Extension of Range of the Black-Chinned Sparrow Into Utah
Extension of Range of the Black-chinned Sparrow into Utah
While on a collecting trip in southwestern Utah in the spring of 1939, an unfamiliar bird song was heard by Mr. Aaron Ross, one of our party. The bird when secured proved to be a male Black-chinned Sparrow (Spizella atrogularis evura). Later others were collected, making a total of four. These specimens, all males (now numbers 5793-5796 Mus. Zool. University of Utah), were taken April 29 and 30, 1939, at the Danish Ranch, 4200 feet, 5 miles northwest of Leeds, Washington County, Utah. They were collected in an area of sparse juniper and pifion pine along more or less rocky ridges. From the fact that the birds were actively singing and showed enlarged gonads, we inferred that they were birds established in the area and about to breed, although the certainty of this was by no means established.
William H. Behle
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 1, 1940
