The Rufous-crowned Sparrow 



Range of Aimophila ruficeps. — Southwestern United States from central Cali- 

 fornia east to Oklahoma, south to Cape San Lucas and southern Mexico. 



Range of A. r. ruficeps. — Resident in the Upper Sonoran life zone of California 

 west of the Sierras from Marin and Sutter Counties south to the San Pedro Martir 

 Mountains of Lower California. 



Distribution in California. — Locally resident chiefly on open or semi-arid 

 hillsides, as above. Common on Santa Cruz Island, and found, at least formerly, on 

 Santa Catalina. 



Authorities. — Cassin (Ammodromus ruficeps), Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vol. 

 vi., 1852, p. 184 (orig. descr. ; Cosumnes R. or Calaveras R.) ; Sennett, Auk, vol. v., 1888, 

 p. 40 (synopsis of group); Barlow, Condor, vol. iv., 1902, p. 107 (monograph; habits, 

 song, nest and eggs, etc.); Howell, Pac. Coast Avifauna, no. 12, 1917, p. 80 (Santa 

 Barbara Islands; distr., crit.); Todd, Condor, vol. xxiv., 1922, p. 126 (distr., crit.). 



THERE IS nothing sinister about the stealthiness of this creeping 

 Sparrow. He is neither plotting mischief nor playing at hide-and-seek, 

 and he seems to be so pleasantly absorbed in the interests of his little 

 world of grass and weeds as to be quite oblivious to scrutiny or impending 

 danger. There is something so demure, so winsome, so unaffected in his 

 manner as he steps out into the open a dozen feet away, culls a bug and 

 dissects it appreciatively, or else hums a half-forgotten song, that pre- 

 judice is immediately disarmed and thoughts of collector's envy dismissed. 

 If the bird notices you at all it is only to bestow a friendly glance, after 

 which he pursues the even tenor of a way which you are sure embraces 

 all the beatitudes. In fine, the Rufous-crowned Sparrow must impress 

 everyone who observes him at all as an amiable and gifted poet of content, 

 a sort of embodiment of sunshine and solitude and homely cheer. 



Few lives are so devoted to the humbler levels. Even the Savanna 

 Sparrow will go rocketing off through the air when disturbed. But 

 the Rufous-crown steps about through the grass-stems or tufted 

 cover of a rocky hillside without ostentation or appearance of effort; 

 and even when hard-pressed seems to regard flight as unprofessional, 

 a pitiful and degrading last resort. Yet as the breeding season approach- 

 es, the Rufous-crown does not hesitate to explore the upper reaches of 

 last year's weed-tops, or to sing from prominent stations on rock or bush. 



The song of the Rufous-crown is one of the freshest, most vivacious 

 and engaging, as well as varied, of all that may be heard upon our south- 

 ern hillsides. Its vivacity is wren-like. Its minor notes, especially, a 

 ravishing titter, tew tew, remind one now of a Bewick, and now of the 

 Rock Wren, but they are sweeter than either. Its song has the sponta- 

 neity of a Winter Wren's, but its volume, duration, and cadence are 

 rather those of the Lazuli Bunting. My attention was once caught by a 

 spirited passage-at-arms and pursuit between a Lazuli Bunting and a 



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