WITH BROWN PREDOMINATING 24.7 
~~ 
for at least two weeks afterwards. Then his fine song 
is hushed and only the metallic “tseep ” of his call note 
is heard. Until the nestlings are three or four days old 
they are fed by regurgitation, and after that upon insect 
food. 
Usually the Townsend Sparrows fly and feed in small 
flocks, often along the roadside thickets, and occasion- 
ally they stray into the city parks in the winter season. 
In the great State of California, with its varied climate, 
which produces variations of form and coloring, the 
fox sparrows have been divided into several subspecies. 
These are all so much alike in habits that the descrip- 
tion of one applies to all, with a few modifications to be 
noted in the different subspecies. 
585b. THICK-BILLED SPARROW. — Passerella iliaca 
megarhyncha. 
Famity: The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 
Length : 7.00-7.75. 
Adults: Bill thick ; upper parts plain brownish gray, becoming rusty 
brownish on wings, upper tail-coverts, and tail; under parts white, 
with small dark brown spots on chest. 
Young: Similar to adults. 
Geographical Distribution: Mountains of California, including eastern 
slope of the Sierra Nevada. South in winter to Los Angeles County. 
California Breeding Range: From Mt. Shasta south to Mt. Whitney, in 
Boreal and Transition zones. 
Breeding Season: June. 
Jest: Of plant fibre and willow bark ; lined with grasses and horsehair ; 
placed on or near the ground, in thickets. 
Eggs: 8 or 43; pale bluish green, spotted with dark brown. Size 
0.86 X 0.64. 
Tue Thick-billed Sparrow inhabits the forests of the 
Transition and Boreal zones, breeding among the ever- 
