GROSBEAKS, FINCHES, SPARROWS: Family Fringillidae [557] 



Aleutian Savannah Sparrow: 



Passerculus sandwichensis sandwichensis (Gmelin) 



DESCRIPTION. "Adults: Crown stripe and superciliary well marked, and superciliary 

 usually decidedly yellow; upper parts grayish brown, heavily streaked with black, the 

 streaks in sharp contrast to feather edgings of whitish, grayish, or buffy; under 

 parts white, sometimes, especially in fall and winter, tinged with buffy on sides and 

 chest; sides of throat, chest, sides, and flanks streaked with blackish; longer under 

 tail coverts with concealed streaks. Young: similar, but light streaks of upper parts 

 bufty, dark streaks of lower parts less defined, superciliary usually without yellow, 

 and finely streaked with dusky. Male: length (skins) 4.93-5.75, wing 1.91-3.14, 

 t ail i. oo-i. 10, bill .44-. 50. Female: length (skins) 4.88-5.74, wing 1.70-3.06, tail 

 1.85-1.10, bill .44-. 50." (Bailey) Nest and eggs: Same as for P. s. alaudinus. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds in Unalaska and adjacent islands. Winters east- 

 ward and southward along coast to central California. In Oregon: Rather uncom- 

 mon migrant resident. Most common along coast, although there are records 

 inland as far as Klamath and Crook Counties. 



THE BIG Aleutian Savannah Sparrow is easily distinguished in the hand 

 from all other forms and can usually be detected in the field by its much 

 larger size. It appears in September (earliest date, September 2.7) and 

 remains until November (latest date, November 5), and in the spring is 

 present from April (earliest date, March 2.4) until May (latest date, May 

 2.0). The first record from the State, that of Henshaw (1880), who took 

 birds on Crooked River in September, is also the farthest inland of two 

 records from east of the Cascades. The second one is Merrill's (1888), 

 from Fort Klamath. Woodcock (1901) listed it from Salem, Beaverton, 

 and Corvallis, and Walker (192.4) recorded a specimen from Netarts the 

 first coast record, although at present we find it to be much more regular 

 in its appearance there than elsewhere in the State. 



We have specimens from Netarts, Ocean Park, Port Orford, and Otter 

 Crest along the coast and from Corvallis and Portland inland. In addi- 

 tion, we have four specimens, two from Eagle Point, Jackson County 

 (Gabrielson), and one each from Gearhart and Netarts (Jewett Collec- 

 tion), that must be placed here unless P. a. anthinus is recognized, in 

 which case, according to Swarth, these four records belong in that form. 



Nevada Savannah Sparrow: 



Passerculus sandwichensis nevadensis Grinnell 



DESCRIPTION. Whole lower surface pure white, with narrow blackish streaking on 

 sides of throat, pectoral region, and flanks; sides and top of head with whitish 

 ground, upon which the black streaking is sharply defined; anterior part of super- 

 ciliary stripe pale canary yellow; whole back, wings, and tail with feathers cen- 

 trally fuscous or dull blackish and with conspicuous edgings of either whitish or 

 pale-clay color, or both; outer web and tip of outermost rectrix white, and next 

 three inner rectrices outwardly margined and tipped with white but successively 

 more narrowly. Similar to P. s. alaudinus and savanna but much paler throughout 



