CLIPBOARD : BREEDING BIRDS : RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROW (Aimophila ruficeps)

Description: Gray and brown above with rust-colored cap; red streaks across back; white eye ring; black whisker stripe on each side of the face; gray below; long, rounded tail. Juveniles are buffier overall and may show two pale wing bars. Length is six inches.

Habitat: Dry, rocky hillsides, open pine-oak woods and brushy roadsides.

Diet: Seeds, forb shoots and grass.

Displays: Male and female perform “pair-reunion duet,” a high-pitched shrill song, when meeting on their territory.

Nest: Grass, twigs and forbs form cup-size nest in shallow hole, rim is flush with ground surface.

Eggs: Pale blue and unmarked; an eighth of an inch long.

Call: A sharply repeated dear ; song is a stuttering, gurgling series of chip sounds.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas, call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).