Nov., 1901. I 
THK CONDOR 
171 
times, apparent!}' breeding. — W. \V. P.] 
Spinus pinus. Pine Siskin. On June 10, 1899 Carriger observed a flock 
flying about in the pines near the Fourteen-mile House. On June 9, 1900 at the 
base of Pyramid Peak a number were flying about the barn and corral of a dairy 
and seemed quite tame. Later in the day they were found in numbers feeding 
along the edge of the snow in company with the Cassin purple finches on the 
lower slopes of Pyramid Peak. 
[Breeds commonly in a heavy forest of alpine hemlock at the head of Glen 
.■\1 pi lie gorge. While no nests have been taken, the birds were heard at each 
visit, their shrill notes a very characteristic sound in the alpine woodland. Young 
have been taken in July and August. They were heard commonly on the slope 
of Pyramid Peak April 23, 1897, where snow covered the ground to a depth 
of ten or fifteen feet. — W. W. P.] 
Chondestes grammacus strigatus. Western Lark vSparrow. Quite a common 
species at Fyft’e in summer and observed as far up as the Fourteen-mile House. 
It frequents the clearings and mountain orchards, seldom entering the timber. 
Several nests were found in small cedars growing beside pasture fences. 
Zonotrichia leucophrys. White-crowned vSparrow. A summer resident of the 
Sierras, being seldom found below 7,000 feet in this region. We first met it at the 
Forni meadow west of Pyramid Peak, where they were common June 10, 190J. 
The meadow, traversed by numerous little streams along which willows grew in 
thickets, offered an agreeable nesting site for the species but the bushes were just 
coming into lea f on this d ate, which probably delayed nest-building a week or 
more. Farly in the morning tlie song of this sparrow came from all sides of the 
meadow, a pleasant though somewhat dolorous note. At a meadow west of Phil- 
lips .Station, wh.ite-crowned sparrows were common, and indeed 1 have seldom 
found a place where mountain bird life of all kinds was so abundant. When we 
stopped for a few moments a medley of songs was in progress, to particularize up- 
on any of which would be an invidious comparison. On June ii, 1900 while tra- 
velling over the ridge down to Kcho postoffice I flushed a white-crowned sparrow 
from its nest and single egg in a patch of Ceanot/iKS cordulatus. The nest was 
composed of very fine twigs with a lining of grasses and tine rootlets. The nest 
measured outside 4 j^.x 3)4 inches; deptii one inch. The egg was of a light green- 
ish-white color, sofcly marked with lavender. This species is one of the most in- 
teresting birds of its zone and my regret is that I have not been permitted to 
spend more time in its habitat. 
Zonotrichia leucophrys gambeli. Inlermediate Sparrow. I have in my collec- 
tion four specimens of this race, collected by Mr. L. F. Taylor as follows: ? Glen 
Alpine Springs, Sept. 17; ^ Grass Lake, Sept. 17; Glen Alpine Springs, Sept. 
18; ? Meyers .Station, Sept. 29, 1901. The taking of these intermediate sparrows 
in the breeding habitat of the preceding species would indicate that the latter 
had migrated before the middle of September, their places being in turn taken by 
Z. /. gajnbelixw its migration from the north. 
Spizella socialis arizonae. Western Chipping Sparrow. One of the commonest 
species, being abundant at Fyffe and observed up to the summit. In this region 
it seems to possess notes which are not ordinarily heard in the valley and in con- 
sequence it is sometimes collected with the idea that it may be other than a 
chipping sparrow. Its well-known trill is by far the commoner note and the 
species is found in almost every location. At h'yffe nest-building commences in 
May but fresh eggs have been found through June, perhaps second layings. My 
first ne.st was in the top of a very brushy black oak thirty feet up. No birds be- 
