SONG SPARROWS. Melospiza melodia (Wilson)²⁹

Field characters.—Somewhat larger than Junco. Body streaked both above and below; ground color above dark, below white; a distinct dark spot on breast; no white marks on wing or tail; a light stripe over each eye and another over mid crown. Tail short-appearing, not longer than body, habitually carried up at decided angle with back. A quick-moving sparrow, almost as active as a wren. Voice: Song of male set as to theme, much varied as to rendering; begun with two or three separate clear notes, followed by a buzz and ended with a trill; both sexes utter various call notes.

Occurrence.—Winter visitant in small to moderate numbers at various places on west slope of Sierra Nevada below 4500 feet altitude. Also present during summer season locally east of the mountains, around Mono Lake; in fall stragglers reach to 9000 feet on east slope.²⁹ Inhabits bushes and thickets nearly always close to water or over damp ground. Solitary except when pairs are engaged in nesting.

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²⁹Four subspecies of the Song Sparrow were found in the Yosemite region. The case with these birds is different from that with the Fox Sparrows, as one subspecies of song sparrow is much more numerously represented than the others, both winter and summer, and there are very few if any Song Sparrows present in the western portion of the region during the summer months. Furthermore, in summer, the Song Sparrow occurs altogether below the range of the Fox Sparrow. The subspecies represented are as follows:

MODOC SONG SPARROW, Melospiza melodia fisherella Oberholser, a gray-toned form with light brown streaking, is a summer visitant to the Great Basin region east of the mountains where it was found by us at Mono Lake Post Office, near Williams Butte, and at Silver and Walker lakes. Single individuals (strays?) noted at Gem Lake, 9036 feet, September 13, 1915, and at Warren Fork of Leevining Creek, September 25, 1915. Also occurs on the west slope, but only in winter, being then found from Yosemite Valley westward to Snelling and Lagrange. This is the commonest subspecies in the region.

RUSTY SONG SPARROW, Melospiza melodia rufina (Bonaparte), a reddish brown colored form which summers in the coastal district of northwest America from southeastern Alaska to Washington, was taken at Snelling, January 6, 1915, and at Smith Creak, east of Coulterville, March 3, 1917, and November 26, 1918.

HEERMANN SONG SPARROW, Melospiza melodia heermanni Baird, a large billed subspecies with black streaking on a pale ground, which nests in the San Joaquin Valley, was found at Snelling, January 2, 1915, and at Lagrange, December 10, 1915. It is possible that this race nests within our limits, although we found no song sparrow at Snelling or Lagrange in May.

MERRILL SONG SPARROW, Melospiza melodia merrilli Brewster, a large, brownish form, yet paler than rufina, summering in the northern interior states between the Cascade and Rocky mountains, was found once, in winter, at Snelling, January 7, 1915.

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The Song Sparrow is not so conspicuous a member of the avifauna in the Yosemite section as it is in many other parts of North America. In summer, it is present only east of the mountains, while in winter, when some representatives of the species do occur on the west side of the Sierra Nevada, its numbers are never large, as compared for instance with those in the coastal region of California. This deficiency is due perhaps to the relative dearth of suitable stream-side cover.

Both summer and winter the Modoc Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia fisherella) is the most abundant of the several subspecies of song sparrow occurring in the Yosemite region. East of the mountains, in the spring of 1916, it was found near Williams Butte as early as April 29, and in the fall of 1915 it was still present on September 20. It probably leaves the east side of the mountains during the winter months, though it doubtless returns there as soon as weather conditions permit. In Yosemite Valley, our earliest fall record for song sparrows was made on October 10 (1914), when two were noted in some willows. A bird captured there on October 28 (1915), proved to be the Modoc Song Sparrow. Subsequently, Mr. Joseph Mailliard (1918, p. 17) took one of these birds on September 27 (1917). None was seen by us at any station on the west side of the mountains higher than the floor of Yosemite Valley. In November and December, a few of this race were found along the Merced River at El Portal and Pleasant Valley; and it was fairly common at Snelling and Lagrange.

The song sparrow resembles in general appearance the Lincoln sparrow which occurs in one part or another of the Yosemite region throughout the year. The song sparrow is of larger size and stouter build, has no buffy band across its breast, and the streaks on the breast are heavier. In the summer season, however, there is no overlapping in the ranges of these two sparrows. The Lincoln is then almost altogether above the 6000-foot level, and on the west slope only.

No nests of the song sparrow came to our attention. But in the vicinity of Mono Lake the presence in mid-September, 1915, of yet unmolted juvenile examples of fisherella pointed toward broods having been reared in the vicinity. On September 20, 1915, song sparrows were seen around the edge of Mono Lake, where the birds seemed to be feeding on the then abundant supply of Mono Lake flies and their larvae.