WiTH BROWN PREDOMINATING 245 
coln Sparrow. About the edges of a mountain meadow 
as well as in the wet lowlands, he flits in and out of the 
willows, giving the observer as little opportunity to see 
him as he can, and never so absorbed in his insect- 
hunting as to forget the presence of a stranger. His 
song is rarely heard, yet he has a happy little lay not 
unlike that of a song sparrow but inferior in quality. 
His nest is deftly concealed on the ground, and he 
approaches it by a circuitous route, dodging through the 
grass and never by any chance revealing its whereabouts. 
Only by catching a glimpse of him with food in his bill 
one may be able to guess at its location, and that there 
are young to be fed. 
585a. TOWNSEND SPARROW. — Passerella iliaca 
unalaschcensis. 
Famity: The Finches, Sparrows, ete. 
Length: 7.00-7.50. 
Adults: Upper parts bright chestnut, mixed with gray ; wings, upper 
tail-coverts, and tail rusty brownish; under parts white, with dark 
brown markings on chest. 
Young: Similar to adults. 
Geographical Distribution: Pacific coast region from Alaska south in 
winter to California, 
Breeding Range : From British Columbia north through Alaska. 
Breeding Season: May and June. 
Nest: Of grasses, moss, and vegetable fibres, closely woven together ; 
placed near the ground, in dense thickets. 
Eggs: 3 to 5; pale bluish green, spotted and blotched with reddish 
brown and lilac. Size 0.90 < 0.66. 
THE Townsend Sparrow is one of the largest and red- 
dest of all our fox sparrows, and in his musical efforts is 
