BULLE3?IN OF THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUlt-. 8 7 Notes on California Song Sparrows.* BY RICHARD C. MCGRI?GOR. ./?felos?'za fasciata pusillula Ridway. The Salt Marsh Song spa:rr0w is described by Mr. Ridgway (?/uk, Jan? I$99, 35) as having the "supercil?ary stripe and under parts more or less tinged with yellowish, the latter never (?) pure white." In a series of twenty-six skins of the race before me twenty-one are more or less yellowish. They are from the following localities: Alviso, Hay- wards, Palo Alto, Alameda and West Berkeley; five from West Berkeley, one from Alviso, and one from Alameda, lack the yellowish both of supere)li,(ry stripe and lower parts, but are of an equally small size. One of my smallest birds (?89, West Berkeley, Feb. 2, I889) is faintly washed with yellowish on breast, belly, sides and flanks; throat, chin and superciliary stripe white. Three examples (?5?8, ?529, Alviso, Sept. 9, ?896; and ?634, Haywards salt marsh, Oct. ?3, ?894) have nearly the whole plunmge suffused with dark yellowish, even the median crown stripe, neck and back being washed with yellowish. A series of lighter yellow birds were taken on Palo Alto marsh in March. The white birds were taken in February, one in September. The specimens at hand indicate that the yellowish coloration is independent of season, age, sex or condition of plunmge. This seems to be a case parallel to that of ?lmmodramus sandwichensis bryanti and M. s. alaudinus. I find that these two ?lmmodrami intergrade beautifully in size and the snmller (b?yanti) often is lighter and less yellow than the larger (alaudinus). In the Pacific R. R. Report IX, 479, Baird describes &relospiza .gouldii as "sim- ilar to W/. heermanni but very much smaller. Breast and sides conspicuously streaked with black; back and head distinctly streaked; length 4.70; wing tail =.38." Concerning the type Mr. Ridgway wrote me April r4, ?894: "The type of At..ouldi Baird, although of unknown locality only 'California' being its known origin, agrees with the southern coast specimens in its less rusty colora- tion." Baird emphasizes the fact that M. ?ouldii has the wing and tail very snmll: Now the white birds ?vhich I have referred to W/. pusillula are the smallest song sparrows I have seen and if they agree with Baird's type, the subspecies would stand as W/elospiza melodia gouldii Baird. Many specimens of song sparrows from the southern coast district, especially breeding birds, are needed before we can hope to map the range of the California JIelospize. Measurements are given to show the relative sizes of Santoels' and the Salt Marsh Song Sparrows. They are taken from five skins of the white form and ten skins each of samuelis and the yellow pusillula.
( White birds
puszllula ? Yellow birds samuelis __ Wing_. Tai?l. 2.:?4-=-37 (:?.3=)[ :?,o6:=.t8 (:?'t=)t
- ?'t4-='44 (=.=9)J t'93-:?'3 (:?.Io)J
=.3I-=.5o (=.38)[ =.I7-=.39 (=.=9)l Exposed Cnlmen.
36-.4 (.39) 38-.45 (..4 ?) 4?-.46 (.42)
/lmmodramus samuelis Baird was described from two birds collected at Peta- luma, Sonoma County, by E. Samuels. Skins from that exact locality not being Wailable, three from San Geronimo, two from Ukiah and one from Cloverdale are here taken as probably representing this form. Five skins from, the west c9ast of Mendocino County differ so remarkably from these and, in fact from all others in my series of samuelis, some thirty skins, that I venture to give,the coast bird a new name. , ' l?elospiza melodia ? cleonensis, subsp. nov; M?noc?o So? SPARROVt(.. auh$p. c?ar. Size of ?r. m. samue/is but lighter and more rusty; black markin gs of, back more:, restricted; spots of breast broadly edged with rnsty; black on side of head and neck almost eft- tirely replaced by rusty or reddish brown.
