usually retiring, the Nuttall S])arn>w 

 coiuls exijosure where the welfare of his family is in question, and a metallic 

 scolding note, ciiik. or (Lcliik. is made to do incessant service on such occasions. 

 A thoroly aroused pair, wurnis in beak, and crests uplifted, may voice their 

 suspicions for half an hour from fir-tip and brush-pile, without once dis- 

 closing the whereabouts "f their yoimg. 



Xuttall's Sparrow is the f;imiliar spirit of lirusli-lots, fence tangles, berry 

 patches, and half-open situations in general. He is among the last to quit 

 the confines of the city before the advancing ranks of apartment houses and 

 sky-scrapers, and he maintains stoutly any vantage ground of vacant lot, 

 disordered hedge-row, or neglected swamplet left to him. After the Rusty 

 Song S])arrow, he is |)erhaps the commonest Sparrow in western Washing- 

 ton — unquestionably so within the borders of settlement. 



As a songster this Sparrow is not a conspicuous success, altho he works 

 at his trade with commendable diligence. He chooses a prominent station, 

 such as the topmost sprig of a lir sapling, and holds fortfi at regular intervals 

 in a pro.sy, iterative ditty, from which the slight musical quality vanishes 

 with distance. Hee ho. dice zccc. chec n'ce dice zcecc and IJcc. 7<.'iidge, 

 i-wiidj^c i-ii'udge i-u'eccc are vocalized examples. The preliminary lice ho 

 is sometimes clear and sweet enough to prepare one's ear for the Vesper 

 Sparrow's strain, but the succeeding syllables are tasteless, and the trill with 

 which the effort concludes has a wooden (lualitv which we m;iv ii\erlook in 



