58 N'OUTir AMKiaCAN ItlliDS. 



In tliia vestrietod distiiltution tlio jtrosont bird is a companion of tho 

 Mi'lospi'M mi'iliifiii, var. /iirnmnnii, and Ww c'liaiiictfiistics of form are tlio 

 same in Ixitii as comiiarcd witli tiieir Middle Province and Northern repre- 

 s(!ntatives ; wliile tliey Itotli differ from the latter (foirnsouli of J'umicrdla, and 

 riijinn of MiloKpiz(i) in jjiirer, lij^hter, and less brown colors. 



llAHirs. Dr. (;oo])er met with several individnals of this bird toward,? the 

 snnmiits of the Sierra Nevada, in Septendjer, liSOlt, but was unal)le to preserve 

 any of them. So far as he was able to observe them, they bad no sony, and 

 their habits W(!re ;,'enei'ally similar to those of i\w P. towmeuili. 



The Thick-billed Sparrow was foiiml by Mr. liidyway as a very common 

 bird amony tho alder swamjis in the ravines of the eastern slope of the Sierra 

 Nevada durin,t,' the summer. Near Carson ("ity, A])ril 25, in a swampy 

 thicket near the streams in the level slopes, he, beard, tor the first time, its 

 beautiful sonj,', and killed a s))ecimon in the midst of its utterance of what, 

 he adds, was one of the most exipiisitely rich utterances he ever heard. 

 This song, he states, resemliles, in richness and volume, that of the Louisi- 

 ana Water Thrush (Sfinrus IndorUldniiH), (juidities in which that bird is 

 har<lly e<[ualled by any other North American bird. They were sinj,Mi!g 

 in all parts of that swampy th ;ket, and up the ravines as far as the snow. 

 P^rom the nature of the ])lace and the character of their song, they were 

 at first supposed to be the Water Thrush, until specimens of these ex- 

 quisite songsters were secured, lie regards this bird as second to none of 

 our singers belonging to this family, and though in variety, si)rightlines,s, 

 and continuity, and also in passionate emotional character, its song is not 

 equfvl to that of the ('hand est cti f/nimmar(f, yet it is far superior in power and 

 richne.'^s of tone. Mr. IJidgway regards this l)ird as easily distinguishable 

 from the J\ schixfdirn, of which, however, it is only a variety. There is a 

 total discrepancy in its notes, and while neither s])ecies is resident in the 

 latitude of Carson City, through which both kinds jmss in their migraticms, 

 the P. sr/ii.Htomi lingers in the spring only a short time, soon passing to the 

 northward, while the /'. nujinrli unehnn arrives later and remains through the 

 summer. The former makes its temporary abode among the willows along 

 the river, while the latter breeds in the shrubbery of the mountain ravines. 



SUBF.XMII.Y SFIZINiE. 



Chah. Bill variable, always larfro, nuioli niflicd, ami with llic onlni(>n considcralily 

 ciirvfd ; sometimes of enornious size, and with a frieater development haekward of the 

 lower jaw, wliieh is always appn.-eialtly, sometime.s con.siderably, broader behind than the 

 upper jaw at its base ; nostrils exposed. Tail rather \-arial)le. Bill peneniliy blaok, li^ht 

 blue, or red. Winjrs .shorter than in tho first frroup. (Jape almost always nnieh more 

 stronjrly bristleci. Few of the speeies sparrow-liko or jilaiti in their appearance; usually 

 blue, red, or blauk and white ; except in one or two instances the se.ves very diflFerent in 

 color. 



