The Gambel Sparrow 



ruined, but the sport we had watching the antics of the sparrows amply 

 repaid any such loss. 



The first to approach the feast were the young chaps, reckless 

 fellows, whose loss, apparently, didn't matter so much to the community. 

 Then modest mothers ventured out, believing themselves safe where 

 their sons could go. Finally, when security was an established fact, 

 an old male, some chieftain, brilliant in alternating plumes of black and 



*-\+- 



■ » * 



■'■ '-Jp 



Taken at Los Colibris 



STILL SUSPICIOUS 



Photo by the Author 



white, strutted out. Before him the sedulous gleaners gave way, or if 

 they did not move fast enough to suit his lordship, he charged viciously 

 at the crowd and saw it flee in dismay. Gallantry, apparently, is a thing 

 reserved for springtime. 



It would be difficult to exaggerate the abundance of Intermediate 

 Crown Sparrows, at least in southern California. In most sections 

 they are more abundant in winter than any other bird, and in some 

 localities I am persuaded that they outnumber, excluding the House 

 Finch, all other species combined. In migrations, too, they are excessive- 

 ly common; and although, like the White-crowned Sparrows, they are 

 destined for a romantic setting in the breeding season, an ice-bound 

 park in the Selkirks, or a pine-clad lake in the Yukon, they content 

 themselves with very humble surroundings en route. At the height 



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