256 



Mearns Oft the American Sparrotv Hmvkf. [J"ly 



signed to the winter or summer plumage without reference to the labels, 

 though one unusually pale winter specimen (No. 29,569, Am. Mas. coll., 

 January 27), and another exceptionally dark one, taken May 28 (No. 

 51,642, Am. Mus. coll.), approach each other closely. The newly ac- 

 quired feathers, in the four specimens taken during September and Octo- 

 ber, are somewhat more deeply colored than in winter birds, in which the 

 plumage has been worn for some time. Three of the four have but little 

 black spotting on the wing-coverts. 



There are 55 males from east of the Mississippi River, of which all but 

 8 have the date of capture fixed. Thirteen of those remaining are young, 

 leaving 34 for comparison as to the seasonal variation. From an examin- 

 ation of this material it appears that, though the individual variation in 

 the depth of coloring is far greater than in Western specimens, often 

 overlapping the seasonal difference, the average seasonal variation is the 

 same as in the Arizona series, just compared. The greatest intensity of 

 coloring is reached in the month of November, when the winter dress is 

 new, at which season the underparts, excepting the throat and crissum, 

 become deep cinnamon rufous, as exemplified by specimens from Penn- 

 sylvania (No. 1752, Smithsonian collection, Carlisle, November 25, 1844, 

 S. F. Baird) and Louisiana (Covington, November 15, 1889, G. Kohn). 

 During the first two months of winter this color gradually fades, becom- 

 ing pale pinkish buti' in some examples before the end of February, 

 while others retain a deeper tint through the spring months, through 

 delay in moulting, or being naturally deeper hued than most individuals. 

 As in the Arizona series, the wing-coverts are less spotted with black in 

 winter than in summer, several of them having this portion of the wing 

 entirely plain, while in others the sagittate spots are few in number; and 

 corresponding differences in the seasonal coloration of the upper surface 

 of the body are found, though the pale, huffy collar is indistinct in the 

 Eastern bird. The seasonal variation in other parts of North America 

 corresponds closely to that noted in the above series from Arizona and 

 the eastern United States; but the data at command are insufficient to 

 show the amount and character of seasonal changes in the plumage of the 

 forms from Central and South America, the date of capture having been 

 written on but few labels. The change from the pale summer dress to 

 the darker plumage of winter occurs with the fall moult, from August to 

 October, being complete in most cases by the end of the latter month. 



Females are considerably darker in winter than in summer. The dates 

 of capture of 17 females, taken by the writer in central Arizona, cover 

 every month of the year but June and August. Beyond the conditions 

 incident to a change of plumage, the seasonal variation is confined to a 

 paling of the colors in summer, at which season the upper surface is 

 chiefly ochraceous cinnamon instead of the darker, more vinaceous, tint of 

 winter. A similar difference is noted in the females from other regions 

 though the number of specimens from single localities is insufficient for a 

 thorough comparison. 



