The Brewer Sparrow 



Taken in the Warner Mountains 



Photo by the Author 



WHERE THE BREWER SPARROW SPENDS HIS SUMMER VACATION 



Instantly one conceives a great respect for this plain dot in feathers, 

 whose very existence may have passed unnoticed before. The descending 

 strain of the common song has, in some individuals, all the fine shading 

 heard in certain imported canaries. Pitch is conceded by infinitesimal 

 gradations, whereby the singer, from some heaven of fancy, brings us 

 down gently to a topmost twig of earthly attainment. Nor does the song 

 in other forms lack variety. In fact, a midday chorus of Brewer Sparrows 

 is a treat which makes a tramp in the sage memorable. 



The range of Brewer's Sparrow in the breeding season is nearly 

 coextensive with that of Artemisia tridentata, the "sage" par excellence. 

 Inasmuch as this plant has a considerable altitudinal range, the bird 

 enjoys also a decided change of air. J. S. Appleton found Brewer Spar- 

 rows breeding at Simi (alt. 800 feet), May 21st and 28th, 1899; while I 

 took a set of four eggs on the 28th of June, 191 1, at an elevation of 8600 

 feet, on the east flank of the Sierras, in Inyo County. However, an 

 occurrence at a similar level (8500) on the Warner Mountains was on 

 July 8th, and marked the close of the breeding season, with its attendant 



3H 



