May, 1920 FROM FIELD AND STUDY 109 
tidewater marsh at Knik, Alaska, by Mr. Geo. G. Cantwell, of Puyallup, Washington. 
At that point, Mr. Cantwell tells me, the Western Savannah Sparrows were still migrat- 
ing, either to interior Alaska or to some point north of Knik, as none remained to breed 
in that section. 
The Western Savannah Sparrow (P. s. alaudinus) reaches Tacoma about April 20 
on its northern migration, remaining until about May 10, at which time our little Wash- 
ington bird (brooksi) is busy with nests and eggs. I am uncertain as to what route 
alaudinus takes on the fall migration. Still another form of this sparrow is found during 
the breeding season in eastern Washington, namely the Nevada Savannah Sparrow (P. 
s. nevadensis), giving the state of Washington five very easily distinguishable forms. 
Recurring once more to alaudinus, it would seem that this form should be given a new 
English name, at least, as the present one is not only misleading, but also not in ac- 
cordance with existing conditions.—J. H. Bowes, Tacoma, Washington, January 3, 1920. 
Nuptial Flight of the Anna Hummingbird.—On January 13, 
1918, I was fortunate enough to be present at a finished perform- 
ance of the nuptial flight of a male Anna Hummingbird (Calypte 
anna), and to observe the affair so clearly that I could diagram it 
with accuracy. I have been present at the performance many times 
since, but never under conditions permitting a full and clear obser- 
vation. I do not know, therefore, whether, typically, the Anna 
Hummer adheres rigidly to the evolutions here described, or 
whether he varies them somewhat. 
The phenomenon was observed over chaparral in a small 
ravine several hundred yards uphill from the University of Califor- 
nia swimming pool, Berkeley. It consisted of set aerial evolutions 
with vocal demonstrations occurring at mechanically exact points 
in space and time. The phases of the affair were as follows (see 
fig. 27): 
The bird hovered in one spot, a, long enough to utter its com- 
mon song, zeed’l-zeed’lé-zeed’l, zeedii-zeed’l-zeed’l, zeed’l-zeed’l-zeed'l. 
I can best convey an idea of the timbre of this utterance by ask- 
ing the reader to think of the loose-rattling plus glassy-singing 
sound-quality of small shot made to roll round the inside of a thin 
bottle or flask. But there is also a dry element involved, as if frag- 
ments of crisp thorny-edged leaves were mixed with the shot, 
scratching the glass on their way round and lending a sort of con- 
tinuous high squeaky ring to the effect, like a thread of tonality 
running throughout. The utterance is rather faint and whisper-like, 
and does not come out into full tonality. It is not rapid. It con- 
sists of nine syllables in three sections of three each. 
From a to Db the bird climbed with great rapidity straight into 
Fig. 27. DIAGRAM the air, hovering a moment at 0, without, however, vocalizing. . 
ILLUSTRATING THE The line from c downward represents a _ bullet-swift dive, 
NUPTIAL FLIGHT head-first, with an upward swoop just clear of the bush-top at a 
OF THE ANNA specifically aimed-at point, d. Within a few inches of d the female 
HUMMINGBIRD. was doubtless perched, though she was so well concealed that I 
: could not see her from where I stood. 
At d the bird uttered an abrupt, explosive, ringing kilp or pilp. Mr. J. Grinnell 
spells it plop, which is the same in essence. The vowel-sound varies with the intensity 
of the utterance, sometimes being lower and nearer “‘o’’. There is certainly a musical ‘‘l” 
involved, which my ears persist in hearing after the vowel-sound. Asa matter of fact, all 
of the sound elements concerned are nearly, if not quite, simultaneous. The note is re- 
markable: tonal and clear, and louder and more violent than one would expect from a 
bird of the hummer size. It is a sort of clank. It rings out like a good live blow on 
musical glass or metal, but the ring dies instantly as if gulped down into some cavern 
of dead silence. 
