28 NORTH AMKiaCAN lilllDS. 



fi'atlu'r.M ; frcnorally llic colms innrc hlciiilcil. ("iciiciiil iipponrnnfo nlmvp li;;lit i iifoiis- 

 liiiiWM, (lie iiiti'rs<'ii|)iiliii' ii'}{i()ii slicakc'il vny oiisdlrli'ly willi iliiik lirow iii.sli-nitbiis, tlio 

 li'iitlicis ol' (lie crown siiiiiliir, with still diukci ''^olt'to cciitnil streaks. A siipcicilinry 

 Hiul VL'iy iiiilistiiicl iiu'dian cpDWii-stripc asiiy. I'iuIim- parts dull white, tlio breast ami 

 sides of thioat ami hody liroadly streaked witii dark hrownish-ruloiis ; darker in the 

 centre. A lij;ht niaxillaiy stripe. Sides of the liody and anal ref^ioii tiiij,'ed stronirly with 

 tlie colors of the rnnip. Under coverts lirown. Lenf,'lh. (!.7o ; win;,'. '2.7tl; 'ail, ;!.()(•. 

 Legs rather darker than in vielot/in. iiill from nostril, ..'!7 ; from forehead, .(iO. 

 Hah. Pacifif eoiust of the Unileil States to Hrilish Cohnnhia. 



A yotiiio liird from Xapa Valley, Cal. (12,012, ('oloiiol A. .1. (Jray.soii), 

 probably rel'i'rrilik' to tlii.s race, (lill'or,s I'roni the cori'csiioiicliii}.j .staoe of 

 heermunni, fn/i<t,r, and melodin in tlio following resjxicts : the },'roiin(l-c(ilor 

 above i.s much darker, l)eing dull dingy-brown, and the du.sky streak.'^ 

 broader; the white beneath has a . 'strong yellowish tinge, iind the pectoral 

 streaks are very broiid. 



Hawts. Dr. Cooper character i /OS tiiia species as the most northern and 

 mountain-frecpicnting representative of the Song Sparrows, being a resident 

 of the higher Sierra Nevada and on the borders of the evergreen forests 

 towards tlie Columbia, and tlience northward, where it is the only species of 

 this genus, and where it is common down to the level of the sea. Speciuums 

 have been obtained at Marysville in the spring, by Mr. Crnil)er. 



Dr. Cooper says tliat he lias also met with tiiis liird, iind found it pos- 

 sessing habits and songs entirely similar to those of tlie eastern M. nic/oi/id, 

 and resembling also those of the more southern J/, heermunni. He was 

 never able to meet with one of their nests, as, like other forest birds, they are 

 more artful in concealing their treasures than liirds that have become accus- 

 tomed to the .society and protection of man, and who, no longer wild, select 

 gardens as the safest places in which to liuild. In the mild winters usual 

 about the mouth of the Columbiii, the.se birds do not evince any disjMjsition 

 to emigrate, but come familiarly around the houses for their food, when the 

 snow has liuried their usual supjily. 



Dr. Suckley remarks that this Finch is quite a common l)ird in the vicinity 

 of I'uget Sound, and that it is tliert; resident throiighoui the yetir. lie litis 

 found them in very diHerent situations ; some in thickets at the edges of 

 prairies, others in stranded drift-logs on open salt niiirshes, a.s well as in 

 swamps, and in the dense forests of the Douglass firs, pecidiar to the north- 

 west coast. Its voice, he adds, is, during the breeding-season, singularly 

 sweet and melodious, surpassing that of the Meadow Lark in melody and 

 tone, but unequal to it in force. 



Tliis species is stated to be a constant resident in the district wherein it is 

 found, never ranging far from the thicket which contains its nest, or the 

 house in the neighborhood of which it finds food and protection. Alnioist 

 every winter morning, as well as during the summer, as Dr. Cooper states, its 

 cheerful song may be hciird 1'roni the garden or the fence, as if to repay those 

 whose presence has ju-otetited it from its ra])acioiis enemies. When unmo- 



