333 
FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
The Belding marsh sparrow is an abundant resident of the salt 
water marshes along the coast of southern California, nesting in the 
marsh grass just above the reach of the tide. 
544. Ammodramus rostratus Cass. Large-billed Sparrow. 
Upper parts light grayish brown , indistinctly streaked; under parts exten¬ 
sively streaked with sandy brown ; bill 
long and swollen and regularly curved 
from base. Male: length (skins) 5.10- 
5.70, wing 2.72-2.92, tail 1.95-2.17, 
bill .48-.54. Female: length (skins) 
5.20-5.70, wing 2.52-2.S3, tail 1.83- 
2.14, bill .42-.51. 
Remarks. — The large bill and nearly uniform light brown coloration of 
upper parts distinguish this sparrow from the rest of the group. 
Distribution. — Winters from Cape St. Lucas and Guaymas, Mexico, to 
Santa Cruz, California. 
Mr. Stephens reports that the large-billed sparrow is a common 
winter resident of the seacoast of southern California, where it is 
seldom found more than half a mile from the water’s edge, but that 
it prefers streets and the neighborhood of buildings to marshes. In 
San Pedro Harbor, Mr. Grinnell tells us, it “frequents the wharves 
and breakwaters, and even hops fearlessly about the decks of vessels, 
feeding on crumbs and flies.” 
Subgenus Centronyx. 
Hind toe decidedly longer than inner toe ; wing exceeding tail by little 
more than length of tarsus ; tail feathers narrow, sharp pointed. 
545. Ammodramus bairdii (Aud.). Baird Sparrow. 
Adults. — Head yellowish brown or buffy, crown streaked with black 
laterally ; back light brown, spotted with black , feathers with light edgings; 
under parts white, throat bordered by 
black stripes; chest, sides, and flanks 
streaked with black; tail deeply emargi- 
nate , the lateral feathers longest, the 
feathers all narrow and pointed at tip. 
Young: similar, but feathers of crown 
and back distinctly bordered with buffy 
and streaks on chest less sharply defined. In winter the buffy color more 
pronounced than in summer, strongly tinging chest and sides. Male: 
length (skins) 4.80-5.40, wing 2.80-2.86, tail 2.05-2.10, bill .41-43. Fe¬ 
male: length (skins) 4.65-4.95, wing 2.60-2.70, tail 1.90-2.10, bill .40-.42. 
Remarks. — The feathers of the members of the subgenus Passerculus 
are streaked, the dark center of the feather being a narrow shaft streak ; 
but in A. bairdii and others of the sharp-tailed group the darkest part of 
the feather instead of being a line is a wide stripe, an oval, or a terminal 
eye spot, narrowly and quite uniformly bordered with lighter, giving an 
effect of spotting rather than streaking. 
Distribution. — Breeds from the Saskatchewan plains to Nebraska and 
migrates through Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, to northwest¬ 
ern Mexico; casually westward to Washington. 
Fig. 421. 
