GROSBEAKS, FINCHES, SPARROWS: Family Fringillidae [533] 



yellow, red, and black of these birds. Along with them were numbers 

 of Hermit Warblers and Gray Flycatchers, certainly a combination odd 

 enough to intrigue anyone's interest. 



Grosbeaks, Finches, Sparrows, and Buntings: 

 Family Fringillidae 



Black-headed Grosbeak: 



Hedymeles melanocephalus melanocephalus (Swainson) 



DESCRIPTION. "Adult male. Under parts cinnamon brown brightening to lemon yellow on 

 belly and under wing coverts; upper parts mainly black, with cinnamon brown collar 

 and rump, and sometimes brown stripes back of eye, through middle of crown, and on 

 back; wings and tail black, wings with two white bars and white patch at base of 

 quills, tail with white corners. Winter male: lighter brown on upper parts. Adult 

 female: upper parts blackish brown, streaked with pale brownish or buffy; collar 

 buffy white; wing bar white; under parts dull buffy, yellowish on belly, flanks, and 

 sometimes breast; sides streaked; under wing coverts lemon yellow. Winter female : 

 with buffy or brown stronger; lateral crown stripe streaked with black. Young: 

 much like adult female, but under parts paler, without yellow on belly; back 

 spotted; crown stripes uniform blackish brown. Male: length (skins) 6.60-7.70, 

 wing 3.71-4.30, tail 1.79-3.38, bill .60-. 80. Female: length (skins) 6.15-7.80, wing 

 3.71-4.11, tail 1.70-3.40, bill .61-. 78." (Bailey) Nest: A flimsy platform of twigs 

 and weeds, in trees or bushes (Plate 91, A). Eggs: 3 or 4, bluish white, heavily 

 spotted with brown. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from southern British Columbia south through 

 California to Lower California. Winters in Mexico. In Oregon: Common summer 

 resident and breeding bird of valleys of entire State, least common along northern 

 coast but present in small numbers. 



THIS SHOWY BIRD, the Black-headed Grosbeak (Plate 91), which replaces 

 the Rose-breasted Grosbeak from the Great Plains westward, is widely 

 distributed in Oregon. It was first reported from the State by Bendire 

 (1877), who considered it rare at Camp Harney, as did Merrill (1888) at 

 Fort Klamath. Since that time many writers have mentioned it for 

 various parts of the State. It is perhaps most abundant or at least most 

 conspicuous in the Rogue River Valley and in the shrub- and tree-filled 

 canyons of eastern Oregon, although we have found it to be a common 

 bird along the Columbia River. When out of song it is less easily detected 

 in the tall trees and dense undergrowth. On the coast we have records 

 for Curry, western Lane, and Tillamook Counties but regard it as much 

 less common than inland. In addition to these records, Dr. A. K. Fisher 

 (ms. notes) found it both at Astoria and Tillamook in 1897, and Overton 

 Dowell, Jr., (ms., in Biological Survey records) reported it from Mercer 

 in western Lane County. It arrives in May (earliest date, April 17, 



