18S4.] Ct)OKK on Harris's Fi?ic/i. 335 



while probably half of them showed black feathers amonj^ the 

 brownish ones of the throat and breast. The rest had no sign of 

 a black throat-patch, and but little black on the head. Entering 

 suddenly an open spot in the woods I surprised a family party of 

 six or eight, sitting quietly on the bare ground. This was the 

 first time I ever knew them to rest so when bushes were near. 

 They scurried off into the thick brush as if ashamed at being 

 caught in such a humble position. 



Jan. 8. Determined as a song of the Harris's Sparrow, a note 

 which I had formerly supposed was uttered by the Cardinal, in 

 whose company it is usually found. This Sparrow now has two 

 notes, one a clear whistle, something like that of Z. albicollis; 

 the other a queer, chuckling note, unlike any other song with 

 which I am familiar. By throwing some bird-seed on the south 

 porch of my house we had a whole colony of Sparrows in plain 

 sight under the window. A party of some twenty Harris's Spar- 

 rows almost monopolized the free lunch ; but one bright Cardinal 

 came occasionally to take a peck, and among the jaunty, stylish 

 querula could be seen one or two White-crowns in plain brown 

 head gear, and the still more humble Tree Sparrow, which, how- 

 ever, made up for its lack of beauty by additional industry, devour- 

 ing more seeds to the minute than any of the others. 



Jan. 13. The Zonoti'ichice seem to be rather queerly dispersed 

 in this country. Lencophrys is the least common, and is found 

 almost entirely in the weed patches about town and on the edges 

 of the prairies. Querula comes next in numbers, and most of 

 them remain in the thickets along the water-courses; a few stray 

 into town, especially in the coldest weather and still fewer into the 

 heavy timber. Albicollis^ most numerous of all, keeps strictly 

 to the bottom-land, and even there I found them to-day only in 

 those parts of the timber where there was a heavy undergrowth 

 for shelter. About a hundred albicollis were seen to-dav in some 

 four or five parties. These parties always contained several other 

 species of Fringillidae, but their combined numbers were hardly 

 more than the Peabodys. They consisted of Tree Sparrows, 

 Black Snowbirds, Song Sparrows, and Field Sparrows. Not a 

 leucophrys nor querula was identified after I reached the heavy 

 timber. 



Feb.. 15. A party seen — the first for some time ; they were all 

 dull-colored — not a black head among them. 



