RARER BIRDS OF AMES REGION 
217 
ment. Professor Guthrie showed me the specimen and stated that 
Dr. Murray had seen this one individual with two others for 
several days before it had died. 
Lapland Longspur 
( Calcarius lapponicus lapponicus) 
Seen once and then in large numbers. Several flocks were 
observed late in the afternoon of February 24, 1918, in the coni- 
fers of the Forestry Department. The day was clear, no wind, 
some snow on the ground, temperature at 6 :20 P.M., 49° F. 
On February 21, 1919, a specimen in winter plumage was sent 
in by M. L. Seder from Huron, South Dakota. In his letter Mr. 
Seder said that all of a sudden the birds had died by the thousands 
in the town of Huron. The affair caused much comment, and 
no one at Huron was able to name the bird concerned. The 
tragedy may have been the result of a storm. 
Lark Sparrow 
( Chondestes grammacus grammacus) 
Several records for the lark sparrow have been obtained in 
recent years, and in 1921 Professor Guthrie found a nest with 
eggs in it near the college cemetery. Records as follows: 6, 
May 13, 1917; 3, April 25, 1919. The lark sparrow is one of 
the most characteristically marked of all sparrows. The white and 
chestnut pattern of the head and the white-tipped tail taken to- 
gether at once distinguish it from others. It is a splendid singer. 
Harris’s Sparrow 
( Zonotrichia querula ) 
Both Professor Guthrie and Professor Scullen have observed 
this sparrow at Ames, Professor Guthrie stating that he has seen 
it for three different springs. The writer has observed this spar- 
row but once at Ames. Two individuals were observed in a 
woods pasture north of town on May 6, 1920. 
White-crowned Sparrow 
( Zonotrichia leucophrys leucophrys ) 
First seen on May 7, 1919, when two individuals came up under 
a window of my home. The next year two were seen on May 
29 in the woods north of Ames. 
