Western Bird Guide: Birds of the Rockies and West to the Pacific

by Charles K. Reed

WESTERN LARK SPARROW.

552a. Chondestes grammacus strigatus. 6½ inches.

One of the most common, as well as the most handsome of the sparrow family on the western coast; with its bright chestnut on the sides of the head, and black and white on the crown. They nest in low bushes, or on the ground in a clump of grass; four eggs are laid; white with dark brown markings, mostly about the larger end (.80 × .60).