Jan., 1920 THE RETURN OF WINTER BIRDS 17 
colors all blended together instead of being contrasted as the black, gray, brown 
and white are in the Santa Cruz Song Sparrow’s plumage. True to the northern 
type, the Rusty Song Sparrow was also more deliberate and less nervous in his 
motions, though at the same time more shy than his cousin. He seldom appeared 
with the first birds that crowded in as soon as the meal was ready. He was often 
first discovered gleaning from the ground the seeds that had been brushed from 
the table by excited rivals. Later in the day he usually had everything to him- 
self and showed by his confidence on the table that his shyness was due to the 
proximity of the other birds rather than to my presence at the window. 
I was much interested in observing this bird, since it was the only one of its 
kind to partake of my hospitality and, so far as I could discover, the only one 
so far recorded in this immediate locality. So it was with a genuine feeling of 
regret that I noted his absence as the spring migration season arrived (March 17, 
1915).. However, when the fall migrations were nearly ended and the winter 
birds were settling down to regular feeding, he suddenly appeared again, making 
himself quite at home, coming and going just as he had been accustomed to do in 
the spring. Of course, I cannot state positively that it was the same bird, but it 
seems to me very probable. No one would question whether it was the same bird 
that appeared from day to day, since there was never more than the one. The 
rarity of the species argues strongly also in favor of the thesis that it was the 
same bird that returned on October 29, 1915. 
With the exception of an absence of a few weeks in midwinter (his return 
was noted on January 18, 1916), the big brown song sparrow remained until 
March 27, 1916, when the urgency of the migration instinct again sent him to his 
summer home. The next fall he did not wait so long, but returned to his chosen 
winter resort on September 29. I fear that it was a disappointing year for him, 
for illness in my family interfered with the regularity of meals for the bird- 
guests during the fall, and I was away from home in the spring. Absences of 
the Rusty Song Sparrow were noted several times during the fall, and though 
the birds were fed during the spring (1917), he may not have been among the 
guests. This may account for the failure of the bird to return in the fall of 1917. 
Indeed, I supposed that I had seen the last of him. So it was with quite a thrill 
that I found him again feeding quietly at the table on March 2, 1918. There 
was evidently time to spare before completing his northward journey, for he re- 
mained until March 27. | 
In the fall he was back again in his chosen niche by October 29 and remained 
till December 26. I made sure that he was well fed, but for some reason he was 
not seen after that date, not even during the spring migration in 1919. 
On September 23, 1919, a Rusty Song Sparrow was seen in the tree above 
the feeding table busily eating worms, but he has not been seen again to date. I 
still feel doubtful of his identity, for if it was the same bird, one would expect 
him to recognize the fact that seeds and other food to a song sparrow’s taste 
were spread on the table below. But leaving out of account this year’s sparrow 
enough evidence has accumulated during the five seasons that the Rusty Song 
Sparrow has spent here, to give rise to many interesting conjectures and ques- 
tions. 
The range of this particular bird is supposed to extend from southern Alas- 
ka to California, the southernmost record in this state being from Riverside (see 
Grinnell, Distributional List, p. 123). It is resident throughout the year in 
