FINCHES, SPARROWS, BUNTINGS: ENGLISH SPARROW 681 
brown epaulettes; forehead, eye streak, and upper part of malar streak yellow¬ 
ish, chin and lower part of malar streak white, throat with black patch (variable 
in size and shape), rest of underparts more or less tinged with yellow; bill bluish 
gray above. Adult female: Similar, but duller, upperparts 
browner, head and rump streaked, the black throat patch 
usually wanting, and yellow more restricted or wanting 
except on breast. Young in juvenal plumage: Difficult to 
distinguish from an English Sparrow except by its more 
pointed tail feathers. 
Range. —Breeds chiefly in Austral Zones, from north¬ 
eastern Wyoming, southern Saskatchewan, Manitoba, 
northwestern North Dakota, southern Michigan, and 
southern Ontario south to southern Mississippi and Texas; 
very rare east of Alleghanies; winters in Panama, 
Colombia, and Venezuela, migrating across the Gulf of 
Mexico and through Mexico and Central America. Re¬ 
corded from southern British Columbia, Lower Califor¬ 
nia, and Arizona. 
State Records. —A single specimen of the Dickcissel was seen and heard singing 
June 30, 1900, at Shoemaker, a few miles northeast of Las Vegas (Dawson); and 
several were seen September 3-14, 1901, at Carlsbad (Bailey); [a male was taken 
September 25, 1922, in Silver City, in company with Western Chipping Sparrows 
(Kellogg); several were seen and one killed by a cat September 16, 1926, in a Santa 
Fe garden, and one banded May 7, 1927, at Santa Fe (Jensen)]. Since these are 
the only credible records of the occurrence of the species in New Mexico, it follows 
that it must be a rare visitor in the State.—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest. —In bushes or low weeds on meadows or prairies, made largely of dried 
grasses. Eggs: 3 to 5, plain pale blue. 
General Habits. —The Dickcissel, the songster of the northern 
grainfields, is seen in great flocks in migration as it crosses the prairies 
of Texas, and it is good to know that migrating stragglers may be 
looked for in New Mexico. 
Additional Literature.—Crabbe, E. D., Auk, XL, 606-609, 1923 (nesting).— 
Gross, A. O., Auk, XXXVIII, 1-26, 163-184, 1921. 
OLD-WORLD SPARROWS: Subfamily Passerinae 
ENGLISH SPARROW: Passer domesticus (Linnaeus) 
Description. — Length: 5.5-6.2 inches, wing about 2.8-3, tail 2.3-2.5. Adult 
male: Top of head grayish, eye streak, throat and chest patch, black , cheeks white, 
patch from eye to nape bright chestnut; wings with two white bands; rest of upper- 
parts rufescent brown, back streaked with black; underparts dull gray. Adult 
female: Crown and hind-neck grayish brown or olive, with light eye streak; back 
like male but brown, less rufescent; underparts brownish white or gray. 
Range. —Great Britain, introduced and naturalized at least in Canada and United 
States, from Atlantic to Pacific; also Nova Scotia, southern Greenland, Bahamas, 
Cuba, Lower California, Bermudas, and throughout Argentina. 
State Records. —Abundant generally in inhabited parts of the State (Ligon, 
1918). 
Fig. 115. Dickcissel 
Note the rutting edge of the 
under mandible, characteristic 
of the FringiUidae, near the 
base abruptly bent down at 
such an angle that it hinges 
wider open for grasping large 
seeds. (See p. 670.) 
