WITH BROWN PREDOMINATING 247 



for at least two weeks afterwards. Then his fine song 

 is hushed and only the metallic " tseep " of his call note 

 is heard. Until the nestlings are three or four days old 

 they are fed by regurgitation, and after that upon insect 

 food. 



Usually the Townsend Sparrows fly and feed in small 

 flocks, often along the roadside thickets, and occasion- 

 ally they stray into the city parks in the winter season. 

 In the great State of California, with its varied climate, 

 which produces variations of form and coloring, the 

 fox sparrows have been divided into several subspecies. 

 These are all so much alike in habits that the descrip- 

 tion of one applies to all, with a few modifications to be 

 noted in the diflierent subspecies. 



585 b. THICK-BILLED SF ARROW. — Passerella iliaca 

 megarhyncha. 



Family : The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 7.00-7.75. 



Adults : Bill thick ; upper parts plain brownish gray, becoming rusty 



brownish on wings, upper tail-coverts, and tail ; under parts white, 



with small dark brown spots on chest. 

 Young : Similar to adults. 

 Geographical Distribution: Mountains of California, including eastern 



slope of the Sierra Nevada. South in winter to Los Angeles County. 

 California Breeding Range : From Mt. Shasta south to Mt. Whitney, in 



Boreal and Transition zones. 

 Breeding Season : June. 

 Nest : Of plant fibre and willow bark ; lined with grasses and horsehair ; 



placed on or near the ground, in thickets. 

 Sggs : 3 or 4 ; pale bluish green, spotted with dark brown. Size 



0.86 X 0.64. 



The Thick-billed Sparrow inhabits the forests of the 

 Transition and Boreal zones, breeding among the ever- 



