594 BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY. 



ZONOTKICHIA QUERULA, {¥iitt.) Gamb. 



Harris's Fmcn. 



A fine series of specimens of this handsome and interesting Finch 

 was secured at our Mouse River Depot during the latter half of Sep- 

 tember and beginning of October. Its breeding-grounds are as yet 

 unknown ; but these birds, at any rate, came from the north, and, as I 

 was out every day with my gun about that time, the earliest date given 

 below (September 18) probably indicates very nearly the time of their 

 arrival. The previous year I had observed the birds at Fort Randall, 

 Dakota, in October; but none remained through the winter in that 

 locality. According to Prof. F. H. Snow, of Kansas, they winter in 

 that State, and they have been observed by others in abundance during 

 the migrations along the Lower Missouri, in Missouri and Iowa. I saw 

 none at Pembina, where I suppose I arrived after they had passed on. 

 The distribution of the species is very limited, and, as already observed, 

 its breeding-range is not yet made out. My Mouse River specimens are, 

 I think, the westernmost hitherto recorded. These were all in fall plu- 

 mage, apparently of the first year, though a portion of the White- 

 crowned Sparrows that t^ame with them had perfect head-markings. 

 They came very quietly from the north, and all at once thronged the 

 bushes and shrubbery along the banks of the stream, in company with 

 several other brush-loving Fringillines. At this period, they were song- 

 less, and had no note excepting a weak chirp. When disturbed at their 

 avocations, they have a habit of flying up to the tops of the bushes to 

 see what the fuss is about, and in this conspicuous position they may of 

 course be readily destroyed. Their general habits appear to be much 

 the same as those of the other Zonotrichice, though their large size, red- 

 dishness, and heavy dark markings underneath make them look some- 

 what like Fox Sparrows. 



List of specimens. 



ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS INTERMEDIA, Bidg. 

 Ridgway's Sparrow. 



I was rather surprised to find that the White-crowned Sparrows of 

 tlie Mouse River country were of this variety instead of typical leuco- 



