The White-crowned Sparrow 



for us, no doubt, that 

 the White-crowned 

 Sparrow conducts his 

 winter business in 

 Chihuahua, beyond our 

 troubled ken. 



But the thing which 

 endears the chieftain to 

 us most is his choice of 

 the high Sierras for a 

 summer home. Here is 

 an expression of taste 

 which meets our unqual- 

 ified approval. The 

 birds gather dignity 

 from the mountains, and 

 they grace in turn the 

 wildest fastnesses, the 

 snow-bound meadows, 

 and the crystal brooks 

 of "timberline." When 

 a bird really prefers to 

 wrest a living from re- 

 luctant snow-drifts, to 

 pay court to ladies 

 beside roaring cataracts, 

 or to sing lullabies from 

 the vantage of storm- 

 twisted pines, it is a sign 

 that his heart is in the 

 right place, and that all 

 his actions must be 

 viewed indulgently. 

 Only the Rosy Finch de- 

 serves a higher place in 

 our regard, and he, alas! 

 does not sing. 



No matter if you have 

 heard the ditties of gam- 



beli or nuttalli at the lower levels a thousand times, or a million times, I 

 commend to you the sweet, courageous lay of leucophrys, sung at the 

 11,000 foot level. It has in it the sprightliness of springing heather, 



Taken in Inyo County 



Photo by the A uthor 



THE CHIEFTAIN 



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