The Fox Sparrows 



No. 65h Slate-colored Fox Sparrow 



A. 0. U. No. 585c, part. Passerella iliaca schistacea Baird. 



Description. — Somewhat similar to P. i. iliaca, but rufous spots somewhat smaller, 

 with tail both proportionately and absolutely longer — nearly equal to wing; rufous 

 element in plumage greatly reduced, persistent only on upper tail-coverts, wings, 

 and tail; pattern of upper plumage entirely blended; streaking of underparts about 

 equal in quantity, but dusky or slightly brownish instead of red. In particular: 

 Color of upperparts brownish gray, clearest, nearly mouse-gray on crown and sides 

 of neck, of specimens in worn (breeding) plumage; more rufescent, dull cinnamon- 

 brown, on upper tail-coverts and exposed surfaces of wings and tail; below white, 

 sharply streaked, especially on chest and sides, with sagittate spots of dark brown 

 or dusky; streaks tend to confluence on sides of throat; those of the sides are pro- 

 longed and enlarged posteriorly. Bill slightly smaller and darker and feet darker 

 than in iliaca. Measures: wing 80 (3.15); tail 77.6 (3.05); culmen 10. 9 (.43); depth 

 of bill at base 9.5 (.37), width 8.1 (.32); tarsus 22.7 (.89). 



Range of P. i. schistacea. — As now defined, breeds in the Rocky Mountain dis- 

 trict from central Colorado north into the interior of British Columbia, and west 

 over the high Columbian plateau into Oregon and Washington; "winters south to 

 southwestern California, Arizona, and New Mexico, and east to Kansas" (A. O. U.). 



Occurrence in California. — Scattered records of occurrence in fall and winter 

 in interior and. southern California await differentiation from those attributable to 

 P. i. fulva. 



Authorities. — Belding, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. i., 1879, p. 418 (Murphys, 

 Calaveras Co.); Tyler, Pac. Coast Avifauna, no. 9, 1913, p. 85 (Fresno; occurrence, 

 habits); Swarth, Univ. Calif. Pub. Zool., vol. xxi., 1920, p. 152, figs, (occurrence in 

 Calif., distr., desc, crit.). 



IT IS an awkward expedient introducing for separate treatment 

 a Fox Sparrow race whose physical distinctions do not entitle it to any 

 such prominence; but the Slate-colored Fox Sparrow not only enjoys a 

 more extended breeding range than any other form (save iliaca proper) 

 but it establishes the perfect bridge of connection between our specialized 

 thick-billed types, which are strictly resident in California, and the 

 remoter coastal and interior forms. It is, therefore, an extensive neighbor 

 of ours, though not a resident bird. The precise area of its intergra- 

 dation with megarhyncha is still undetermined, but theoretically it 

 lies along the eastern slopes of the Cascades. Like the megarhyncha 

 type, again, schistacea is confined to high Transition, but the altitude 

 of this zone rapidly decreases as we go northward beyond the limits 

 of the State; so that the Slate-colored Fox Sparrow comes into contact 

 with civilization to a degree unrealized by any other member of this 

 group. 



And a very civil bird he is, too. Seen in the half light of early 

 morning, nothing in its pose or appearance would ever induce the student 

 to bestow a second glance upon the evident Song Sparrow, were it not 

 for the sweet and powerful challenge which pours from his earnest beak. 



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