5G 



Xor.TII AMKIUCAX niRDS. 



tl331 3 



Passerella townsendi, var. schistacea, r>AiKD. 



Pdnsercl/ii sdiisftiiai, Uaiki*, lUnls X. Am. IboS, 490, j»l. Ixix, f. 3. 



Sp. CiiAK. Bill slrtidcT, the k'ligth boin;; ..*>4 from nostril, the depth .25 ; the nppor 



iiiainli!»le much swolUn at the biu*e ; the under 



yellow. Above and on the siiles uniform slate- 



^'ray ; the upper surface of wind's, tail-feather.", 



;f^ \\ -- mu '""^ upper eove"t.-i dark l)rownish-ruf()Us ; ear- 



~^ \ -V ^ ^ coverts streaked with white. JJencath pur*; 



whit«', with Inroad trian^nilar arrow-sliaped and 

 well-dethied spots of slate-jjrjiy like the back 

 everywhere, exeept alonjj: the middle of the belly ; 

 not numerous on the throat. A hoary spot at the 

 bajiO of tlu; bill al»ove the loral re«jion ; axillars 

 nearly white. Len^'th, 0.80; vintr.-i.oO; tail, .'i..>0. 

 Hah. TTead-waters of Platte and middle re^'ion of United ^States to Fort Tejon and to 

 Fort Crook, California. 



This s])eeies is readily ilistiiigiiislKMl from P. iVmca by the slaty back and 

 spots oil the breast, the al)seiice of streaks above, and the longer claws. From 

 fnicnseui/i it difl'ers in having the Jiead, bai.'k, sides, and sj)ots beneath slate- 

 colored, instead of dark reddish-brown. Tlie spotting beneath is much more 

 spai"se, the spots smaller, more triangular, and confined to the terminal 

 portion of the feathers, instead of frequently involving the entire outer edge. 

 The axillars are paler. Tlie wings and tail arc the same in botli species. 



The young bird is quite similar; but tlie S])ots l)eneath are badly defined, 

 more numerous, and longitudinal ratlier than trianguhir. 



There can be little doubt, however, that this bird is a geographical race 

 of P. tou'iiseudi. 



Habits. For all tliat we know in regard to the habits and general distri- 

 bution of this species, we are indebted to the observations of Mr. Kidgway, 

 who met with it while accompanying ^Ir. Clarence King's geological survey. 

 It was first obtained in July, 1850, })y Lieutenant F. T. Bryan, on tlie Platte 

 Eiver, and others were atlerwards collected at Fort Tejon by Mr. Xantus. 



Mr. Itidgway found the Slate-colored Sparrow at Carson City, during its 

 spring migrations northward, in the early part of March. At this time it 

 was seen only among the willow^s along the Carson Ifiver, and was by no 

 means common. It liad the habit of scratcliing among the dead leaves, on 

 the ground in the thickets, precisely after the manner of the eastern P. iliaca. 

 In the following September he again found it among the thickets in the 

 Upper Humboldt Valley. In Parley's Park, among tlie Wahsatch Moun- 

 tains, he found it a very plentiful species in June, nesting among the wil- 

 lows and other shrubbery alon*.; the streams. There it was always found in 

 company with the M. faUa:i\ which in song it greatly resembles, though its 

 other notes are quite distinct, the ordinary one being a sharp chuck. The 





