318 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



"List of Birds of Western Ontario," in 1882, in which it is men- 

 tioned as "breeding, but rare." More recently, Mr. Saunders informs 

 me that it breeds regularly near London. In the spring of 1885, I 

 .saw several on the Beach near Hamilton, and it is also reported by 

 Mr. Thompson as having been observed near Toronto. 



It is evidently, like some others, making its way into Ontario 

 around the west end of Lake Erie, and all lovers of birds will do 

 well to encourage its progress, for it is a sweet songster and a hand- 

 .some little bird of confiding, pleasing manners. 



GENUS ZONOTRICHIA SWAINSON. 

 ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS (FORST.). 



228. White-crowned Sparrow. (554) 



Adult*: Of both sexes with the crown pure white, enclosing on either side 

 .a broad black stripe that meets its fellow on the forehead and descends the 

 lores to the level of the eyes, and bounded by another black stripe that starts 

 behind the eye and curves around the side of the hind head, nearly meeting its 

 fellow on the nape ; edge of under eyelid, white. Or, we may say, crown 

 black, enclosing a median white stripe and two lateral white stripes, all 

 confluent 011 the hind head. General color, a fine dark ash, paler below, 

 whitening insensibly on the chin and belly, more brownish on the rump, 

 changing to dull brownish on the flanks and crissum, the middle of the back 

 streaked with dark purplish-bay and ashy-white. No bright bay like that of 

 albicolli* anywhere, except some edging on the wing covert and inner second- 

 aries ; middle and greater coverts, tipped with white, forming two bars ; iio 

 yellow anywhere ; bill and feet, reddish. Young : Birds have the black of the 

 head replaced by a very rich warm brown, the white of the head by pale 

 brownish, and the general ash has a brownish suffusion and the back is more 

 like albicollis. Length, 6.25-7 ; extent, 9.20-10.20 ; tail, 2.90-3.20. 



HAB. North America at large, breeding chiefly in the Rocky Mountain 

 region (including Sierra Nevada) and north-east to Labrador. 



Nest, on the ground among the bushes, composed of grass and weeds, 

 intermixed with moss and lined with fine, hair-like grass and rootlets. 



Eggs, four or five, ground color, greenish-blue, heavily clouded with choco- 

 late -brown. Very variable in pattern. 



The White-crowned Sparrow is a more northern bird than its 

 white-throated relative, but it does not arrive so early in spring, 

 seldom appearing along our southern border before the first week in 

 May. During the two succeeding weeks, it is very common among 

 the brambles and thorn bushes by the wayside. 



