The Song Sparrows 

 No. 62g Suisun Song Sparrow 



A. O. U. No. 581s. Melospiza melodia maxillaris Grinnell. 



Description. — Similar to M. m. samnelis, but decidedly larger; bill much shorter, 

 tumescent at base. Plumage shows slight reduction of blacks, and streaking of under- 

 parts shows traces of rufescent bordering. As compared with M. m. heermanni, 

 maxillaris shows darker coloring with broader black markings, and base of maxilla 

 more swollen. Measurement of type, a male: wing 63.7 (2.51); tail 62 (2.44); bill 

 12.9 (.51); depth at base 7.6 (.30); tarsus 21.8 (.86). 



Range (Wholly within California). — "Common resident of the marshes sur- 

 rounding Suisun Bay, more particularly from the vicinity of the confluence of the 

 Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers west to Benicia and Port Costa where abruptly 

 delimited. ' ' — Grinnell. 



Authority. — Grinnell, Univ. Calif. Pub. Zool., vol. v., 1909, p. 265 (Suisun; 

 orig. desc). 



I HAVE never seen the Suisun Song Sparrow. I suppose I never 

 shall. It is said to favor certain types resident a few miles up the river 

 rather than its neighbor, samuelis, on the Sonoma shore. A closer 

 attention to this fascinating subject of the subdivision of Song Sparrows 

 will doubtless eventuate in a pet species for every water-hole in California ; 

 and may ultimately necessitate the establishment of a chair of Com- 

 parative Melospiziology at Berkeley. Heigh ho ! I wonder if the simple- 

 hearted Song Sparrow, he of the silver tongue, suspects what a bother 

 he is to us poor scientists! 



No. 62h Salt Marsh Song Sparrow 



A. 0. U. No. 581I. Melospiza melodia pusillula Ridgway. 



Synonym. — Alameda Song Sparrow. 



Description. — Similar to M. m. samuelis, but slightly smaller; spotting of 

 underparts slightly more rufescent upon the margins. Ridgway, in describing this 

 subspecies (Birds of N. & M.Am., vol. i., p. 370), claims the precise opposite, namely, 

 that the markings of pusillula are less rufescent; but the abundant material in the 

 M. V. Z. collection certainly does not sustain his contention. Immature birds are 

 unique in displaying a yellowish suffusion of the underparts, which character is neces- 

 sarily carried until the second autumn (since the species has but one annual molt). 

 Measurements of adult males: wing 57.9 (2.28); tail 62.5 (2.46); bill 1 1.2 (.44). Fe- 

 males average smaller. 



Range (Wholly within California). — Resident on or near the southern por- 

 tion of San Francisco Bay, from San Francisco to West Berkeley. 



Authorities. — Ridgway, Auk, vol. xvi., 1899, p. 35 (orig. desc. ; Alameda Co.); 

 McGregor, Bull. Cooper Orn. Club, vol. i., 1899, p. 87 (desc; crit.) ; Grinnell, Condor, 

 vol. iii., 1901, p. 92 (habits; crit.); Cohen, Condor, vol. iii., 1901, p. 185 (nesting dates). 



THE RECOGNITION of a dwarf race, pusillula, from the marshes 

 of San Francisco Bay was a clever piece of work, and the race so dis- 



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