66 THE WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. 



The Harris Sparrow appears casually in Illinois and Wisconsin during 

 migrations, but no other instance of its occurrence has been reported from 

 any point further east. 



No. 32. 



WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. 



A. O. U. No. 554. Zonotrichia leucophrys (Forst.). 



Description. — Adult: Crown pure white, becoming gray behind; lateral 

 crown-stripes meeting in front, and post-ocular stripes, jet black, separated by 

 white stripe beginning at anterior angle of eye ; remainder of head, neck all around, 

 and entire under parts slaty gray, darkest on nape, whitening on chin and belly, 

 with a tawny wash on flanks and crissum; back and scapulars brown (burnt 

 umber) edged with gray ; rump and upper tail-coverts tawny olivaceous ; wings 

 and tail fuscous, the tertials dark-centered with edgings of bay and white ; middle 

 and greater coverts tipped with white, forming two inconspicuous wing-bars ; 

 rectrices with brown shafts and tawny edgings ; bill reddish brown with tip of 

 maxilla black. Young of the year have the black of head replaced by deep chest- 

 nut, and the white by ochraceo-fuscous or gray; in general darker and browner 

 above than adult. Length 6.50-7.00 ( 165.1-177.8) ; av. of seven Columbus speci- 

 mens: wing 3.14 (79.8); tail 2.90 (73.7); bill .43 (10.9). 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow size; broad white crown and jet black lateral 

 stripes strongly contrasting; throat not definitely nor abruptly white. 



Nesting. — ^Does not breed in Ohio. Nest, on the ground or in bushes, of 

 weeds and grasses lined with fine grass. Eggs, 4 or 5, pale bluish green, speckled 

 and spotted with reddish brown, chiefly at the larger end. Av. size, .91 x .61 

 (23.1 X 15.5). 



General Range. — North America at large, breeding chiefly in the Rocky 

 Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and northeast to Labrador. South in winter to 

 the Valley of Mexico. 



Range in Ohio. — A regular spring and fall migrant, sometimes lingering 

 into summer ; not so common as the next species. 



THIS handsome and courtly gentleman, with his no less polished wife, 

 is far more modest than liis talents would warrant. Already this season we 

 have leveled the glasses on a hundred heads, only to drop them again and 

 exclaim "Wliite-throat," in a tone of mild disgust. But here at last on the 

 tenth of May, we ha^•e come upon a company of the better birds holding court 

 in a long, dense rose-briar thicket, which lines a sheltered fence. Our atten- 

 tion was attracted by a soft, varied whistle of gentle melancholy, a perform- 

 ance which seemed to repoil correctly the sentiments of the whole party, for 

 it was caught up and repeated at courteous intervals by half a dozen throats. 



