', Be 
WITH BROWN PREDOMINATING 221 
552a. WESTERN LARK SPARROW. — Chondestes 
grammacus strigatus. 
Famity: The Finches, Sparrows, ete. 
Length : 6.50-7.25. _ SS 
Adults : Upper parts brown- 
ish or brownish gray, the 
back streaked with blackish ; crown and 
ear-coverts chestnut with median stripe 
white or buffy; black and white streaks 
on side of head, bordering the chestnut 
patch, also a black streak along each side 
of throat ; a small black spot on middle 
of chest ; tail dark brown, all but middle 
feathers tipped with white ; under parts 
white, with a small black spot on breast. 
Young: Upper parts buffy; head without 
chestnut crown or patches or black and white streaks; ¥ 
chest streaked with dusky. 
Geographical Distribution: Western United States east to 
Great Plains and Middle Texas, south to Mexico, north to 
3ritish Columbia. 
California Breeding Range: Upper Sonoran zone, chiefly in 
interior valleys west of the Sierra Nevada. 
Breeding Season: May and June. 
Nest: Of dried grasses, plant stems, and fibres; placed on the 
ground, or in bushes and trees. 
Eggs: 3 to 6; white or pale bluish or brownish, speckled and 
lined, chiefly on the larger end, with black and brown. Sf. 
Size 0.50 X 0.60. 
Tur Lark Sparrow is one of the sweetest 
singers, as well as one of the most abundant of 
the Western sparrows. Walking along the a 
country roadside at any hour of the day during 
April, May, or June, oye is likely to hear “a 
gush of silvery notes accompanied by a metallic 
tremoio,” and find the singer swinging on a weed 
552a. WESTERN 
LARK SPARROW. 
*¢ The singer.” 
