WITH BROWN PREDOMINATING 



221 



r 



552 a. WESTERN LARK SPARROW. — Chondestes 

 grammacus strigatus. 



Family : The Finches^ Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 6.50-7.25. 

 Adults : Upper parts brown- 

 ish or brownish gray, the 



back streaked with blackish ; crown and 



ear-coverts chestnut with median stripe 



white or buffy ; black and white streaks 



on side of head, bordering the chestnut 



patch, also a black streak along each side 



of throat ; a small black spot on ■ middle 



of chest ; tail dark brown, all but middle 



feathers tipped with white ; under parts 



white, with a small black spot on breast. 

 Young : Upper parts buffy ; head without 



chestnut crown or patches or black and white streaks ; ^ 



chest streaked with dusky. 

 Geographical Distrihution : "Western United States east to 



Great Plains and Middle Texas, south to Mexico, north to 



British Columbia. 

 California Breeding Range: Upper Sonoran zone, chiefly in 



interior valleys west of the Sierra Nevada. 

 Breeding Season : May and June. 

 Nest : Of dried grasses, plant stems, and fibres ; placed on the 



ground, or in bushes and trees. 

 Bggs : 3 to 6 ; white or pale bluish or bVowni.sh, speckled and 



lined, chiefly on the larger end, with black and brown. 



Size 0.50 X 0.60. 



The Lark Sparrow is one of the sweetest 

 singers, as well as one of the most abundant of 

 the Western sparrows. Walking along the ^' 

 country roadside at any hour of the day during 

 April, May, or June, one is likely to hear " a 

 gush of silvery notes accompanied by a metallic 

 tremolo," and find the singer swinging on a weed 



552 a. Western 

 Lakk Sparrow. 



" The singer,^' 



