FRINr.TM.ID.K — TIIK FINCIIEa. 571 



at the Summit i^ItfiKlow.s, near the summit of Douner Lake Pass of the Sierra 

 Nevada, at an altitude of aliout seven thousand feet. It was there an abun- 

 dant and ( liaraileiistii; liirtl. Tiie males were in full son«{ in all ])arts of the 

 meadow, and were nestinj,' in such numl)ers that on the evenint; of .July 9, 

 on halting for the night, in a hurried search no less than twenty-seven of 

 their eggs were obtained within about fifteen minutes. In every instanco 

 the nests were endnidded under a speeies of dwarf-willow, with which the 

 ground was covered. The birds were extremely misuspicious, the male often 

 sitting on a bush witiiin a few feet of the collector, aiul chanting merrily as 

 the eggs were being Ijlown. In one instance, having occasion to rei)ass a spot 

 from which a nest had been taken, the female was found sitting in the cavity 

 from which its nest had been removed. Tiiis species is only a winter visitant 

 of the lower country, but is there universally distributed, and always found 

 in bushy localities. 



Mr. IJannister states that this bird was tolerably abuiulant among the 

 alder-bushes in certain parts of St. iMichael's Island. Mr. Dall found it 

 common at Nulato, and es])ecially so at Fort Yukon. It arrived at Niilato 

 about May 2U. Its nests and eggs were obtained from Indians at Nowika- 

 kat, on the Yukon IJiver. Dr. Kennerly met with these birds, in February, 

 at White ( 'liif Creek, New Mexico. They were first observed on ajjproach- 

 ing the liig Sandy, and from thence to the Colorado they were I'ouiul in abun- 

 dance. They were mostly in tlocks, and were generally found among the 

 bushes, in the vicinity of water. He also met with it in the valley of the 

 liio ( Irande, Corralitos, and Janos Kivers. It .seemed to prefer the vicinity 

 of settlements, where it was always seen in greater numbers than else- 

 where. 



Mr. Dresser found these birds common about San Antonio, Texas, during 

 the winter, arriving late in September. Some may remain and breed, as sev- 

 eral were observed there in June. Dr. Coues also found them abundant in 

 Arizona, where he first observed them September 15. After this they became 

 exceedingly numerous, and remained so until January. Later than this only 

 a few stragglers were seen, until April, when they again became abundant. 

 By far the greater part left, and i)roceeded north to breed. 



These Sparrows were found l»reeding on the Yukon and at Fort Anderson 

 in great numbers by Messrs. MacFarlane, Lockhart, and Ross. Their nests 

 were in nearly all ca.ses fcniud upon the ground, often in tufts of grass, 

 clumps of Labrador tea, or other low bushes. Tiiey were composed of hay, 

 and, in nearly every instance, were lined with deer's hair, and in a few with 

 feathers. A few were without any lining. In selecting a situation for their 

 nests, they seemed generally to give the preference to open or thinly wooded 

 tracts. The male bird was usually seen, or its note heard, in the immediate 

 vicinity of the nest. The eggs were obtained from the 4th of June to the 

 1st of July. Their maximum number was six ; the most common, four. 



Mr. B. II. Eoss states that this species arrives at the Arctic Circle from 



