FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC.: BAIRD SPARROW 723 
without yellow and upperparts almost without reddish brown, the feathers con¬ 
spicuously bordered with buffy and whitish; wing bars and underparts buffy whitish; 
chest streaked with dusky. 
Range. —Breeds in Transition and Austral Zones from southeastern British 
Columbia, Montana, and southern Minnesota south to southern Texas, Colorado, 
Arizona (?), and California (west of the Sierra Nevada); winters from California, 
southern Texas, and Arizona south to Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Cape San Lucas. 
State Records. —Although breeding commonly in Texas to the east of New 
Mexico and south to southern California, yet the Western Grasshopper Sparrow 
mainly shuns New Mexico during the summer and rarely breeds in the Rocky 
Mountain region south of central Colorado. Nor is it common in New Mexico in 
migration; a few were found in the southern part of the Mesa Jumanes, September 26, 
1902 (Gaut); one was taken September 27,1913, near Koehler Junction (Kalrabach); 
one at 8,100 feet in the Manzano Mountains, October, 1903, and one near Roswell, 
September 21, 1903 (Gaut); it was also found in the Gila National Forest early in 
September, 1908 (Birdseye). 
Though not known to winter in New Mexico, it must remain not far distant at 
this season, for a few were seen at Fort Thorn late in February, 1854 (Henry). 
The first arrivals in regular spring migration appeared at Gage, April 17, 1885 
(M car ns). 
It is probably more common in New Mexico than these few records would 
indicate, since it can be easily overlooked, owing to its skulking habits.—W. W. 
Cooke. 
Nest. —On the ground, bulky and deep, often more or less arched over; made of 
dried grasses, weeds, and stalks. Eggs: 3 to 5, white, spotted with reddish brown, 
sometimes with a few small black markings and touches of lilac. 
Food. —37 per cent vegetable and 63 per cent animal matter. The entire weed 
seed element, including the seeds of such grasses as are troublesome on the farm, 
amounts to about one-fourth of the food. Of the animal, beetles, grasshoppers, and 
caterpillars are the most important. As a destroyer of insect pests it is most efficient. 
The injurious part of its food is only 3 per cent of the whole and the neutral 24 per 
cent, while the beneficial amounts to 73 per cent. 
General Habits. —On the dry open uplands the song of the Grass¬ 
hopper Sparrow, named from the resemblance of his song to the “ stimula¬ 
tion of the long-horned grasshopper,” may be caught by a quick ear 
from the grassy roadside, where he would otherwise be overlooked. 
When discovered, as Mr. J. G. Tyler says, his tendency is to run away 
rather than to fly, and it takes fast walking to get him to take wing 
(1913, p. 78). In no way gregarious, the Yellow-winged, as he is often 
called, unlike many of the Sparrows, is seen only in pairs or families. 
BAIRD SPARROW: Ammddramus balrdi (Audubon) 
Description. — Male: Length (skins) 4.8-5.4 inches, wing 2.8-2.9, tail 2-2.1, 
bill .4. Female: Length (skins) 4.6-4.9 inches, wing 2.6-2.7, tail 1.9-2.1, bill .4. 
Tail deeply emarginate , feathers narrow , and pointed at tip. Adults: Head ochraceous 
or buffy, crown streaked laterally with black; rest of upperparts light brown, feathers 
spotted with black and edged with buffy; throat bordered with blackish streaks, under¬ 
parts white or pale buffy, chest and sides streaked with black. Bill pale flesh-color 
below, legs pale flesh-color, toes darker. Young: Similar to adults but feathers of 
