336 FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



or buffy, faintly streaked with gray. Young : upper parts grayish brown, 

 streaked with black ; under parts pale fulvous white, strongest on sides of 

 neck and flanks. Male: length (skins) 5.20-5.50, wing 2.30-2.42, tail 

 1.92-2.27, bill .50-.53. Female : length (skins) 4.95-5.40, wing 2.15-2.30, 

 tail 2.00-2.15, bill .49-. 52. 



Distribution. Coast of Texas. 



Eggs. 3 or 4, pale greenish white, finely spotted over entire surface 

 and wreathed around larger end with reddish brown and plum color. 



GENUS CHONDESTES. 



General Characters. Bill conical ; wing long and pointed ; tail long, 

 rounded ; tarsus about twice as long as exposed culmen. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Averaging darker and grayer grammacus, p. 336. 



1'. Averaging paler and browner strigatus, p. 336. 



552. Chondestes grammacus (Say). LARK SPARROW. 



Similar to the western lark sparrow, but averaging darker and grayer, 

 with black streaks on back broader and chestnut on head rather darker ; 

 wings and tail shorter. Male: length (skins) 5.50-6.40, wing 3.23-3.69, 

 tail 2.54-3.08, bill .41-.48. Female : length (skins) 5.80-6.15, wing 3.20- 

 3.38, tail 2.54-2.70, bill .44-.47. 



Distribution. Breeds in Upper Sonoran zone in southern Ontario and 

 through the Mississippi Valley region to Texas and Alabama ; and from 

 Ohio west to western Nebraska ; casually to Atlantic coast and (during 

 migration) Florida. 



Nest and eggs like those of strigatus. 



652a. C. g. strigatus (Swains.). WESTERN LARK SPARROW. 



Adults. Sides of head with chestnut patch and black and white streaks ; 

 crown chestnut, with white or buffy median stripe ; rest of upper parts 

 brownish gray, the back streaked with blackish ; tail blackish brown with 

 white corners, all but middle feathers tipped with white ; under parts white, 

 with a small black central spot on breast. Young : without chestnut patch 

 or black and white streaks on head ; entire upper parts buffy or brownish, 

 streaked ; chest with wedge-shaped blackish streaks. Male : length (skins) 

 5.60-6.60, wing 3.20-3.62, tail 2.52-3.00, bill .41-.54. Female: length 

 (skins) 5.50-6.75, wing 3.12-3.51, tail 2.40-2.81, bill .42-.51. 



Distribution. Breeds in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones, from 

 British Columbia and Manitoba south to the plateau of Mexico, and from 

 the plains to California ; migrates to Guatemala. 



Nest. On ground or in bushes or trees, sometimes in mistletoe or 

 mesquite, made of dried grasses, plant stems, and fibers. Eggs : 3 to 6, 

 white, sometimes with a faint bluish or brownish tinge, speckled and lined 

 chiefly on larger end with black and brown. 



Food. Grasshoppers, locusts, and weevils, with seeds of weeds and 

 grass, and waste grain. 



The lark sparrow is one of the commonest, most familiar western 

 birds, seeming equally at home when walking over the smooth lawn 

 of a Pasadena millionaire, singing from the top of the sagebrush, or 

 perching on a Spanish bayonet on a rocky Texas mesa. 



