° 1918 J Hubbs, Nuttall's Sparrow in California. 325 



Summary and Conclusion. — One may stand on Point Concep- 

 tion with Nuttall's Sparrows hopping about almost at his feet and 

 look eastward along the Channel shore which harbors only rare 

 stragglers of that bird; he may then turn northwest toward the 

 splendid coast line which curves out to the headland of Point 

 Arguello and see other abundantly populated habitats of the sub- 

 species. Such sights impress one with the reality of the problems 

 of distribution. 



Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli, as its relatively dark colors and 

 small size indicate, is an inhabitant of the humid coast in Cali- 

 fornia. Many subspecies of birds with these common characters, 

 as is well known, are confined to this belt. These other birds, how- 

 ever, have a range less restricted transversely, because they dwell 

 in the forests l covering the coastwise hills and mountains, but more 

 restricted longitudinally, for these forests of the coast area of the 

 transition zone extend southward only to Cambria, the "City of 

 the Pines" in northern San Louis Obispo County. Nuttall's 

 Sparrow, on the other hand, shuns the forest and dwells along the 

 wind-swept coast, nesting near the ground in low plants. It is 

 usually commonest in sandy regions, and is closely associated with 

 certain plants, particularly the large lupines and the sage-brush. 

 In certain canyons the Sparrow is recorded as ranging inland during 

 the breeding season as far as two or three miles, but we did not find 

 it so far back; elsewhere it is confined to the coast line — the sand 

 dunes and the first terrace above the cliffs — seldom occurring as 

 far inland as a mile, and seldom higher than about three hundred 

 feet above the sea. In brief, the distribution of Z. I. nuttalli in 

 California may be regarded as practically linear. 2 It does not 

 inhabit the hillsides, and its range is divided at many points where 

 the waves cut directly into the hills. It also shuns all marshy 

 ground, and is replaced here by Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia, 

 subsp.), the distribution of the two being notably complementary. 



Though its range is restricted so closely, Z. I. nuttalli is uniformly 

 the dominant bird in its particular habitat during its breeding 



] The marsh-inhabiting land birds, such as the Song Sparrows, have also notably narrow 

 ranges, but their nearest relatives, unlike those of Nuttall's Sparrow, are found in the 

 adjacent highlands. 



2 In Washington, Nuttall's Sparrow has a much wider breeding range than in California. 



