THE DESERT WHITE-CROWNED 

 SPARROW 



(Zonotrichia leucophrys intermedia) 



October 15. Now that the desert white-crowns 

 have returned, and we hear their earnest and 

 cheerful songs from almost every weed and 

 brush tangle, we know that autumn days have 

 come for good. With the arrival of the warm 

 spring days they left us, and all summer they 

 have been foraging in far Northern meadows 

 and busying themselves with the important 

 work of rearing families. Since these nursery 

 duties are over, they are glad to be back again 

 to the warm desert lowlands, even though for a 

 little while they must be content with the 

 scant fare that is left for them. Scarcely any- 

 thing has been growing all summer and the 

 small crop of seeds which ripened in early 

 spring has largely been buried by the winds or 

 picked up by the resident birds before the flocks 

 of white-crowns and chipping sparrows arrived. 

 The desert sparrows seem to know that if 



