Notes on the Plumage of North American Sparrows 



TWENTY-SECOND PAPER 



By W. DeW. MILLER 



(See Frontispiece) 



Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana, Figs, i and 2). — The bright cinna- 

 mon wings, without white bars, and the tawny brown flanks are the diagnostic 

 features of the Swamp Sparrow. The juvenal (nestling) dress differs from 

 subsequent plumages chiefly in the darker shade of the wings, the coverts 

 lacking the cinnamon of older birds, and in the buffy, black-streaked chest. 

 The resemblance to the young Song and Lincoln's Sparrows is close, but the 

 crown is usually darker. 



The first winter plumage is assumed by a complete molt of the body feathers. 

 In this, as in later plumages, the underparts are normally unmarked, but 

 there are frequently a few narrow black streaks on the sides of the breast, 

 rarely extending across the chest. Birds at this stage are often tinged with yel- 

 low, particularly about the face. The spring molt involves chiefly the feathers 

 of the crown and throat. In the male, the chestnut cap is assumed, often, 

 however, in the first breeding plumage, streaked with black. 



The adult winter plumage, gained by a complete molt in August and Sep- 

 tember, resembles that of the first winter; but the gray of the head and neck 

 is clearer, and there is usually more chestnut in the crown. (In the figure 

 representing the winter plumage, there is too abrupt and great a contrast 

 between the dark shaded breast and the white belly.) In the fully adult breed- 

 ing plumage, acquired by a partial spring molt, as in younger birds, the chestnut 

 cap is pure and extensive. 



The female resembles the male in all plumages, but the crown is usually 

 streaked with black and with an indication of the gray median stripe; occa- 

 sional birds, however, scarcely differ from the adult male. 



Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolni, Fig. 3). — Few birds present so 

 little variation in plumage as does this species. Not only are the sexes alike 

 at all seasons, but even the juvenal plumage bears a general resemblance 

 to that of the adult. There is no spring molt, and the only effect of wear is a 

 slight fading of the browns and buffs, bringing the black streaks into sharper 

 contrast. In juvenal dress this species closely resembles the young of the 

 Swamp and Song Sparrows. Even when adult, its general appearance is that 

 of a Song Sparrow, but its buff malar stripe and breast band, and the finer 

 streaking of the latter, serve to distinguish it. 



Lincoln's Sparrow is distributed over the greater part of North America. 

 A local race known as Forbush's Sparrow (M. I. striata) is confined to the 

 Pacific coast region, breeding in Alaska and wintering south to southern 

 Lower California. It is slightly smaller and more heavily streaked than the 

 common form. 



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