The Gambel Sparrow 



ward, the birds will build openly on the tops of descending branches, in 

 order, apparently, to escape the smother of foliage. Again, nests will 

 be placed upon the ground in the general protection of the dwarf sage, 

 whose density the casual footstep oftenest avoids. 



A nest of these birds at timberline is worth examination, for it is 

 a doughty castle, and a mighty resister of cold. Composed externally 

 of stout willow twigs, bark, and grasses, the interior is lined with finest 

 grasses, and a bit of hair, if possible. In one example before me, one 

 taken at the Upper Cottonwood Lakes, July 3rd, 191 1, the nesting hollow, 

 which is three inches across by two inches deep, occupies only about one- 

 twentieth of the total bulk of the structure. The eggs are intended to 

 be frost-proof, and are, no doubt, after incubation has begun; but I have 

 seen nests deserted because the first-laid eggs were frozen. 



The most anomalous set of our experience was taken on the floor of 

 the Yosemite Valley, some four thousand feet below the ordinary breeding 

 level frequented by these birds. It was as though the floor of the valley 

 had subsided, and the birds, loth to forsake their ancestral home, had 

 gone down with it to this unconscionable depth. But the Yosemite 

 floor is anomalous anyway, and the White-crowns had for company 

 other cheerful exiles, such as Hermit Thrush, Hermit Warbler, and 

 Lincoln Sparrow. 



No. 60 



Gambel's Sparrow 



A. O. U. No. 554a. Zonotrichia gambeli gambeli (Nuttall). 



Synonyms. — Intermediate-crowned Sparrow. Intermediate Sparrow. 



Description. — Similar to Z. leucophrys, but general tone of coloration darker 

 throughout, — the posterior underparts, especially, much deeper brown; the flanks 

 Saccardo's umber instead of wood-brown; axillars and bend of wing pale yellow; lores, 

 broadly continuous with superciliary stripe, white. Measurements averaging a little 

 less: Males: wing 79 (3.12); tail 71 (2.80); bill 10.7 (.42); tarsus 22.9 (.90). 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow size; lores not black; slightly larger and general 

 coloration lighter than in Z. g. nuttalli; white crown-stripe brighter. The commonest 

 winter bird in southern and interior California. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in California. Nest and eggs much as in typical 

 form. 



General Range of Z. g. gambeli. — Breeds from mountains of northern Mon- 

 tana north between the coast mountains of British Columbia and Alaska and the 



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