The Fox Sparrows 



stood empty, save one which had a punctured egg. Nucifraga Colum- 

 biana, he of the black heart and the raucous voice, had passed that way. 

 In Nutcracker parlance, these trustful sparrows were no doubt rated 

 "easy guys," but I wonder! Oh, if there be a Paradise for the lesser live 

 things, I am sure that Clark's Crow will be cast into outer darkness. 



Later experiences in the Mammoth section showed Yosemite for 

 Mono, or Mammotho, or whichever one of the sweet sixteen o' Fox 

 Sparrows Mr. Swarth allows us here) Fox Sparrows nesting commonly 

 in every sort of cover at the lower forest levels, — buck brush, manzanita, 

 pine or fir saplings, half-dead willow clumps, and especially on the knees 

 of broken-down aspens. Threes are the usual complement of eggs, but 

 fours mark a favorable season; and one has to be on the lookout that the 

 set is not adulterated by the presence of an egg of the Nevada Cowbird. 



The breeding ranges of the White-crowned Sparrow {Zonotrichia 

 leucophrys) and the local Passerella overlap considerably, and at certain 

 sections of contact between these two species, similarity of setting has 

 wrought for uniformity of product. This has been carried so far in a cer- 

 tain swamp at the 8000-foot level near Mammoth, that the nests of the two 

 species are indistinguishable either in material, workmanship, or placing, 

 save as identified by the proprietary actions of the birds themselves. 

 I know of no other such instance in nature. 



Taken in the San Bernardino Mountains Photo by Wright M. Pierce 



STEPHENS FOX SPARROW APPROACHING NEST IN BUCK-THORN 



383 



