News, Notes, Comments MANY FIELD BIOLOGIST INTERNS are needed ing on location),and housingprovided. For further to operate constanteffort mist-nettingand band- informationand application materials, interested ing(MAPS) stations in Washington,Oregon, Cali- persons should contact fornia,Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland,Virginia, and NorthCarolina. Internships Eric Feuss, begin21 April, 23 April or I May and end 8 Au- The Institute for Bird Populations gust, dependingon location.Applicants should P.O. Box 1346 havesubstantial birding experience; internships in- Point Reyes Station, CA 94956 cludean intensive,two-week training course in the (415-663-1436; FAX 415-663-9482, above-mentionedmonitoring techniques. Appli- e:mail IBPSTAFF(•COMPUSERVE.COM) cants with good field vehicles are especially needed.A per diemreimbursement, ranging from Please pass thisannouncement on to anyonewho approximately$438 to $617 per month(depend- might be interestedin such a position. Books A Guideto the Identificationand NaturalHistory Jamaicaor somesuch place. Sparrows as a group, of the Sparrows of the United States and Canada. however,present two majorproblems: many species J. Rising.1996. Academic Press, New York. 365 pp., are hardto observe,and mostare dulland primarily including27 colorplates. $39.95 U.S. (hardcover), brown,making identification a pain, compared to their $19.95 U.S. (paperback). more brightlycolored and visible relatives. When I was a graduatestudent, another birder once Thesetwo problemswould be reducedwith a good askedme what I was studyingfor my dissertation. fieldguide to the sparrowsand theirallies. This must "Sparrows,"was my answer. The birder looked at be the goldenage for sparrow-lovers,because no me quizzicallyfor a moment,then responded, "Well, less than three bookscovering the identificationof I guesssomebody has to studythem." sparrows, finches and their relatives have been publishedin the pastfew years,including those by Thefact that we weresurrounded by the colorfuland Clements et al. (1993) covering finches and exoticavifauna of southwesternArizona probably goldfinches,Byers et al. (1995) on sparrowsand helpedfuel my companion'sconfusion. Why study buntingsof the World,and Rising's1996 subjectof sparrowswhen such fantastic birds as trogons, thisreview. Rising covers many of the samespecies orioles and hummingbirdsare around? In fact, as Byerset al. (1995), but with a greateremphasis sparrowsform an excellentgroup to study, especially on NorthAmerican species. All threebooks have fine for banders. They provide several logistical sets of color plates illustratingthe species in detail. advantages--they usually remain close to the The mainquestion I soughtto answerin reviewing ground,where they can be caughtin mistnets, they Rising's book was, "Is this book valuable for eat seedsthat help lurethem into traps, and they banders?" nestin locationswhere their young can be banded. Foran ecologist,there are otherplusses--wintering The organizationof Rising'sbook is straightforward. sparrowseat food(seeds) that can be quantifiedmore A beginningset of chaptersintroduces the formatfor easilythan other kinds of foods(what do swiftseat, the book, and answers the question, "What are anyway?);many sparrows show one styleof social sparrows?" A set of line drawings covers the organizationinthe breeding season (territoriality) and topography of a "typical" sparrow, defining another in the winter (flocking);and since some morphologicalfeatures of a standingor flyingbird. species in the southern U.S. are permanent The "What are sparrows?"chapter includes an residents, researchers do not need to consider what introduction to the conservation and taxonomic is happeningto theirwintering habitat in Guatemala, relationshipsof the group,among other topics. Oct. - Dec. 1997 NorthAmerican Bird Bander Page173 Rising also discusses the use of subspecies Rising includesall species documentednorth of the designationsto help identificationof sparrowswith Mexican-U.S. border. In addition to the regularly marked geographicvariation. occurringspecies, there are shortaccounts for Black- faced Grassquit (Tiaris bicolor), Yellow-faced The remainder of the book consists of species Grassquit(T. olivacea), Worthen'sSparrow (Spizella accountsand plates.Each genusis introducedbriefly, worthera), and a slew of Alaskan specialties of the with the relationshipbetween the genus and other genus Ernberiza. sparrowssummarized. Species accountsfollow, with sections on identification (including a plumage The most successful part of the book is its plates, descriptionfor distinctiveage classes), voice (mostly which show plumagevariation in much greater detail songs), habits (behavioralnotes), habitat, breeding than standard field guides. In some cases there is information, range, history, geographic variation, an abundanceof information--13Song Sparrowsare measurements, and references. The references listed shown on one plate, while 21 Dark-eyed Juncos in each accountare notcomprehensive; instead, they (Junco hyernalis) cover two others. Even are mainly the works that proved most useful in morphologically"plain" species (those withoutmany compilingthe account. subspecies) get extensive coverage. There are five figures each for Botteri's and Cassin's sparrows Each speciesaccount is illustratedby a line drawing (Aimophilabotteri and A. cassiniOtogether on one by David Beadle(who also did the plates),and usually plate,with each speciesshown in bothfresh and worn includes both a range map showing breeding and plumage. An importantpart of the coverage of each wintering ranges, and an abundance map from the speciesis the provisionof goodillustrations of juvenal Breeding Bird Survey. The abundance maps were plumages, which can be particularlyconfusing for taken (withpermission) from Price et al. (1995). Many birds in the hand. accountscontain line drawings of spreadtail patterns, showinggeographic, sex or age class differences.A Even with all these portraits, some significant unique feature in the accounts is a number of charts variation is not illustrated. The melanistic race that summarize important information--e.g., nigrescens of the Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza distinguishingmarks of Chipping,Clay-colored and georgiana)is not pictured,although it is mentioned Brewer's sparrows (Spizella passedna, S. pal/ida, briefly in the text. The rufous phase of Cassin's and S. brewerIT;measurements of subspeciesof both Sparrowis not mentionedat all. Admittedly,the rufous juncos, Savannah (Passerculus sandwichensis), Cassin's is quite rare, but is has shown up in distant Song(Melospiza rnelodia), Bell's and Sage sparrows locales, such as the Farallon Islands. (Arnphispizabelli and A. nevadensis,see below);field marksfor winter longspur identification. The drawings Mostof the platesare quite successful,capturing both of tail patterns and the charts might be especially the morphologyand the "feel"of real, live sparrows. helpful to banders. I particularly liked plate 24, comparing winter- plumaged longspurs in flight, since I rarely see Species limits generally follow the latest American longspurs any other way. The Vesper Sparrows Ornithologists'Union check list, but Risingwas able (Pooecetesgrarnineus) are appropriatelypudgy, and to anticipate changes made in the last few the Black-throatedSparrow (Arnphispizabilineata) supplements. Thus, Nelson's Sharp-tailed and is much better than the inkblot in the National Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed sparrows (Arnrnodrarnus Geographic Society field guide (Scott 1987). I felt nelsoniand A. caudacutus,respectively) are given that the towhee plateswere the least successful.The separate accounts, as are Eastern and Spotted Californiaand Canyon towhees (Pipilo crissalisand towhees(Pipilo erythrophthalrnus and P. rnaculatus). P. fuscus) seem too garish for the subtle beauty of Risingalso anticipatedsome moves not yet taken these birds. (Perhaps "subtlebeauty" is a bit strong, by the A.O.U. Bell's and Sage sparrows have but I did my dissertationon Canyon Towhees, so I separate accounts,and Risingsplit the Fox Sparrow really like them.) The summerplumage Green-tailed (Passerellailiaca) into three species. On the other Towhee (P. ch/orurus)seems flat-faced,as if it ran hand, Brewer'sSparrow (Spizella brewer 0 was not intoa windowwith its head turnedto the side. Shapes split, although information is provided for the and colorsare betteron mostother species.Most of "Timberline"Sparrow ( S. "taverneri'3. the flying birds are portrayedwith their tails spread and pointed downwards. This helps to show off the Page 174 North American Bird Bander Vol. 22 No. 4 tail pattern, but is distractingfor species that don't but what is a "double-roundedtail" (page 176)? Why normallyfly that way. No flight pattern is given for the hesitation in saying that Saltmarsh Seaside the SongSparrow, which does drag its tail downward Sparrows"apparently sometimes respond to pishing." in flight. In the Eastern Towbee, juvenal plumage is said to be held for "rathera longtime." Compared to what? The text is less successfulthan the plates,and could have undergonea more careful edit. Sections are Finally, in the introductory chapter, the History missing from some accounts--there are no body sectionsof the speciesaccounts are describedby masses given for Brewer'sSparrow, Black-chinned the following:"The empasis [sic] in this section is Sparrow (Spizella atrogularis), and Yellow-eyed 'now and then,' since the available information is Junco (Juncophaeonotus), even thoughthe