WITH BROWN PREDOMINATING 245 



coin Sparrow. About the edges of a mountain meadow 

 as well as in the wet lowlands, he flits in and out of the 

 willows, giving the observer as little opportunity to see 

 him as he can, and never so absorbed in his insect- 

 hunting as to forget the presence of a stranger. His 

 song is rarely heard, yet he has a happy little lay not 

 unlike that of a song sparrow but inferior in quality. 



His nest is deftly concealed on the ground, and he 

 approaches it by a circuitous route, dodging through the 

 grass and never by any chance revealing its whereabouts. 

 Only by catching a glimpse of him with food in his bill 

 one may be able to guess at its location, and that there 

 are young to be fed. 



585 a. TOWNSEND SPARROW. — Vasserella iliaca 

 tonmsendi. 



Family : The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 7.00-7.50. 



Adults : Upper parts bright chestnut, mixed with gray ; wings, upper 



tail-coverts, and tail rusty brownish ; under parts white, with dark 



brown markings on chest. 

 Young : Similar to adults. 

 Geographical Distribution : Pacific coast region from Alaska south in 



winter to California. 

 Breeding Range : From British Columbia north through Alaska. 

 Breeding Season : Hay and June. 

 Nest : Of grasses, moss, and vegetable fibres, closely woven together ; 



placed near the ground, in dense thickets. 

 Eggs: 3 to 5 ; pale bluish green, spotted and blotched with reddish 



brown and lilac. Size 0.90 X 0.66. 



The Townsend Sparrow is one of the largest and red- 

 dest of all our fox sparrows, and in his musical efforts is 



