Birds of Indiana. Uol 



Mr. H. K. Coale says in some parts of Illinois it is called the "Potato 

 Bird/' because of its eating potato bugs. But few survive the paris 

 green which they eat with the bugs. In May and June Prof. King 

 found those he examined had eaten nothing but small seeds (Geol. of 

 Wis., I., p. 540). 



130. Genus ZONOTRICHIA Swainson. 



a'. No yellow anywhere; throat not abruptly white. 



Z. leucophrys (Forst.). 216 

 a-. Yellow on head; throat abruptly white. Z. albicoUis (Gmel.). 217 



216. (554) Zonotrichia leucophrys (Forst.). 



White-crowned Sparrow. 



Adult. — No yellow in front of eye; throat, ashy; edge of wing, white; 

 crown, white, bordered by two black stripes, each as wide as the white 

 center; a black stripe behind each eye almost meeting on back of head; 

 white stripe from over eye to back of crown; nape and sides of head, 

 gray; back, light Eish-gray, streaked with chestnut-brown; rump, 

 brownish; wing-coverts, edged with chestnut and tipped with white, 

 forming two white bars; tail, fuscous. Below, grayish, white on belly; 

 sides and lower tail-coverts, buffy. Immature. — Black stripes on the 

 crown, brownish; white stripe, brownish-yellow or ashy. 



Length, G.50-7.50; wing, 3.00-3.30; tail, 2.80-3.20. 



Range. — North America, from Mexioo north at least to Hudson 

 Bay and GreenlaHd. Breeds from Labrador, Vermont and Wisconsin 

 to Rocky Mountains and northward; also, south in the higher moun- 

 tain ranges of the western United States to Colorado and California. 

 Winters from southern Indiana and southern Illinois south. 



Nest, bulky; of grass or straw; on ground or in bushes or briers. 

 Eggs, 4-5; light green or greenish-blue, tolerably uniformly speckled 

 with small blotches of reddish and golden-brown; more prominent at 

 the larger end; .88 by .G2. 



Common migrant; occasional winter resident southward. Very 

 noticeable late in April and early in May. I always associate thig 

 beautiful bird with the fragrance of apple blossoms, for they come to- 

 gether. At the time of the spring migration they are usually found 

 singly in gardens, orchards and occasionally in the more open woods. 

 Then its characteristic song declares its presence. This aong, Mr. 

 Nehrling says, sounds like, pee-dee-de-de-de. The first two notes are 

 long drawn and rising, the rest hurried and lowering, the whole sound- 

 ing like a mellow whistle, being easily imitated. It is «asily distin- 

 guished from that of the White-throated Sparrow. The White-crown 



