262 BELDING'S YELLOW-THROAT 



one-half the large number of specimens examined the black of the head is 

 wider on the left side than on the right, its posterior margin, therefore, pass- 

 ing diagonally from right to left. 



Adult d 1 , Fall. — Similar to adult <$ in Spring but back browner, nape and 

 flanks strongly washed with brown which partly conceals the yellow behind 

 the black 'mask'. 



Young (3, Fall. — Like the adult <$ in Fall but black band on forehead not 

 so wide, and tipped posteriorly with grayish. There is, however, much less dif- 

 ference than in G. trichas, the black cheeks being acquired by beldingi in the 

 first Fall. 



Adult ?, Spring. — Above olive-green, forehead more yellow; below yellow 

 becoming paler on the abdomen and more olive on the flanks. 



Adult ?, Fall. — Similar to adult 2 in Spring but browner above, especially 

 on crown, sides strongly washed with brownish. 

 Young 5, Fall. — Resembles adult ? in Fall. 



Nestling. — Above grayish cinnamon-brown; below brownish white; wing- 

 coverts fuscous tipped with rusty buff. Paler and less olive above than nestling 

 of trichas. 



General Distribution. — Resident in Lower California, northward 

 to San Ignacio on the west coast and Comondu on the east coast. 

 {Brewster*.) 



The Bird and its Haunts. — At San Jose del Cabo, Lower Cali- 

 fornia, Frazar, as recorded by Brewster 3 , found this well-differentiated 

 form of Yellow-throat an abundant inhabitant of rushes often where 

 the water was three or four feet deep. 



At Comondu, Bryant 2 found it common, keeping "mainly within 

 the bulrushes and bushes of the creek." 



Song. — Brewster 3 , quoting Frazar, says that "the song resembles 

 that of the Maryland [=Northern] Yellow-throat, but is so much 

 heavier and fuller that it can be easily recognized." He adds that "the 

 bird occasionally mounts into the air and sings on the wing." 



Bryant 2 writes: "I frequently heard them singing, sometimes in 

 the top of a low tree. Their notes are rather loud and quite clear, an 

 interval of a few seconds occurring between each song." 



Nesting Site. — Loosely woven in cat-tails. {Bryant 1 .). 



Nest. — Bryant 1 describes a nest found at Comondu as resembling 

 some Song Sparrows' nests and being thinly lined with fine fiber and 

 horse hair. 



Eggs. — The nests discovered by Bryant contained from two to 

 four eggs each, but the set of two was probably abnormal. These 

 eggs are described as "white, with shell-spots and dots of lilac-gray 

 and a few surface spots and pencilings of black." Size; as given by 

 Bryant (converted from millimeters), average, .77X.59; extremes 

 ■76x.59, .77X.57, .77X.61. 



