Chapter V: Part 5

Description.—_Adult male in summer_: General plumage clear lemon or
canary yellow; crown patch, including forehead and lores, black; wings
black, varied by white of middle and lesser coverts, tips of greater
coverts and edges of secondaries; tail black, each feather with white
spot on inner web; tail coverts broadly tipped with white;
bill-orange, tipped with black; feet and legs light brown; irides
brown. _Adult female in summer_: Above grayish brown or olivaceous;
wings and tail dusky rather than black, with white markings rather
broader than in male; below whitish with buffy or yellow suffusion
brightest on throat and sides. _Adult male in winter_: Like adult
female but brighter by virtue of contrasting black of wing and tail;
white markings more extended than in summer. _Female in winter_: not
so yellow as in summer, grayer and browner with more extensive white.
_Young_: Like winter adults but browner, no clear white anywhere,
cinnamomeus instead. Length of adult male: (skins) 4.71 (120); wing
2.95 (75); tail 1.97 (50); bill .41 (10.4); tarsus .55 (14.1).

Recognition Marks.—Warbler size; black and yellow contrasting, with
conical bill, distinctive; undulating flight; canary-like notes. Feeds
on thistle seed as does also _Spinus pinus_, a closely related but
much less handsome species.

Nesting.—_Nest_: A beautiful compact structure of vegetable fibers,
“hemp,” grasses, etc., lined with vegetable cotton or thistle-down,
and placed at varying heights in trees or bushes, usually in upright
crotches. _Eggs_: 3-6, pale bluish white, unspotted. Av. size, .65 ×
.52 (16.5 × 13.2). _Season_: July and August; one brood.

General Range.—Western United States, except the Pacific coast
district, north to British Columbia and Manitoba, south to northern
and eastern Mexico.

Range in Washington.—East-side, not common resident in half-open
situations and along streams; resident but roving in winter.

Authorities.—_Chrysomitris tristis_, Brewster, B. N. O. C. VII. Oct.
1882, p. 227. (T). D¹. D². Ss¹. Ss². J.

Specimens.—P. Prov. C.

“Handsome is that handsome does,” we are told, but the Goldfinch fulfils both conditions in the proper sense, and does not require the doubtful apology of the proverb, which was evidently devised for plain folk. One is at a loss to decide whether Nature awarded the Goldfinch his suit of fine clothes in recognition of his dauntless cheer or whether he is only happy because of his panoply of jet and gold. At any rate he is the bird of sunshine the year around, happy, careless, free. Rollicking companies of them rove the country-side, now searching the heads of the last year’s mullein stalks and enlivening their quest with much pleasant chatter, now scattering in obedience to some whimsical command and sowing the air with their laughter. _Perchic’-opee_ or _perchic’-ichic’-opee_, says every bird as it glides down each successive billow of its undulating flight. So enamored are the Goldfinches of their gypsy life that it is only when the summer begins to wane that they are willing to make particular choice of mates and nesting spots. As late as the middle of July one may see roving bands of forty or fifty individuals, but by the first of August they are usually settled to the task of rearing young. The nesting also appears to be dependent in some measure upon the thistle crop. When the weeds are common and the season forward, nesting may commence in June; but so long as thistle down is scarce or wanting, the birds seem loath to begin.

Nests are placed in the upright forks of various kinds of saplings, or even of growing plants, in which latter case the thistle, again, proves first choice. The materials used are the choicest obtainable. Normally the inner bark of hemp is employed for warp, and thistle-down for woof and lining, so that the whole structure bleaches to a characteristic silver-gray. In the absence or scarcity of these, grasses, weeds, bits of leaves, etc., are bound together with cobwebs, and the whole felted with other soft plant-downs, or even horse-hair. The whole is made fast thruout its depth to the supporting branches, and forms one of the most durable of summer’s trophies.

From four to six, but commonly five, eggs are laid, and these of a delicate greenish blue. Fourteen days are required for hatching; and from the time of leaving the nest the youngsters drone _babee! babee!_ with weary iteration, all thru the stifling summer day.

During the nesting season the birds subsist largely upon insects of various kinds, especially plant-lice, flies, and the smaller grasshoppers; but at other times they feed almost exclusively upon seeds. They are very fond of sunflower seeds, returning to a favorite head day after day until the crop is harvested. Seeds of the lettuce, turnips, and other garden plants are levied upon freely where occasion offers; but thistle seed is a staple article, and that is varied by a hundred seeds besides, which none could grudge them.

Thruout the winter the Western Goldfinches are much less in evidence, the majority of them having retired to the southland at that season. Those which remain are somewhat altered to appearance: the wings and tail show much pure white, and the yellow proper is now confined to the throat and the sides of the head and neck. He is thus a lighter and a brighter bird than his eastern brother. But the western bird has the same merry notes and sprightly ways which have made the name of Goldfinch synonymous with sunshine.

No. 32.
WILLOW GOLDFINCH.

A. O. U. No. 529b. Astragalinus tristis salicamans (Grinnell).

Synonyms.—California Goldfinch. “Yellow-bird,” etc.

Description.—Similar to _A. t. pallidus_, but wings and tail shorter
and coloration very much darker; adult male in summer plumage has
tinge of pale olive-green on back, while winter adults and young are
decidedly darker and browner than corresponding plumage of _A. t.
pallidus_. Wing (of adult male) 2.75 (70); tail 1.73 (44).

Recognition Marks.—As in preceding but decidedly darker and browner,
especially in winter.

Nesting.—As in _A. t. pallidus_.

General Range.—Pacific coast district from Lower California (Cerros
Id.) north to British Columbia. Has been taken at Okanagan Landing, B.
C. (Brooks).

Range in Washington.—Not common resident on West-side only, chiefly in
cultivated valleys.

Authorities.—_Chrysomitris tristis_ Bon., Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv.
IX. 1858, 421, 422, part. C&S. L². Kb. Ra. Kk. B. E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. B. E.

Goldfinches are a bit of a rarity on Puget Sound. Of course we see them every season, and one may see a great deal of a particular troop, once its general range is ascertained; but, taken all in all, the bird is not common. Neither Cooper nor Suckley saw this Goldfinch, altho particularly wondering at its absence. The clearing of the forests and the cultivation of the soil is conducive to its increase, however; and there is every reason to believe that we are seeing more of it year by year.

There has been a warm discussion as to the subspecific validity of the Willow Goldfinch, but those who see birds of this form in late winter or early spring cannot but be impressed with the striking brownness of its plumage, as well as by the more extensive white upon the wings, as compared with the eastern bird. Beyond its partiality for willow trees, it has no further distinguishing traits, unless, perhaps, it may be reckoned less tuneful, or noisy.

No. 33.
CASSIN’S PURPLE FINCH.

A. O. U. No. 518. Carpodacus cassinii Baird.

Synonym.—Cassin’s Finch.

Description.—_Adult male_: Crown dull crimson; back and scapulars
vinaceous mixed with brownish and sharply streaked with dusky; wings
and tail dusky with more or less edging of vinaceous; remaining
plumage chiefly dull rosy, passing into white on belly and crissum;
under tail-coverts white streaked with dusky. _Adult female_:
Everywhere (save on wings, tail and lower abdomen) sharply streaked
with dusky, clearly, on a white ground, below; above on an olive-gray
or olive-buffy ground. _Immature male_: Like female in plumage and
indistinguishable. Length of adult 6.50-7.00 (165.1-177.8); wing 3.62
(92); tail 2.56 (65); bill .50 (12.6); tarsus .73 (18.5).

Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size: red of crown _contrasting_ with back
distinctive as compared with _C. p. californicus_; general streakiness
of female (and male in more common plumage).

Nesting.—_Nest_: of twigs and rootlets lined with horse-hair, string,
etc., placed in pine or fir tree well out from trunk. _Eggs_: 4 or 5,
colored as in succeeding species; a little larger. Av. size .85 × .60
(21.6 × 15.2). _Season_: June; one or two broods according to
altitude.

General Range.—Western United States from the eastern base of the
Rocky Mountains west to (but not including?) the Pacific coast
district; north to British Columbia; south over plateau region of
Mexico; found chiefly in the mountains.

Range in Washington.—At least coextensive with pine timber in eastern
Washington; found to summit of Cascades but westerly range imperfectly
made out.

Authorities.—[“Cassin’s Purple Finch,” Johnson, Rep. Gov. W. T. 1884
(1885), 22.] _Carpodacus cassini_, Dawson, Auk, Vol. XIV. 1897, p.
177. D¹. J.

Specimens.—Prov. C.

Cassin’s Finch is the bird of the eastern Cascades and the timbered foothills of northern Washington. While ranging higher than other finches, it shares with them an inclination to urban life, and a full realization of the advantages of gardens and cultivated patches. At Stehekin I saw a flock of them gleaning crumbs as complacently as sparrows, in the yard at the rear of the hotel. At Chelan they haunt the lonesome pine trees which still dot the shores of the lake, seemingly regarding their gnarled recesses as citadels where alone they may be safe from the terrors of the open country.

As the bird-man lay sprawling in the grateful shadow of one of these grim sentinels, munching a noonday lunch, and remonstrating with Providence at the unguarded virtues of the all-crawling ant, he spied a last year’s Oriole’s nest hanging just over his head, while an accommodating Cassin Finch called his attention to _this_ year’s nest in process of construction, by going over and helping herself to a beakful of material, which she pulled out of the structure by main force. She evened things up, however, (for the bird-man) by immediately visiting her own nest, pitched on the upper side of a horizontal branch near the end.

This female Cassin was a wearisome bird, for she sat and twittered inanely, or coaxed, every minute her husband was in the tree. He, poor soul, was visibly annoyed at her indolence, not to say her wantonness, and had as little to do with her as possible. However, he was a young fellow, without a bit of red on him, and he should not have been over-critical of his first mate in honeymoon.

On the pine-clad slopes of Cannon Hill in Spokane, there is no more familiar sound in June than the wanton note of the female Cassin Finch, _oreé-eh, oreé-eh_, delivered as often as not with quivering wings, and unmistakably inviting the attentions of the male. Perhaps it is fair to call this a love note, but it is delivered with the simpering insistence of a spoiled child.

The sight of a singing male in high plumage is memorable. He selects a position at the tip of a pine branch, or perhaps on a bunch of cones at the very top of the tree, and throws himself into the work. His color, crimson, not purple, is pure and clear upon the crown only; elsewhere, upon nape, shoulders, and breast, it presents merely a suffusion of red. A song heard near Chelan was much like that of a California Purple Finch in character, but less musical and more chattering, with the exception of one strong note thrown in near the close. This note was very like the characteristic squeal of the Evening Grosbeak, _gimp_, or _thkimp_, out of all keeping with the remainder—unquestionably borrowed.

The Cassin Finch is quite as successful as a mimic as his cousin from California. Besides his own wild, exultant notes, he rapidly strings together those of other birds, and renders the whole with the spontaneity and something of the accent of the Lark Sparrow. Indeed, when I first heard one sing on a crisp May morning on the banks of the Columbia, I thought I was hearing a rare burst of the latter bird, so much of its song had been appropriated by the Finch. Besides this, strains of Western Vesper Sparrow, Mountain Bluebird, and Louisiana Tanager were recognized.

No. 34.
CALIFORNIA PURPLE FINCH.

A. O. U. No. 517a. Carpodacus purpureus californicus Baird.

Description.—_Adult male_: General body plumage rich crimson or rosy
red, clearest on crown and upper tail-coverts, more or less mingled
with dusky on back and scapulars, passing into white on crissum and
under tail-coverts; wings and tail brownish dusky with reddish
edgings. Bill and feet brownish. _Adult female_: Above olive dusky in
streaks, with edging or gloss of brighter olivaceous; underparts
whitish, everywhere, save on middle abdomen, crissum and under
tail-coverts, streaked with olive dusky, finely on throat, broadly on
breast and sides, shading into pattern of upperparts on sides of head,
neck and chest. _Immature male, and male in ordinary(?) plumage_:
exactly like female in coloration. Length about 5.75 (146); wing 3.07
(78); tail 2.28 (58); bill .45 (11.5); tarsus .70 (17.9).

Recognition Marks.—“Warbler size” but sturdier, an unmistakable
sparrow; rosy coloration of male distinctive (without crossed
mandibles) but _streaky_ pattern oftenest seen. Distinguishable from
the Pine Siskin (_Spinus pinus_) by larger size, more sedate ways and
absence of sulphury wing- and tail-markings.

Nesting.—_Nest_: well built, of fir twigs, heavily lined with green
moss, horse-hair, string, etc.; placed in tree (deciduous or
evergreen) at elevation of 5-40 feet and usually at some distance from
trunk; measures outside 5 in. wide by 3 in. deep, inside 2½ in. wide
by 1¼ in. deep. _Eggs_: 4 or 5, light greenish blue, spotted and
streaked with violaceous and black, chiefly about the larger end.
Round ovate to elongate ovate; varying in dimensions from .75 × .56
(19 × 14.2) to .91 × .59 (22.8 × 15). _Season_: first week in May and
first week in June; two broods.

General Range.—Pacific coast district from southern California north
to British Columbia (including Vancouver Island). More or less
resident thruout range but drifts (casually?) to southeastward in
Arizona during migrations.

Range in Washington.—West-side, chiefly at lower levels; especially
partial to orchards and cultivated sections. Irregularly resident but
numbers augmented in spring.

Authorities.—_Carpodacus californicus_ Baird, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R.
Surv. IX. 1858, 414. T. C&S. L². Rh. Kb. Ra. Kk. B. E.

Specimens.—U. of W. Prov. P. B. BN. E.

Of the streaked, streaky is this demure and inoffensive bird in the olivaceous plumage, in which we usually see him, and always see _her_. But the sharpness and magnitude of the dusky streaks above and below confer a measure of distinction, even when there is no trace of the adult crimsons, miscalled purple. This finch is a familiar object about the gardens, orchards, and parks in Western Washington. It moves about for the most part silently, inspecting birds and flowers, sampling fruit, or gleaning seeds from the ground in company with its own kind, or with the humbler and equally streaked Siskins. While not altogether dependent upon human bounty, it probably owes more to man than does any other native species.

Wright’s Park, in Tacoma, appears to lead the state by two weeks in the early budding of its flowering plants, and here Purple Finches appear to the best advantage. In the luxuriant bushes of the red flowering currant (_Ribes sanguineum_) one may see them feeding during the last week of March. The Finches pluck the flowers assiduously, and either eat the fleshy part at the base, the tender ovary, or else press out the nectar just above, or both. A flower is first plucked off whole and held in the bill, while the bird appears to _smack its lips_ several times; then the crimson corolla is allowed to drop upon the ground, which thus becomes carpeted with rejected beauty. Like many related species, the California Finch is rather unwary, so that one may study his behavior at close range.

Because the Purple Finch is usually so unobtrusive, we are startled at the first outburst of spring song. Nothing more spontaneous could be desired, and the mellow, musical yodelling of this bird is one of the choicest things allowed us on the West-side. The song is midway between a trill and a carol, and has a wild quality which makes it very attractive. The notes are so limpid and penetrating that one is sometimes deceived as to the distance of the singer, supposing him to be in a neighboring copse when, in truth, he occupies a distant fir-top. _Cheedooreédooreé dooreé dooreé dooreé dooreé dooreé dreeetoreet_ may afford an idea of the rolling, rollicking character of the song, but is, of course, absurdly inadequate.

A master singer among the Purple Finches once entertained us from the top of a fir tree a hundred feet high. He was in the dull plumage, that is, without red; and altho he sang briskly at intervals we were not prepared for any unusual exhibition of vocal powers on his part. It was a long time, therefore, before we put the cry of a distant Steller Jay up to him. Our suspicions once aroused, however, we caught not only the Steller jay cry, unmistakably, but also half a dozen others in swift and dainty succession, after the usual Purple Finch prelude. I clearly recognized notes of the Flicker, Steller Jay, _Canary_, American Crossbill, and Seattle Wren. These imitative efforts varied in correctness of execution, and came to us with the distance of the original singer plus that of the Finch, so that the result was not a little confusing, tho very delightful when explained.

During courtship this Finch will execute an aerial song-dance, consisting of sundry jerks and crazy antics, interspersed with a medley of ecstatic notes; at the conclusion of which he will make a suggestive dive at his fianceé, who meanwhile has been poking fun at him.

For some reason nests have been exceedingly hard to find. Many birds are always pottering about with no apparent concern for nesting time, and Mr. Bowles hazards that they do not mate until the third year. Apropos of this, one remarks the scarcity of highly plumaged males at all seasons. I have gone six months at a time, where Finches were not uncommon, without seeing a single _red_ bird. In fact, I never found the latter common except in the vicinity of Tacoma.

Nests are placed, preferably, near water, in evergreen or deciduous trees, and at heights varying from six to forty feet. They usually occur on a bough at some distance from the trunk of a supporting tree, seldom or never being found in a crotch. Composed externally of fir twigs, they are lined copiously with green moss, horse-hair, and string, and contain four or five handsome blue-green eggs, spotted and dashed with violet and black.

Two broods are probably brought off in a season, the first about the 20th of May and the second a month later. A sitting female outdoes a Siskin in her devotion to duty, and not infrequently requires to be lifted from her eggs. The male trusts everything to his wife upon these occasions, but is on hand to do his share of the work when it comes to feeding the babies.

No. 35.
ENGLISH SPARROW.

Introduced. Passer domesticus (Linn.).

Synonyms.—House Sparrow. Domestic Sparrow. Hoodlum.

Description.—_Adult male_: Above ashy gray; middle of back and
scapulars heavily streaked with black and bay; tail dusky; a chestnut
patch behind eye spreading on shoulders; lesser wing-coverts chestnut;
middle coverts bordered with white, forming a conspicuous white bar
during flight; remainder of wing dusky with bay edging; below ashy
gray or dirty white; a black throat-patch continuous with lores and
fore-breast; bill and feet horn color. _Adult female_: Brownish rather
than gray above; bay edging lighter; no chestnut, unmarked below.
Length 5.50-6.25 (139.7-158.8); wing 3.00 (76.2); tail 2.20 (55.9);
bill .50 (12.7). Sexes of about equal size.

Recognition Marks.—“Sparrow size,” black throat and breast of male;
female obscure brownish and gray.

Nesting.—_Nest_: a globular mass of grass, weeds and trash, heavily
lined with feathers, placed in tree and with entrance in side; or else
heavily lined cavity anywhere. Holes in trees and electric lamps are
alike favored. _Eggs_: 4-7, whitish, heavily dotted and speckled with
olive-brown or dull black. The markings often gather about the larger
end; sometimes they entirely obscure the ground color. Av. size, .86 ×
.62 (21.8 × 15.8). _Season_: March-September; several broods.

General Range.—“Nearly the whole of Europe, but replaced in Italy by
_P. italiæ_, extending eastward to Persia and Central Asia, India, and
Ceylon” (Sharpe). “Introduced and naturalized in America, Australia,
New Zealand, etc.” (Chapman).

Range in Washington.—As yet chiefly confined to larger cities and
railroad towns, but spreading locally in farming sections.

Authorities.—Rathbun, Auk, Vol. XIX. Apr. 1902, p. 140. Ra. Kk. B. E.

Specimens.—B. C.

What a piece of mischief is the Sparrow! how depraved in instinct! in presence how unwelcome! in habit how unclean! in voice how repulsive! in combat how moblike and despicable! in courtship how wanton and contemptible! in increase how limitless and menacing! the pest of the farmer! the plague of the city! the bane of the bird-world! the despair of the philanthropist! the thrifty and insolent beneficiary of misguided sentiment! the lawless and defiant object of impotent hostility too late aroused! Out upon thee, thou shapeless, senseless, heartless, misbegotten tyrant! thou tedious and infinite alien! thou myriad cuckoo, who dost by thy consuming presence bereave us daily of a million dearer children! Out upon thee, and woe the day!

Without question the most deplorable event in the history of American ornithology was the introduction of the English Sparrow. The extinction of the Great Auk, the passing of the Wild Pigeon and the Turkey,—sad as these are, they are trifles compared to the wholesale reduction of our smaller birds, which is due to the invasion of this wretched foreigner. To be sure he was invited to come, but the offense is all the more rank because it was partly human. His introduction was effected in part by people who ought to have known better, and would, doubtless, if the science of ornithology had reached its present status as long ago as the early Fifties. The maintenance and prodigious increase of the pest is still due in a measure to the imbecile sentimentality of people who build bird-houses and throw out crumbs for “the dear little birdies,” and then care nothing whether honest birds or scalawags get them. Such people belong to the same class as those who drop kittens on their neighbors’ door-steps because they wouldn’t have the heart to kill them themselves, you know.

The increase of this bird in the United States is, to a lover of birds, simply frightful. Their fecundity is amazing and their adaptability apparently limitless. Mr. Barrows, in a special report prepared under the direction of the Government, estimates that the increase of a single pair, if unhindered, would amount in ten years to 275,716,983,698 birds.

As to its range, we note that the subjugation of the East has long been accomplished, and that the conquest of the West is succeeding rapidly. It is not possible to tell precisely when the first Sparrows arrived in Washington, but it is probable that they appeared in Spokane about 1895. Of its occurrence in Seattle, Mr. Rathbun says: “Prior to the spring of 1897 I had never seen this species in Seattle, but in June of that year I noted a pair. The following season I saw fourteen; in 1899 this number had increased to about seventy, associating in small flocks.”

The favorite means of dissemination has been the box car, and especially the grain car. The Sparrows, being essentially grain and seed eaters, frequent the grain cars as they stand in the railroad yards, and are occasionally imprisoned in them, hopeful stowaways and “gentlemen of fortune.” On this account, also, the larger cities and railroad towns are first colonized, and at this time of writing (Jan., 1908) the birds are practically confined to them, Tacoma having an especial notoriety in this respect because of its immense grain-shipping interests.

Difficult as it may seem, it is true that the English Sparrow adopts the policy of Uriah Heep upon first entering a town. With all the unctuous humility of a band of Mormon apostles, the newcomers talk softly, walk circumspectly, and either seek to escape notice altogether, or else assiduously cultivate the good opinion of their destined dupes. Thus, I resided in the town of Blaine for two months (in 1904) without running across a single member of the pioneer band of nine English Sparrows, altho I was assured on good authority that the birds had been there for at least two years previous.

It requires no testimony to show that the presence of this bird is absolutely undesirable. It is a scourge to the agriculturist, a plague to the architect, and the avowed and determined enemy of all other birds. Its nests are not only unsightly but unsanitary, and the maudlin racket of their owners unendurable. The bird is, in short, in the words of the late Dr. Coues, “a nuisance without a redeeming quality.” Altho we assent to this most heartily, we are obliged to confess on the part of our race to a certain amount of sneaking admiration for the Sparrow. And why, forsooth? Because he fights! We are forced to admire, at times, his bull-dog courage and tenacity of purpose, as we do the cunning of the weasel and the nimbleness of the flea. He is vermin and must be treated as such; but, give the Devil his due, of course. What are we going to do about it? Wage unceasing warfare, as we do against rats. There will possibly be rats as long as there are men, but a bubonic plague scare operates very effectually to reduce their numbers. No doubt there will be English Sparrows in cities as long as there are brick-bats, but a clear recognition of their detestable qualities should lead every sensible person to deny them victuals and shelter. The House Sparrow is no longer exterminable, but he may be, _must be_ kept within bounds.

No. 36.
SNOWFLAKE.

A. O. U. No. 534. Plectrophenax nivalis (Linn.)

Synonym.—Snow Bunting.

Description.—_Adult male in summer_: Pure white save for bill, feet,
middle of back, scapulars, bastard wing, the end half of primaries and
inner secondaries, and the middle tail-feathers, which are black.
_Female in summer_: Similar, but upperparts streaked all over with
black, and the black wings largely replaced by fuscous. _Adults in
winter_: Entire upperparts overcast with browns—rusty or seal
brown—clear on crown, grayish and mottled with dusky centers of
feathers on back, scapulars, etc.; also rusty ear-patches, and a rusty
collar, with faint rusty wash on sides. The black of wing and
tail-feathers is less pure (fuscous in the female) and edged with
white or tawny. Length 6.50-7.00 (165.1-177.8); wing 4.12 (104.6);
tail 2.54 (64.5); bill .40 (10.2).

Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; conspicuously and uniquely white,
with blacks and browns above.

Nesting.—Does not breed in Washington. “_Nest_: on the ground in the
sphagnum and tussocks of Arctic regions, of a great quantity of grass
and moss, lined profusely with feathers. _Eggs_: 4-6, very variable in
size and color, about .90 × .65 (22.9 × 16.5), white or whitish,
speckled, veined, blotched, and marbled with deep browns and neutral
tints” (Coues.).

General Range.—“Northern parts of the northern hemisphere, breeding in
the Arctic regions; in North America south in winter into the northern
United States, irregularly to Georgia, southern Illinois, Kansas and
Oregon.”

Range in Washington.—East-side, of regular occurrence in open country;
casual west of the Cascades.

Migrations.—Nov. 4, 1899 (Yakima County). March 17, 1896 (Okanogan
County).

Authorities.—[“Snow Bunting,” Johnson, Rep. Gov. W. T. 1884 (1885),
22.] Dawson, Auk, XIV. 1897, 178. T. D¹. D². B. E.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. B. E. P.

I well remember my first meeting with this prince of storm waifs, the Snowflake. It was in Chelan County on a chilly day in December. A distant-faring, feathered stranger had tempted me across a bleak pasture, when all at once a fluttering snowdrift, contrary to Nature’s wont, rose from earth toward heaven. I held my breath and listened to the mild babel of _tut-ut-ut-tews_, with which the Snow Buntings greeted me. The birds were loath to leave the place, and hovered indecisively while the bird-man devoured them with his eyes. As they moved off slowly, each bird seemed alternately to fall and struggle upward thru an arc of five or six feet, independently of his fellows, so that the flock as a whole produced quite the effect of a troubled snowstorm.

Snowflakes flock indifferently in winter and may occur in numbers up to several hundred. At other times a single, thrilling, vibrant call-note, _tew_ or _te-ew_, may be heard during the falling of the real flakes, while the wandering mystery passes overhead, unseen. Stray birds not infrequently mingle with flocking Horned Larks; while Snowflakes and Lapland Longspurs are fast friends in the regions where the latter are common.

Probably these birds are of regular tho sparing occurrence in the Big Bend and Palouse countries, but they do not often reach the southern border of the State; and their appearance on Puget Sound, as upon the prairies of Pierce County, is quite unusual. While with us they move aimlessly from field to field in open situations, or glean the weed-seed, which forms their almost exclusive diet. In time of storm, or when emboldened by the continuance of winter, they may make their appearance in the barnyard, or about the outbuildings, where their sprightly notes and innocent airs are sure to make them welcome.

It is difficult to conceive how these birds may withstand the frightful temperatures to which they are subjected in a winter upon the Saskatchewan plains, and yet they endure this by preference to the effeminizing influences which are believed to prevail south of “Forty-nine,” and especially west of the Rockies. Close-knit feathers, the warmest covering known, fortified by layers of fat, render them quite impervious to cold; and as for the raging blizzard, the birds have only to sit quietly under the snow and wait till the blast has blown itself out.

The sun alone prevails, as in the case of the man with the cloak, and at the first hint of the sun’s return to power, these ice-children hasten back to find their chilly cradles. A few nest upon the Aleutian Islands, and along the shores of northern Alaska; but more of them resort to those ice-wrapped islands of the far North, which are mere names to the geographer and dismal memories to a few hardy whalers. Peary’s men found them breeding in Melville Land; and if there is a North Pole, be assured that some Snowflake is nestling contentedly at the base of it.

No. 37.
ALASKAN LONGSPUR.

A. O. U. 536a. Calcarius lapponicus alascensis Ridgw.

Description.—_Adult male in summer_: Head, throat, and fore-breast
black; a buffy line behind eye and sometimes over eye; a broad nuchal
patch, or collar, of chestnut-rufous; remaining upperparts light
grayish brown, streaked with black and with some whitish edging; below
white; heavily streaked with black on sides and flanks; tail fuscous
with oblique white patches on the outer rectrices; feet and legs
black; bill yellow with black tip. _Adult male in winter_: Lighter
above; the black of head and chestnut of cervical collar partially
overlaid with buffy or whitish edging; the black of throat and breast
more or less obscured by whitish edging. _Adult female in summer_:
Similar to male in summer, but no continuous black or chestnut
anywhere; the black of head mostly confined to centers of
feathers,—these edged with buffy; the chestnut of cervical collar only
faintly indicated as edging of feathers with sharply outlined dusky
centers; black of throat and chest pretty thoroly obscured by grayish
edging, but the general pattern retained; sides and flanks with a few
sharp dusky streaks. _Adult female in winter_: [Description of October
specimen taken in Seattle] Above buffy grayish brown streaked
(centrally upon feathers) with black, wing coverts and tertials with
rusty areas between the black and the buffy, and tipped with white;
underparts warm buffy brownish, lightening on lower breast, abdomen,
and under tail-coverts (where immaculate), lightly streaked with black
on throat, chest, and sides, sharply on sides and flanks. Length of
adult males about 6.50; wing 3.77 (95.8); tail 2.50 (63.3); bill .46
(11.7); tarsus .86 (21.8). Female smaller.

Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; terrestrial habits; black head and
breast of male. The bird may be distinguished from the Horned Lark,
with which it sometimes associates, by the greater extent of its black
areas, and by the chirruping or rattling cry which it makes when
rising from the ground.

Nesting.—Does not breed in Washington. _Nest_: in grass tussock on
ground, flimsy or bulky, of grasses and moss, frequently water-soaked,
and lined carefully with fine coiled grass, and occasionally feathers.
_Eggs_: 4-6, light clay-color with a pale greenish tinge, variously
marked,—speckled, spotted, scrawled, blotched, or entirely overlaid
with light brown or chocolate brown. Av. size .80 × .62 (20.3 × 15.7).
_Season_: first week in June; one brood.

General Range.—“The whole of Alaska, including (and breeding on) the
Pribilof and Aleutian Islands, Unalaska, and the Shumagins; east to
Fort Simpson, south in winter thru more western parts of North America
to Nevada (Carson City), eastern Oregon, Colorado, western Kansas,
etc.” (Ridgway).

Range in Washington.—Presumably of more or less regular occurrence in
winter on the East-side. Casual west of the Cascades.

Authorities.—[“Lapland Longspur,” Johnson, Rep. Gov. W. T. 1884 (1885)
22.] Dawson, Auk, Vol. XXV. Oct. 1908, p. 483.

By all the rules this bird should be abundant in winter in the stubble fields of the Palouse country, if not upon the prairies of Pierce, Thurston, and Chehalis Counties. Bendire reported them from Camp Harney in eastern Oregon, and Brooks says they are common on Sumas Prairie, B. C.; but we have only one authentic record for this State, that of a straggler taken near Seattle in October, 1907. These Longspurs abound in Alaska during the nesting season, but it would appear that the mountain barriers habitually deflect their autumnal flight to the eastward, and that the few which reach us straggle down the coast.

Those who have seen Iowa prairies give up these birds by scores and hundreds every few rods, have been able to form some conception of their vast numbers, but it remained for the storm of March 13-14, 1904, to reveal the real order of magnitude of their abundance. An observer detailed by the Minnesota State Natural History Survey estimates that a million and a half of these “Lapland” Longspurs perished in and about the village of Worthington alone; and he found that this destruction, tho not elsewhere so intense, extended over an area of fifteen hundred square miles.

In spite of such buffetings of fortune, those birds which do reach Alaska bring a mighty cheer with them to the solitudes. As Nelson says: “When they arrive early in May the ground is still largely covered with snow with the exception of grassy spots along southern exposures and the more favorably situated portions of the tundra, and here may be found these birds in all the beauty of their elegant summer dress. The males, as if conscious of their handsome plumage, choose the tops of the only breaks in the monotonous level, which are small rounded knolls and tussocks. The male utters its song as it flies upward from one of these knolls and when it reaches the height of ten or fifteen yards, it extends the points of its wings upwards, forming a large V-shaped figure, and floats gently to the ground, uttering, as it slowly sinks, its liquid tones, which fall in tinkling succession upon the ear, and are perhaps the sweetest notes that one hears during the entire spring-time in these regions. It is an exquisite jingling melody, having much less power than that of the Bobolink, but with the same general character, and, tho shorter, it has even more melody than the song of that well known bird.”

No. 38.
WESTERN LARK SPARROW.

A. O. U. No. 552 a. Chondestes grammacus strigatus (Swains.).

Synonyms.—Quail-head. Western Lark Finch.

Description.—_Adult_: Head variegated, black, white, and chestnut;
lateral head-stripes black in front, chestnut behind; auriculars
chestnut, bounded by rictal and post-orbital black stripes; narrow
loral, and broader submalar black stripes; malar, superciliary, and
median stripes white, the two latter becoming buffy behind; upper
parts buffish gray brown, clearest on sides of neck, streaked by
blackish brown centers of feathers on middle back and scapulars,
persisting as edging on the fuscous wings and tail; tail-feathers,
except middle pair, broadly tipped with white; below white, purest on
throat and belly, washed with grayish buff on sides and crissum, also
obscurely across fore-breast, in which is situated a central black
spot. Length 6.25 (158.8); wing 3.35 (85); tail 2.68 (68); bill .47
(12); tarsus .80 (20.3).

Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; head variegated black, white, and
chestnut; fan-shaped tail broadly tipped with white and conspicuous in
flight (thus easily distinguished from the Western Vesper Sparrow with
square tail and lateral white feathers).

Nesting.—_Nest_: of grasses, lined with finer grass, rootlets and
occasionally horse-hair, on the ground or, rarely, in low bushes or
trees. _Eggs_: 5, white, pinkish or bluish white, spotted and scrawled
in zigzags and scrolls with dark browns or purplish blacks, chiefly at
the larger end; notably rounded in shape. Av. size .82 × .65 (20.8 ×
16.5). _Season_: May 15-June 5; one brood, rarely two.

General Range.—Western United States and plateau of Mexico; north to
middle British Columbia, Manitoba, etc.; east to eastern border of
Great Plains; west to Pacific Coast, including peninsula of lower
California; south in winter to Guatemala.

Range in Washington.—Summer resident east of Cascades only, in Upper
Sonoran and Arid Transition zones.

Migrations.—Wallula, May 6, 1907; Yakima Co., May 1, 1906; ibid, May
3, 1900; Chelan, May 19, 1896.

Authorities.—[“Western lark finch,” Johnson, Rep. Gov. W. T., 1884
(1885), 22.] Belding, Land Birds Pacific District (1890), p. 148
(Walla Walla, J. W. Williams, 1885). (T.) (C&S.) D¹. D². Ss¹. Ss². J.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) C. P.

As in the case of the Sandwich and Savanna Sparrows, the curiously striped coloration of this bird’s head is evidently intended to facilitate concealment. The bird peering out of a weed clump is almost invisible. And yet, as I was once passing along a sage-clad hillside in Chelan county with an observing young rancher, my companion halted with a cry. He had caught the gleam of a Lark Sparrow’s eye as she sat brooding under a perfect mop of dead broom-sage. The camera was brought into requisition, and the lens pointed downward. The camera-cloth bellied and flapped in the breeze, yellow tripod legs waved belligerently, and altogether there was much noise of photographic commerce, but the little mother clung to her eggs. The stupid glass eve of the machine, spite of all coaxing, saw nothing but twigs, and we were obliged to forego a picture of the sitting bird. To get the accompanying picture of eggs, I was obliged to hack away the protecting brush, having first slipped in a handkerchief to protect the nest and contents from showering debris.

The desert harbors many choice spirits, but none (save the incomparable Sage Thrasher) more joyous or more talented than the Lark Sparrow. Whether it is running nimbly along the ground or leaping into the air to catch a risen grasshopper, one feels instinctively that here is a dainty breed. The bird loves to trip ahead coquettishly along a dusty road, only to yield place at last to your insistent steed with an air of gentle reproach. As it flits away you catch a glimpse of the rounded tail, held half open, with its terminal rim of white, and you know you have met the aristocrat of the sage.

Lark Sparrows are somewhat irregular in distribution, but their range corresponds roughly with the northern extension of the Upper Sonoran zone, with overflow into the adjacent Arid Transition. Altho prairie birds, they are fond of scattered trees, fences, telegraph poles, or anything which will afford sufficient elevation for the sweet sacrament of song.

This bird, more frequently than others, is found singing in the middle of the very hottest days in summer, and at such times his tremulous notes come to the ear like the gurgling of sweet waters. But Ridgway’s description has not been surpassed:[15] “This song is composed of a series of chants, each syllable rich, loud, and clear, interspersed with emotional trills. At the beginning the song reminds one somewhat of that of the Indigo Bird (_Passerina cyanea_), but the notes are louder and more metallic, and their delivery more vigorous. Tho seemingly hurried, it is one continued gush of sprightly music; now gay, now melodious, and then tender beyond description,—the very expression of emotion. At intervals the singer falters, as if exhausted by exertion, and his voice becomes scarcely audible; but suddenly reviving in his joy, it is resumed in all its vigor, until he appears to be really overcome by the effort.”

These gentle birds are evidently profiting somewhat by the human occupation of the soil, and adapt themselves readily to changed conditions. They are reported as breeding in the valley of the Willamette in Oregon, but we have no records of their occurrence in Washington west of the Cascades.

No. 39.
WESTERN VESPER SPARROW.

A. O. U. No. 540a. Poœcetes gramineus confinis Baird.

Synonyms.—Western Grass Finch. Bay-winged Bunting.

Description.—_Adults_: General tone of upperparts slaty or grayish
brown on the edges of the feathers, modified by the dusky centers, and
warmed by delicate traces of rufous, bend of wing bay, concealing
dusky centers; wings and tail fuscous with pale tawny or whitish
edgings,—outer tail-feathers principally or entirely white, the next
two pairs white, or not, in varying amount; below sordid white,
sharply streaked on breast, flanks, and sides with dusky brown; the
chin and throat with small arrow marks of the same color and bounded
by chains of streaks; auriculars clear hair-brown, with buffy or
lighter center; usually a buffy suffusion on streaked area of breast
and sides. Length of adult male: 5.75-6.25 (146.1-158.8); wing 3.29
(83.6); tail 2.59 (65.8); bill .44 (11.2); tarsus .85 (21.6). Female a
little smaller.

Recognition Marks.—Sparrow size; general streaked appearance; white
lateral tail-feathers conspicuous in flight; frequents fields and the
open sage.

Nesting.—_Nest_: on ground, usually in depression, neatly lined with
grasses, rootlets, and horse-hair. _Eggs_: 4 or 5, pinkish-, grayish-,
or bluish-white, speckled, spotted and occasionally scrawled with
reddish-brown. Av. size, .82 × .60 (20.8 × 15.2). _Season_: first week
in May, second week in June; two broods.

General Range.—Western United States (except Pacific coast district)
and Canada north to Saskatchewan east to Manitoba, the Dakotas
(midway), western Nebraska, etc.; breeding from the highlands of
Arizona and New Mexico northward; in winter from southern California
east to Texas and south to southern Mexico.

Range in Washington.—East-side, sparingly distributed in all open
situations.

Migrations.—_Spring_: Yakima Co., March 15, 1900; Chelan Co., March
31, 1896.

Authorities.—Dawson, Auk, XIV. April 1897, p. 178. Sr. D². Ss¹. Ss².
J.

Specimens.—P. Prov. C.

A sober garb cannot conceal the quality of the wearer, even tho Quaker gray be made to cover alike saint and sinner. Plainness of dress, therefore, is a fault to be readily forgiven, even in a bird, if it be accompanied by a voice of sweet sincerity and a manner of self-forgetfulness. In a family where a modest appearance is no reproach, but a warrant to health and long life, the Vesper Sparrow is pre-eminent for modesty. You are not aware of his presence until he disengages himself from the engulfing grays and browns of the stalk-strewn ground or dusty roadside, and mounts a fence-post to rhyme the coming or the parting day.

The arrival of Vesper Sparrow, late in March, may mark the supreme effort of that particular warm wave, but you are quite content to await the further travail of the season while you get acquainted with this amiable newcomer. Under the compulsion of the sun the bleary fields have been trying to muster a decent green to hide the ugliness of winter’s devastation. But wherefore? The air is lonely and the sage untenanted. The Meadowlarks, to be sure, have been romping about for several weeks and getting bolder every day; but they are roisterous fellows, drunk with air and mad with sunshine. The winter-sharpened ears wait hungrily for the poet of common day. The morning he comes a low sweet murmur of praise is heard on every side. You know it will ascend unceasingly thenceforth, and spring is different.

Vesper Sparrow is the typical ground bird. He eats, runs, sleeps, and rears his family upon the ground; but to sing—ah, that is different!—nothing less than the tip of the highest sage-bush will do for that; a telegraph pole or wire is better; and a lone tree in a pasture is not to be despised for this one purpose. The males gather in spring to engage in decorous concerts of rivalry. The song consists of a variety of simple, pleasing notes, each uttered two or three times, and all strung together to the number of four or five. The characteristic introduction is a mellow whistled _he-ho_, a little softer in tone than the succeeding notes. The song of the western bird has noticeably greater variety than that of the eastern. Not only is it less stereotyped in the matter of pitch and duration, but in quality and cadence it sometimes shows surprising differences. One heard in Chelan County would have passed for Brewer’s on a frolic, except for the preliminary “_hee-ho’s_”: _Heéoo heéoo heéoo ^buzziwuzziwuzzi wuzziwuzziwuzzi weechee weechee_. And indeed it would not be surprising if he had learned from _Spizella breweri_, who is a constant neighbor and a safe guide in matters of sage lore. The scolding note, a thrasher-like kissing sound, _tsook_, will sometimes interrupt a song if the strange listener gets too close. Early morning and late evening are the regular song periods; but the conscientious and indefatigable singer is more apt than most to interrupt the noontide stillness also.

Since this species is a bird of open country and uplands, it cares little for the vicinity of water; but it loves the dust of country roads as dearly as an old hen, and the daily dust-bath is a familiar sight to every traveler. While seeking its food of weed-seeds and insects, it runs busily about upon the ground, skulking and running oftener than flitting for safety. Altho not especially timid it seems to take a sort of professional pride in being able to slip about among the weed stems unseen.

It is, of course, at nesting time that the sneak-ability of the bird is most severely tested. The nest, a simple affair of coiled grasses, is usually sunk, or chambered in the ground, so that its brim comes flush with the surface. For the rest, the brooding bird seldom seeks any other protection than that of “luck,” and her own ability to elude observation when obliged to quit the nest. Her behavior at this time depends largely upon the amount of disturbance to which she is subjected. At first approach of danger she is inclined to stick to her post till the last possible moment, and then she falls lame as she flutters off. But if often frightened, she shrewdly learns to rise at a considerable distance.

Two and sometimes three broods are raised in a season, the first in late April, the second in late June or early July. Pastures and fallow grounds are favorite spots for home building, but I have frequently come upon the nests in the open sage, and here oftenest upon hillsides or tops of low ridges.

Altho not averse to the wilderness, there is reason to believe that this bird profits by the advent of civilization, and that its numbers are slowly increasing.

No. 40.
OREGON VESPER SPARROW.

A. O. U. No. 540 b. Poœcetes gramineus affinis Miller.

Synonyms.—Pacific Vesper Sparrow. Miller’s Grass Finch.

Description.—Similar to _P. g. confinis_ but smaller and coloration
darker, browner above, more distinctly buffy below. Length of adult
male about 5.75 (146); wing 3.04 (77.2); tail 2.28 (57.9); bill .43
(10.9); tarsus .81 (20.6). Female a little smaller.

Recognition Marks.—As in preceding, less liable to confusion because
of absence of Brewer Sparrow, Western Lark Sparrow, etc., from range.

Nesting.—_Nest_: on ploughed ground or under shelter of fern-stalk,
fallen branch, or the like; of grasses lined with hair; measures
externally 3 inches across by 2 in depth, inside 2¼ across by 1¼ in
depth. _Eggs_: 3 or 4, size and color as in preceding. _Season_: May;
one brood, rarely two.

General Range.—Pacific coast district from northern California north
to British Columbia (including Vancouver Island); south in winter thru
southern California to Cape St. Lucas.

Range in Washington.—Of local occurrence on prairies and in cultivated
valleys west of the Cascades—not common.

Migrations.—_Spring_: Tacoma April 9, 1906; April 13, 1907.

Authorities.—_Poocætes gramineus_ Ba[i]rd, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R.
Surv. IX. 1858, p. 447 (part). (T). C&S. Ra. B.

Specimens.—(U. of W.) P. Prov. B. E.

The appearance of a Vesper Sparrow where trees are the rule is something of an anomaly. Nevertheless, this plains-loving bird seems to do very well in the prairie region south of Tacoma; and it has been here at least long enough to begin to assume the darker garb which characterizes old residents of the Sound region.

The bird is becoming fairly common wherever conditions in the large are suitable for it. I found it in numbers at Dungeness in the spring of 1906; and the agricultural lands of the Skagit are being accepted by this gentle songster as tho duly made and provided.

Mr. Bowles finds that eggs may not be looked for in the vicinity of Tacoma before the first week in May, and they are not certainly found before the middle of that month. Open prairie is most frequently selected for a site, and its close-cropped mossy surface often requires considerable ingenuity of concealment on the bird’s part. Ploughed ground, where undisturbed, is eagerly utilized. At other times a shallow cup is scraped at the base of a small fern, or the protection of a fallen limb is sought.

The eggs, from three to five in number, are perhaps the most handsomely, certainly the most quaintly marked of any in the sparrow family. The ground color is grayish white; and this, in addition to sundry frecklings and cloudings of lavender, is spotted, blotched, and scrawled, with old chestnut.

The female sits closely and sometimes will not leave the nest until removed. She seldom flies at that, but steps off and trips along the ground for some distance. Then she walks about uneasily or pretends to feed, venturing little expression of concern. Curiously, her liege lord never appears, either, in defense of his home, but after the young are hatched he does his fair share in feeding them.

No. 41.
SANDWICH SPARROW.

A. O. U. No. 542. Passerculus sandwichensis (Gmelin).

Synonym.—Larger Savanna Sparrow.

Description.—_Adults_: General tone of upper plumage grayish brown—the
feathers blackish centrally with much edging of grayish-brown
(sometimes bay), flaxen and whitish; a mesial crown-stripe dull buffy,
or tinged anteriorly with yellowish; lateral stripes with grayish
brown edging reduced; a broad superciliary stripe yellow, clearest
over lore, paling posteriorly; cheeks buffy with some mingling and
outcropping of dusky; underparts whitish, clearest on throat, washed
with buffy on sides, heavily and sharply streaked on sides of throat,
breast, sides, flanks and thighs with dusky; streaks nearly confluent
on sides of throat, thus defining submalar area of whitish; streaks
darkest and wedge-shaped on breast, more diffused and edged with buffy
posteriorly; under tail-coverts usually _but not always_ with
concealed wedge-shaped streaks of dusky; bill dusky or dull horn-color
above, lighter below; feet palest; iris dark brown. _Fall specimens_
are brighter; the yellow, no longer prominent in superciliary stripe,
is diffused over plumage of entire head and, occasionally, down sides;
the bend of the wing is pale yellow (or not); the sides are more
strongly suffused with buffy which usually extends across breast.
Length about 5.75 (146); wing 2.99 (76); tail 2.00 (51); bill .47
(12); tarsus .88 (22.5).

Recognition Marks.—Warbler size (but much more robust in appearance
than a Warbler); general streaky appearance; the striation of the
head, viewed from before, radiates in twelve alternating areas of
black and white (or yellow); larger and lighter than the (rare)
Savanna Sparrow (_P. s. savanna_); larger. darker and browner than the
common Western Savanna Sparrow (_P. s. alaudinus_).

Nesting.—Not yet reported breeding in Washington. _Nest_ and _eggs_ as
in _P. s. alaudinus_.

General Range.—“Unalaska Island (also Shumagin islands and lower
portion of Alaska peninsula?) in summer; in winter, eastward and
southward along the coast to British Columbia, more rarely to Northern
California” (Ridgway). Also breeds extensively in western British
Columbia and on Vancouver Island (_Auct._ Fannin, Kermode, Dawson).

Range in Washington.—Spring and fall migrant on both sides of the
Cascades (sparingly on East-side); (presumably) resident in winter
west of the range; possibly summer resident in northwestern portion of
State.

Migrations.—_Spring_: April (West-side); South Park April 24, 25, 29,
1894; May (East-side); Yakima Co. May 8, 10, 1894; _Fall_: September.

Authorities.—_Passerculus sandwichensis_ Baird, Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R.
Surv. IX. 1858, p. 445. C&S. Rh. Kb.

Specimens.—U. of W. Prov. C.