130 University of California Publications in Zoology [Vol. 30 



Spizella passerina passerina (Bechstein) . Eastern Chipping Sparrow 



Seen at Careross, May 22. In the Atlin region this is a fairly com- 

 mon species in the lowlands. It probably does not nest on the higher 

 mountain slopes, but at the end of the summer there was a slight 

 movement toward higher altitudes. In the upper part of Otter Creek, 

 up to about 4500 feet altitude, chipping sparrows were fairly common 

 at the end of July and during the first week in August. The last 

 chipping sparrow was seen August 24, near Atlin. Three specimens 

 were collected (nos. 44839-44841), two adult males and one male in 

 Juvenal plumage. 



Spizella taverneri Swarth and Brooks. Timber-line Sparrow 



The discovery of this species (see Swarth and Brooks, 1925, p. 67) 

 was one of the most interesting of the season's results. In general 

 appearance Spizella taverneri resembles Spizella breweri closely 

 enough that we could not be sure in the field that it was not breweri 

 that we had found, but the known range of breweri was so distant, 

 and the conditions surrounding this bird were so widely different 

 from those in the habitat of breweri, as to arouse our strong interest. 



We first encountered the timber-line sparrow on July 8, near the 

 summit of Monarch Mountain, about 4500 feet altitude. The sur- 

 roundings there are such as obtain generally above timber line in this 

 region, the country being open, grass covered for the most part, the 

 damper portions with small areas of false heather and the whole inter- 

 spersed with clumps of scru|jby balsam, mostly prostrate, but some- 

 times ten or fifteen feet high. It was a raw day, with showers at fre- 

 quent intervals, the rain driving before a sharp wind, conditions such 

 as to render a search for small birds difficult and unproductive. We 

 were following a flock of horned larks when two sparrows appeared, 

 perched upon a balsam thicket some distance away and jerking their 

 tails nervously. Their appearance did not accord with anything we 

 knew in the region, and Brooks started at once in pursuit. With some 

 difficulty, for the birds were wary, he secured one of them. This 

 proved to be an adult female with a denuded abdomen, indication that 

 she was, or had been, incubating eggs. 



The species was next encountered in the upper part of Otter 

 Creek, at about 3500 feet altitude, and on the Surrounding mountains 

 up to their summits, nearly 5500 feet altitude. In Otter Creek Valley 



