240 LAND BIRDS 



581a. DESERT SONG SPARROW. — Melospiza melodia 

 fallax. 



Family : The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 6.10-6.50. 



Adults: Upper parts light gray; back streaked with rusty, usually 



without blackish shaft-line ; under parts brownish buffy ; chest 



streaked with chestnut. 

 Young : Upper parts dull brown ; back streaked with brown ; under 



parts buH'y white ; chest streaked. 

 Geographical Distribution : New Mexico, Arizona, Southern Nevada, 



Utah, Southern and Lower California. 

 California Breeding Range : In extreme southeastern portion, along the 



lower Colorado River. 

 Breeding Season . April and May. 

 Nest : Of grasses, weeds, and leaves ; lined with fine grass stems, roots, 



and sometimes hair ; placed in low bushes, or in tufts of grass on the 



ground. 

 Eggs : i ; light greenish or bluish white, more or less spotted with 



brown. Size 0.75 X 0.55. 



The Song Sparrow is a bird with a name that fits. 

 Every day in the month, every month in the year, you 

 may hear his ecstatic song. In rain or shine, in heat or 

 cold, whether in Maine or California, he is the same 

 jolly fellow, singing his glad little roundelay, a " plain, 

 every-day home song with the heart left in." And he 

 may be found everywhere. No State in the Union lacks 

 the cheer of his sunny presence. To be sure, he has 

 various prefixes to his name, — as in California he is 

 dubbed " Desert Song Sparrow," " Mountain Song Spar- 

 row," " Heerman Song Sparrow," " Samuels," " Rusty," 

 " Santa Barbara," " San Clementa," and " Merrill " Song 

 Sparrow, — each name indicating some variation of plu- 

 mage due to environment. In the extreme northern por- 



