Vol. XVI 



General Notes. 355 



This chuckling, so far as I can tell, invariably follows this particular 

 tune, but none other. Other Orioles in the same locality sing other 

 tunes with a more mellow and variable quality of whistle ; but these 

 latter birds, so far as I can be sure of their individual identity, never 

 chuckle at any time. The chuckling birds seem also to be of a duller 

 orange, almost the tint of a Bluebird's breast, or a ' chestnut' horse, and 

 are possibly last year's young or two-year-olds. 



This chuckling song seems well worth mention, because as it is so 

 marked and unusual it can be readily detected. And it would be interest- 

 ing to inquire how widely spread this song may have become this season, 

 as well as whether it has ever been heard before. If the song is a 

 mimicry or imitation of some other species, I should welcome any sug- 

 gestion as to the identity of its original model. — Reginald C. Robbixs, 

 Boston, Mass. 



Song of the White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucofhrys). — A 

 recent study of captive White-crowned Sparrows tends to show that the 

 female sings a simple copy of the male's usually exquisite strain. Of 

 four females that have come under my notice since the fall of 1897, three 

 have sung in the manner described, while the exceptional one was a 

 bungler that never wholly succeeded in getting the song just right. 

 This bird, captured October 7, 1897, and released July 26, 1S98, was in 

 song from October 20 to December 10, 1S97, and again during March, 

 April, May and June of the following year. 



Early in October, 1898, when White-crowns were perhaps a hundred 

 strong in a nearby weedy potato field, I secured five specimens, two 

 adults and three immatures. One of the adults, recognized as a female, 

 was presently set free ; the other, a doubtful subject, on being referred to 

 a tame male of 1897, was immediately identified by him as one of the 

 opposite sex. She was quiet and orderly, — uncommonly so, — hence was 

 reserved for future study. 



Of the young trio one turned out to be a female, and although very 

 wild at first, eventually, without coaxing, became tame and confiding. In 

 the fall of 1898 she sang but little and only on occasions when 'fighting 

 mad.' Both females sang intermittently in March and April and daily 

 during May, 1899. 



The young males sang diligently from the middle of October to the 

 second week of Jul}', when moulting set in. In March the juvenile style 

 of singing gradually gave way to the adult form. But from the com- 

 mencement, when angry and defiant, these youngsters always sang in 

 the manner of the adult bird. This strain is not limited to five or six 

 notes, but ranges, according to my observations, from four to fourteen, 

 not including a twittered prelude which ofttimes introduces the song 

 proper. 



At first my captives were confined in cages, but latterly have had the 

 freedom of a room where they can fly about and bathe at pleasure. A 



