1912] Taylor: Birds and Kept lies of Northern Nevada. 391 



particularly unattractive, being very dry by this time (August 

 3). The adults did not venture away from the ranches. 



The striking similarity between the habits of Passercidus and 

 those of Melospiza was very evident. This extended to appear- 

 ance, movements, song, and habitat. There was one marked 

 difference between the tw^o, however, in the latter regard. While 

 the song sparrows were confined almost exclusively to the willows 

 along the Quinn River, the Savannah was found alike in this 

 situation and in the grass of the marsh. 



A single nest was found, May 24. The female was flushed 

 from it and flew heavily away, feigning injury. The structure 

 was located in a slight depression on a low hummock in the 

 marsh, being completely surrounded by mud and water. The 

 grass about it was sparse. The nest had been built between a 

 large clod of earth and a piece of cowdung, and was composed 

 of coarse pieces of wild hay and marsh grass, and lined with 

 fine grasses and threads of horsehair. Dimensions of the cavity 

 were: diameter 5-4 mm. (2yg inches), depth 42 mm. (1% inches). 

 It contained five eggs, the incubation of which was just begun. 

 Both parents remained near while the nest was being examined. 



Twenty-five specimens of this new form (see Grinnell, 1910, 

 p. 311) were obtained. 



Chondestes grammacus strigatus Swainson 

 Western Lark Sparrow 



Distribution.— GeneraWy distributed over the desert from 

 Winnemucca to Alder Creek Ranch. It was not noted above 

 7000 feet altitude. Its habitat is apparently exclusively within 

 the Upper Sonoran life zone. 



Habits. — Lark sparrows were in full song from the last of 

 May Avell into June. One bird was observed on an alder on 

 Big Creek with two grasshoppers in its mouth. Parents wdth 

 young in juvenal plumage were observed on the sage flats of 

 Big Creek Canon the first week in July. There is little doubt 

 that the species was nesting in the region. 



It may be that the birds move from the flats to the foothills 

 for nesting purposes, for while they were commonly observed at 

 Quinn River Crossing before May 22. after that date they be- 



