UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



IN 



ZOOLOGY 



Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 197-199 February 18, 1911 



THE MODESTO SONG SPARROW 



BY 



JOSEPH GEINNELL 

 (Contribution from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California) 



Melospiza melodia mailliardi, new subspecies. 



Type.— Male adult ; no. 16687, Univ. Calif. I\Ius. Vert. Zool. ; 

 Rancho Dos Rios, near Modesto, Stanislaus County, California; 

 April 6, 1910 ; collected by Joseph Mailliard ; orig. no. 7200. 



Diagnostic Characters. — General size large, bill large, and 

 markings broad and dark ; resembles Melospiza melodia maxillaris 

 closely in these respects, but shape of bill different, more nearly 

 like that in M. m. lieerynanni. 



Remarks. — The bill is the distinctive feature of the new form 

 mailliardi. Comparison with topotypes olJieermanni shows the 

 bill of mailliardi to be, as far as perceptible, identical in all pro- 

 portions, though uniformly slightly larger. Comparison of the 

 bill of mailliardi with that of maxillaris shows the two to be prac- 

 tically identical in outline as viewed from the side ; but when 

 viewed dorsally the bill of mailliardi presents a very much nar- 

 rower outline, there being scarcely any indication of the lateral 

 swellings of the maxilla characterizing the bill of maxillaris. 

 (See Univ. Calif. Puhl. Zool, v. 5, April, 1909, pp. 265-267.) 



In coloration mailliardi is very much darker than heermanni, 

 having the streaking everywhere broad and black, with edgings 

 of deep bay, the latter color showing dorsally to the almost entire 

 exclusion of ashy marginings, there being mere traces of the 

 latter. In coloration, mailliardi differs from maxillaris only in 

 being a trifle less heavily marked on an average, that is, in "mass 

 effect" of compared series. 



