The Golden-crowned Sparrow 



of public appearances, and does not cultivate the public eye. The peren- 

 nial interest, therefore, of a winter company of skulking Crown Sparrows, 

 chiefly nuttalli and gambeli, lies in the effort to determine whether there 

 are any Golden-crowns among them. 



Zonotrichias, whether migrating or wintering, are all coquettishly 

 retiring, and the first hint of danger sends them scuttling into the brush. 

 If one presses up to the edge of the brush, he may hear an uncanny rust- 

 ling among the leaves and branches as the birds retreat, but not a single 

 note is uttered. Left to themselves, the birds become sociable, with many 

 zinks, common to the genus; and if unusually merry, in the springtime, the 

 Golden-crowns indulge a sweet preparatory hoo hee which reminds one 

 both of the White-crowned (Z. leucophrys) and White-throated (Z. albi- 

 collis) Sparrows. We expect more, but save for modifications, presently 

 to be described, these tuning up notes are all that the bird has to offer; 

 and Mr. Grinnell, 1 in the northern breeding home of the bird, notes only 

 their "extremely sad quavering song of two syllables." 



The question of the song of this bird having been raised in the columns 

 of the Condor, Mr. Joseph Mailliard replied in part as follows: 2 



"Its song, if it may be dignified by such a title, consists of three notes 

 given in a descending scale with intervals of thirds, or to express it differ- 

 ently, sol, mi, do. The sound is that of a very high whistle, in fact so 

 high that in imitating the bird it is necessary for me to make it with the 

 tongue against the roof of the mouth, the lips apart. The notes are given 

 very softly and yet are penetrating. 



"The song is given when the bird is either on the top of a low bush or 

 within the bush near the outside. As the two species (Z. coronata and 

 Z. /. gambeli) invariably flock together during their residence in this 

 neighborhood [San Geronimo, Marin Co.], and as it is very difficult to dis- 

 tinguish the immature gambeli from coronata at any distance, when both 

 kinds are banded together, especially when partly hidden by foliage, a 

 great deal of watching was necessary to enable me to establish the identity 

 of the songster. * * * 



"This song only seems to be given in certain states of the weather, 

 notably before or after a rain, and is repeated again and again, often being 

 taken up by other birds of the same species within call. People living 

 in country towns often call this the rain-bird, and have asked me what 

 bird it was that made these sounds." 



The author's notes record both the two-syllabled and the three- 

 syllabled songs, the former oftenest given with rising inflection, like that of 

 the eastern White-throat, the latter in descending scale, notes of marvelous 



1 "Birds of Kotzebue Sound Region." p. 51. 



2 The Condor, Vol. III., May. 1901. pp. 78, 79. 



3** 



