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Concord,
1895.
June 26.

Poocaetes graraineus .

Mass .

The singing of the Grass Pinches was very rich and tender
this evening - quite up to the best singing one ever hears
from this species. There can he no question that the song
■becomes sweeter and more expressive as the summer advances.

Poocoetes ^raminous .
Peterborough, Hew Hampshire.

1893.

Throughout this region the Vesper Sparrows appear to have

July 5
to

Aug .15.

the upland mowing fields wholly to themselves and everywhere

they are abundant. The record of singing is as follows

July 5 to 12 (2 or 3 daily), 17-x, 13-x-, 19*, 20*, 2l|, 24*,

•X ■% K

25*, August 8*(in full song once at sunrise). The birds noted

on the 24th were found by W. Deane near the summit of Pad:

Monadnock.

Concord,

Mass. Scarcity in Concord, Mass.

1899.

The only Grass Pinch I know of in the whole Ball's Hill

May 13.

region is one that has sung up to within a few days in Law-
rence's field within hearing of the Barrett house.

Jptne .

Two Grass Pinches which I heard singing on June 3th near

White Pond were the only birds that I met with during the

month. The species must have suffered terrible losses in the

South last winter.

Birds of Upper St. John*
Bateiieldw.

45 . Pocecetes gramineus (Gm.) Bd. Grass Finch. - Common at
Fort Fairfield. Some seen in the open fields at Grand Falls.

Bull N. O.Q, 7, July, 1832. P.148

•? a . -

177. Pooecetes gramineus. — Shot at Godbout, April 24, 1885. Others
were seen the same day and the next, and on May 10.

t . /-/ ^ A i.,„ y V r f ? • Cy ■

Auk, 2, July, 1885. p. 3/5~

Br ee di n | Dates of Birds in Kings

County, N.S. Watson L . Bishop

Grass Finch (Pocecetes granlineus) . May 20,

27. June 4.

0,&0. XIII. Mar. 1888 p.4o

sh mat Birds of Sudbury , 'Out.
A.JS.Aifeera<w» _

*of»ay wmg Bating. Tolerably comment.

O. &O s XV, June, 1890, P-8'7

Dwight, Summer Birds of
Prince Bd^rard Island.

Poocsetes gramineus. Vesper Sparrow. — An abundant bird, frequent-
ing the open fields in the more settled districts.

Auk X, Jan, 1893. p.1.1

Pf^tA ! I, •ZpCK^cl <H<xCeA> .

iy^a. yc ,

203. Pooecetes gramineus. Vesper Sparrow. — Abundant summer
resident, April 7 to October 23; breeds commonly.

General Notes.

’““■'a.Ti-”*

Poocsetes gramineus.

Aujc XII. Jan. 1895 pi qq

<y. @'UoC+sy J L <i ,

<° . 6 Ct^cA. /X * I V , /? ^ ^ fy

41. Pooecetes gramineus. Vesper Sparrow. — Only one seen, July
30, in a small clearing near Haileybury.

f

1890, Penobscot Bay, Maine,

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Birds of Dead River Region, Me. F. H. 0.

49. Powcetes gramineus, (Grass Finch). Ob-
served in the open fields around houses. Did not
look for nests. Mr. Freeborn lists it as “Abund-
ant summer and winter; breeds.”

on Southwest
, Montgomery, Jr,.

540. Vesper Sparrow. Uncommon. I se-
cured a $ at Boothbay, and saw two others.

Qj&ndQ, W>t Nor, 1890,

SummerResidents

Ooast of Maine, y.H

O.&O. XI. Oct. 1886. p, 145

Birds Obs. at Moulton boro, N.H
July2i-Aug.il, 1883. F.H. Allen.

Poocaetes gramineus.-Verv common

J «*., 18*9. p. 7a

'y common.

Birds Obs. at Bridgewater, N.H.
Julyia-Sspt. 4, 1883. F.H. Allen

Poocaetes gramineus. — Common.

Auk, VI. Jan., 1889. p. 77

Birds of HirsboroCo. N.H. June 27, ’93
Arthur M. Fanner, AmoeAeag, H. H.

Grassfinch, common.

O.AOVol.17, Sept. 1892 p.130

•helburne, N. H. Aug. 8-29*1865. R. D.

tye Beach, N.H. 1896-1885.

Bds. Obs. in Franconia, N.H. June 11-21
’86, and June4-Aug. 1,’87, W. Faxon

33. Poocaetes gramineus. Bay-winged Sparrow. — Abundant.

Auk, V. April, 1888. p.132

Bds. Obs. at Franconia and Bethlehem
N.H. July- August, 1874. J. A. Allen

23. Poocaetes gramineus. Abundant.

Auk, V. April, 1888. p.154

26. Poocaetes gramineus. Bay-winged Bunting.— V ery common.

Auk, V. April, 1888. p.150

Breezy Point, Warren, N.H.

1894.

ft

Breezy Point, Warren, N.H.

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First Arrivals.O. O. Tracy. Taftsville, Vt.

O.&O. Vlll. Sept. 1883. p. 7 /

Summer Bds.Mt. Mansfield, Vt.

38. Pocecetes gramineus. Vesper Sparrow. — Abundant; the com-
monest singer in the valley.

by Arthur H. Howell. Auk, XVIII, Oct., 1901, p.342.

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June 25-30, 1889.

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uted about Ashby.

Fail Migration. Bristei County, Mass.
1885. Charles H. Andros.

tod-W

jfytrtt-cl Bay- l| winged Buntings as common.

O.&O. XI. Jan. 1886. p.-?-

U7oa4v I'J'tli, Grass Finc h
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7 77. %. Tityyfov ■

O.&O. XI. Apr. 1886. p. i~2.

very common and generally distrib-

(C

Fall Migration, Bristol County, Mass,
1885. Charles H. Andros,

{fxft&.'LO j- Our Grass Finches are being reinforced
by migrants from the north.

O.&o. XI. Jan. 1886. p.^

Birds of Bristol County , Mass.
F.W- Andros.

Pooccetes gramineus ^Breeds,

row. Summer resident, commm

O.&O. XII. Sept. 1887 p.140

8ds Ohs. near Sheffield. Berkshire
£ Mm.. June 17-26. '88. W. Fa*oa

3 2. Poocsetes gramineus. Bay-winged Sparrow.— Common.

Auk, VI. Je*.. l«e©.p.44

Bd*. Obs. near Grnylec Mi B'-k shire
Oo. Maes. June 28- Jury 1>3. W. Faxon

29. Poocsetes gramineus. Bay-winged Sparrow. — Common in the
cultivated land in the valleys.

Auk. yi. April, 1889. p.100

Birds Known to Pass Breeding Season
nr. Winchendon, Mass. Wm. Brewster

37. Poocsetes gramineus.

Auk, V, Oct., 1888. p.389

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O.&O. Vlll, Apr. 1883. p.y/-

Birds of the Adirondack Region.

C.B.Merriaxu,

64 Pocecetes gramineus (G metin') Baird. Grass -Common

in places; breeding in dry grass-covered clearings and sandy fields.

Bull N. O.O, a, Oct, 1881, p.229

Bird Notes from Long Id. Wm. Dutcher

2 Pocecetes gramineus ( Gm .) Baird. Grass Finch.
One was taken February 22, 1883, on Jones Beach. It was
in company with the Ipswich Sparrows, taken the same day and
in the same locality. Noted as being an eai y c a e

Auk, I, Jan. . 1884. p.

h

2_«T 30

Vesper Sparrow. Not common.

E. A. Sterling, Brooklyn, Pa.

Auk, XIX, July, 1902, p.298.

The Vesper Sparrow on Long Island, N. Y., in Winter. On Febru-
ary 12 I observed two or three Vesper Sparrows (. Pocecetes gramineus) at
Bellmore, Long Island. It was very difficult to make out tire white in
the tail against a background of snow, and I had to follow them about
and get them against a dark background to make out this mark satis-
factorily. Two birds seen February 10, some where between Babylon and
Massapequa, which I was unable to identify, I now believe to have been

this species.— John Treadwell Nichols Veil) York City.

Auk, 24, Apr. ,1907, p. ZZo-

The Vesper Sparrow ( Poaecetes gramineus) on Long Island, N. Y., in
Winter.— In order to confirm Mr. J. T. Nichols’s observation published in
‘The Auk,’ Vol. XXIV, p. 220, I wish to record four specimens in my
collection taken on Feb. 7, 1905, near the northern part of Jamaica Bay,
from a flock of these birds' found roaming the snow covered fields. J. A.
Weber, New York City. , /*'

Und«3cribed First Plumages, Brewster

104. Pocecetes gramineus.

First plumage : male. Above reddish-brown, the feathers everywhere
streaked with dark brown. Upon the nape and the anterior portion of
the back much -whitish mottling appears, for the most part upon the mar-
gins of the feathers. Shoulder and wing anteriorly, nearly as in the adult.
Secondaries and all the rectrices except the outer pair (which are marked
with white like the adults), bright reddish-brown. Beneath ashy-white,
slightly tinged with brownish-yellow. Throat, breast, and sides thickly
and broadly streaked with brownish-black. Upon the sides of the chin
and throat these streaks are run together, forming a short but continuous
stripe. Prom a specimen in my collection obtained by Mr. N. C. Brown
at Portland, Me., July 26, 1877.

Ball, N.O.C. 4, Jan. , 1870, p. V0

Albinism and Melanism in North
American Birds, Ruthven D^ane.

Bull N.e.O. 1, April, 1876, p,2l

Albinietic Plumages. R. Deane.

The Singing of Birds. E.P.Bicknell.

Pocecetes gramineus. Grass Finch.

Where this Sparrow breeds numerously it perhaps sings on
later into the summer than in the locality of my observations,
where it is not a common summer bird. In some years I have
not heard it long -after the entry of July, but usually it sings till
late in the month, and I am not without dates of its singing in
early August.

In the autumn the species as a whole is without song, but in-
dividuals sometimes infringe the general rule of silence. At
Saratoga, on September 30, 1883, a bird rose into the air from a
sandy field, ascending with an excited chippering which passed
into the musical notes of a varied and extended song; this in-
stantly suggested the song of the Vesper Sparrow, differing, how-
ever, in being less definite in theme and more prolonged, but just as
the songs of many birds while on the wing differ from their usual
strains. Where the bird alighted a flock of Vesper Sparrows
scattered up on my approach, and there can be no doubt that it
was to one of their number that I had listened. I bad not before
observed the song-flight in this species. Another record of this
Sparrow’s singing in the autumn has been mislaid.

Auk, I, Oct. , 1884. p. J 3 O ■

LlJ '" J r 00 c

May and June, and again after the fall moult there is a renewal
of the spring chantings — an aftermath of song, for the bird ceases
his soaring lay, and once more sings for the setting of the sun.

Another peculiar effusion of the Bay-wings is a prolonged
twittering, uttered after dusk, as the bird runs on the ground. It
is like a soft, continuous whispering of extracts from his various
other musical performances.

Auk, 2, Jan. , 1885. P. J. 3 .

22

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C. £. 7- StX<r>x-

During the months of July and August the Bay-winged Bunting
(Pooecetes gramineus) ceases its usual vesper song, and vents his
feelings in a loud, wild, Lark-like chant, which is poured forth as
the hii'd rises high in the air ; he begins to sing as he leaves the
prairie, and sings and soars till he has reached a height of fifty or
sixty feet, when he again returns to earth.

This air-song is not heard nearly as frequently as the common
perching-song is in its proper season, nor have I heard both at
the same time of year. The perching-song alone is heard during
May and June, and again after the fall moult there is a renewal
of the spring chantings — an aftermath of song, for the bird ceases
his soaring lay, and once more sings for the setting of the sun.

Another peculiar effusion of the Bay-wings is a prolonged
twittering, uttered after dusk, as the bird runs on the ground. It
is like a soft, continuous whispering of extracts from his various
other musical performances.

Auk, 2, Jan. , 1885. p. JL 3 .

20

Gill, Pedioccetes and Pooccztes.

fAuk
I Jan.

Auk, XVI, Jan. , 1899, p y Z>a-z3 .

THE GENERIC NAMES PEDIOCCETES AND
POOCcETES.

BY THEODORE GILL.

The two generic names, Pedioccetes and Pooccetes , have been
much animadverted upon, but have nevertheless been adopted in
the A. O. U. Check-List of North American Birds. These names
were adopted because it was supposed that they were the first
ones published for the genera involved. That such was not the
case will be made evident. Not only were they not first pub-
lished, but before publication Baird himself substituted for them
names of entirely different etymology and only resembling them
in superficial appearance. The substitute names were of later
formation — “happy afterthoughts” — though published first in
the same volume. The substitute names were also adopted gen-
erally, and not until long afterwards were the abandoned names
taken up again and generally adopted.

I.

In 1858 Baird published his great work on the ‘ Birds of North
America,’ under cover of the ‘ Reports of Explorations and Sur-
veys ’ for a Pacific railroad, 1 volume IX.’ In the descriptive
portion he introduced, as new genera Poocates (p. 447) and Pedi-
occetes (p. 625), but in the table of the higher groups, preceding
the descriptive portion, he used the names Pooecetes and Pedioe-
cetes, referring to the pages on which the genera were on following
pages described.

It is known that Baird submitted partial proofs of his work to a
correspondent and had been informed that -caetes was not a legiti-
mate component, and that -oecetes should replace it. The assump-
tion that Baird thus submitted to has been maintained ever since.
For example, Mr. Elliot, in the October (1898) number of ‘ The
Auk,’ has remarked (p. 295) that “ neither could ireSiov and
oiKeTrjs be correctly compounded into Pedioccetes, two blunders in
one word.”

Vol. XVI “I

1899 J

Gill, Pedioccetes and Pooccetes.

21

True, if the assumption were true ! but 7re8tov and koiVtjs could
be compounded into Pedioccetes and the resultant would be a word
abundantly sanctioned by classical usage. Put in italics, the dif-
ference between Pedioccetes and Pedioccetes is small indeed, and as
Baird may never have seen the pattern name otherwise than in
italics, it is no wonder that at first sight he might have mistaken
the ce for ce and carried over his impressions into other fields.

II.

Baird unquestionably modelled the names Pediocaetes and
Poocaetes after Ammocaetes. He suffered from obliquity of vision
or mind respecting the last name and rendered it Ammoccetes in-
stead of Ammoccetes : the name was so spelled in the ‘ Icono-
graphic Cyclopaedia ’ (II, 207, 208, 1851). He later (1854) based
a generic name for a true frog ( Helocaetes ) on the same model-
Finally (1858) he coined the bird names Nephocaetes, Poocaetes and!
Pediocaetes after the same patterns. Baird was not acquainted
with Greek, and when he was informed that the bird names
should have been written Nephoecetes , Pooecetes , and Pedioecetes , he
not unnaturally assumed that his critic was correct and altered
the names correspondingly in the table of contents. But his
critic was not correct, and was probably ignorant of the model
Baird had used. That model was justified by a number of
ancient Greek names. Two of the best known names of ichthy-
ology were classical Greek names used for genera which are the
types of distinct families — Exocoetus and Hemerocoetes : Exo-
coetus, misapplied by Linnaeus to the flying fishes, appears in the
works of Theophrastus, Aelianus and Oppianus, and was a com-
ponent of c£oj and koltyj — a fish sleeping out of the water ;
Hemeroccetes, misapplied by Cuvier and Valenciennes, to a New
Zealand genus of fishes, occurs as the name of an undetermined
fish in Oppian, and was a compound of day and koitt).

Another well-known zoological name is that of a genus of Cystig-
nathoid batrachians — Borborocoetes : this was literally reproduced
from a designation in the ‘ Batrachomyomachia ’ translated in Lid-
dell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon as “ mudcoucher.” Still
further, by a notable coincidence the name Pedioccetes is closely

Gill, Pedioecetes and Pooccetes.

fAuk

LJan.

2 2

approximated by a medieval Greek name used by Maximus
Planudes in his ‘Anthology’ — Pedocoetes — the only difference
being that the first component of Pedocoetes was 7 re'Sov, the ground,
while that of Pediocoetcs was ttcSlov, a plain.

These examples amply justified Baird in the coining of the
names in question, and the only mistake he made was in the
substitution of a for 0.

III.

It will be thus seen that Pediocaetes and Poocaetes, by a very
slight alteration, might have been corrected into Pediocoetes and
Poocoetes. As it is. through misunderstanding, names of entirely
different etymology were suggested in place of them, and those
very different names must be accepted. They must be accepted
for the following reasons : —

1. The substitute names Pooecetes and Pedioecetes were delib-
erate corrections of Poocaetes and Pediocaetes.

2. They were published not only simultaneously with the
incorrect names, but “ stand first in the book.”

3. They were adopted in the quarto edition of the “ Catalogue
■of North American Birds” (Oct. 1858) and the octavo edition

( I ^59) •

4. They were in part at least accepted before the incorrectly
formed names, Pooecetes having been adopted by Sclater in 1859
<P. Z. S., 379) and Pedioecetes 1 by Hayden in 1861 (Trans. Am.
Phil. Soc., N. S. XII, 172).

5. They were generally adopted at first and only replaced later
.by the incorrect names.

IV.

The data respecting the species in question given in the A. O. U.
■code and Check-List of N. A. Birds should be replaced by the
following : —

1 Suckley also in 1861, retained the text name Pediocaetes.

Yol. XVII
La. 1 899 J

Oberholser, A New Hylocichla .

2 3

Pedioecetes Baird.

Pedioecetes Baird, B. N. A. 1858, xxi. (= Pediocaetes, p. 625).
308. Pedioecetes phasianellus (Linn.).

Pedioecetes phasianellus (part.) Baird, B. N. A. 1858, xliv.

3o8«. Pedioecetes phasianellus columbianus (Ord).

Pedicecetes phasianellus var. columbianus Coues, Key, 1872,
2 3 4 -

308^. Pedioecetes phasianellus campestris Ridgw.

Pedioecetes phasianellus campestris Ridgw. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash. II, 1884, 93.

Pooecetes Baird.

Pooecetes Baird, B. N. A. 1858, xx. (= Poocaetes, p. 447).
540. Pooecetes gramineus (Gmel.).

Pogecetes gramineus Baird, B. N. Am. 1858, xxxix.

540(1. Pooecetes gramineus confinis (Baird).

[Poocaetes gramineus] variety confinis Baird, B. N. Am.
1858, 448.

[Pooecetes gramineus'] var. confinis Coues, Key, 1872, 136.

54oL Pooecetes gramineus affinis (Miller).

Poocietes gramineus affinis Miller, Auk, V, 1888, 404.

y CjL^v'}

!888

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The Ipswich Sparrow in New Brunswick. — On April 11, 1876,
while collecting at Point Lepreaux, N. B., in company with Mr. William
Stone, we secured a fine female of the Ipswich Sparrow ( Passerculus prin-
ceps, Maynard). It was sitting on a rock on the extreme end of the Point
when first seen, and was ver}’ easily secured. The yellow over the eye in
this specimen is more intense than in any other I have ever examined,
and quite equals in this respect the average coloring of the same area in
P. savanna. This is the third spring specimen that has been thus far re-
ported. The first, a male, was taken by Mr. Maynard at Ipswich, April
1, 1874 ; and the second by Mr. Willey of Portland, at Cape Elizabeth,
Maine, March 15, 1875. The former is now in my possession, and the
latter graces the collection of Mr. N. C. Brown of Portland. — William
Brewster. Bull. N .0.0. I, July. 18?Q. p, 6 'X ■

Occurrence of the Ipswich Sparrow (. Ammodramus princeps') in Nova
Scotia. — A short time ago I forwarded to Mr. Montague Chamberlain of
St. John, N. B., a Sparrow for identification, and he has kindly returned
it with the intimation that it is an example of the Ipswich Sparrow (Am-
modramus princeps ), a bird which has never before been included in our
fauna. I shot the specimen while after Ducks on the Coast at Lawrence-
town, near Halifax, about the end of March. 1878. as it was feeding On

seeds among the bent grass near the shore. Mr. Chamberlain informs me
that its only known breeding place is .Sable Island, which is but So miles
out at sea from our coast; it may therefore breed on some part of our
eastern seaboard between Cape Sable and Cape Breton. Not being aware
of the rarity of the species, I did not search for more at the time, but I am
almost positive that I have seen other specimens since. However, I hope
next spring to be able to prove that it is not so rare a bird, at least in
this Province, as it is supposed to be. — T. Matthew Jones, Hali-
fax, N. s. Amk# 3% Jan # 1889. p. / 36 ~ / 3 b

It was among one of these groups, feeding nearest the seaward
point, of the flats, that Mr. Alfred Morrissey discovered a flock of
Ipswich Sparrows {Passerculus ■princeps') on April n. The
species was new to this locality, for Mr. Brewster’s solitary indi-
vidual, taken at Point Lepreaux in April, 1876 (as recorded in this
Bulletin, Vol. I, p. 52), is the only instance of its occurrence
previously known. Of the birds as they appeared to Mr. Mor-
rissey he savs : “When I first saw the Ipswich Sparrows they
were in company with Song Sparrows, their actions being so
nearly identical that the species could only he distinguished by
the difference in the length of the tail and the general color of the
plumage, that of the Ipswich being somewhat the lighter.

“There were some twenty individuals in the flock, and, as the}’
were very tame, allowing me to approach within a few yards, I
was enabled to easily watch their movements during the few days
they remained, they feeding always in one locality. Most of the
weather while they were here was stormy, but they appeared -
indifferent to it and were very active, picking about in the sand,
even in a snow-squall, hopping around and taking short flights,
all the while uttering a sharp chirp, but not attempting any song.
Of the few specimens I secured, one was merely wounded, and I
placed it in a cage with a Canary, where it lived for a week, being
fed during the entire time by the Canary. It was exceedingly
tame, allowing one’s hand to be put in the cage without disturbing
it in the slightest degree.”

BullN.O.C. 3.Jan,a®8a, p, %

27

ybtrCc-4

The once prized Ipswich Sparrow {Passerculus princess) must now take
its place among the common autumnal migrants of southern Maine, though
restricted, so far as I am aware, to the sea-coast. In spring, however, it is
uncommon if not rare. Since the capture of the first Maine specimen,*
March 20, 1875, I have seen but two other spring specimens. These I
found upon Old Orchard Beach, March 28, 1882, and one of them is now
in my collection. In their autumnal migration the birds reach Cumberland
County about Oct. 13, remaining at least until Nov. 6, later than which I
have never looked for them. Upon almost any day between these dates
the collector may find a dozen or more individuals along the sandy shore
between Scarborough Beach and the Saco River.

* See Rod and Gun, Vol. VI, p. 65.

Bua N.O.Q, 7, July, 1882, p. /90

On January 23, I found two Ipswich Sparrows in the beach grass about
half-way between Pine Point and Old Orchard. I managed to secure
them both, though not without some difficulty, as they were exceedingly
shy.

Taking the lateness of the date and the severe weather which prevailed
for two weeks previous into consideration, I believe that both 1 * species
were undoubtedly wintering. They certainly had not suffered for food,
as all three were well feathered and plump, the Whitethroat in particular
being quite fat. Joseph L. Goodale, Cambridge, Mass.

* r M*J** f b Yfxbc* u aJ^rrt ua. iJL

E-tU^aJ H**,*0.

Auk, 8, April, 1886. p. X 77 •

_ T . Auk, XIIL

The Ipswich Sparrow. — A

Jan. , 1890, P

Correction. — Dr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr. s,

interesting monograph of the Ipswich Sparrow 1 brings into prominence
a boyish and ill-advised note on this bird which I published in the ‘ Bul-
letin ’ of the Nuttall Ornithological Club (Vol. II, pp. 27, 28). I regret
that I have left the note so long unexpunged ; but it is not too late to
mend the matter, and I withdraw the record now. — Nathan Clifford
Brown, Portland , Me.

1 Memoirs of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, No. II. Cambridge, Mass.,
August, 1895.

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//. V.

Ipswich Sparrows can at last be ranked almost as common
birds upon our seacoast in the late fall. Last year I saw them
first on October 28* in Boston Harbor, and for about a month
found more specimens than I could possibly desire to shoot.
The main body leaves us late in November, but stragglers are
occasionally found during the winter.

* / £0

Bua N.O.C. 8, Jtrly, |)B83, p, /tyf.

/m

Art- Y /< ,1^/

E. Mass. 1884.

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Ipswich Sparrows can at last be ranked almost as common
birds upon our seacoast in the late fall. Last year I saw them
first on October 28,* in Boston Harbor, and for about a month
found more specimens than I could possibly desire to shoot.
The main body leaves us late in November, but stragglers are
occasionally found during the winter.

* /ggO

Bua H.O.O. 8, July. JB83, p, / tyt.

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of the Ipswich Sparrow ( Passerculus prmceps, Maynard), me
was a female, and in excellent condition. Its mate '™>seen,
ed capture. X. HaoJ

Bull. N. O.O. I, July, 1870. P. -4 Z

The Ipswich Sparrow ( Passerculus princeps) at New Haven,
Conn _I secured a fine male specimen of this species, November 22,
1879 while collecting along the shore at “ South End,” near New Haven.
Two specimens were seen, but the other, probably its mate, escaped cap-
ture The only other specimen of this bird that has been taken m this

, so far as I am aware, was taken by Mr. Merriam, at nearly the
place, and recorded by him in the Bulletin, Yol. I, p. 52. — George
lsey, New Haven, Conn. BuU. N.Q.O. 5, April, 1880, p, ' *

State, so far as I am
same place, and record
Woolsey, New Haver

— George

Ipswich Sparrow. — I would like to inform
you that on March 24, 1888, I shot a male Ips-
wich Sparrow, ( P . princeps,) and on Nov. 26,
1884, another. The first of these has been identi-
fied by Prof. Verrill and Mr. T. B. Osborne, and
the second is just like the first, except that the
yellow above the eyes is almost entirely wanting,
and the plumage is altogether more dirty looking.

— Louis B. Bishop, New Haven, Conn.

O.&O.X. Feb. 1885. p. 30

Passerculus princeps. — Ipswich Sparrow. — An adult male was
taken January 20, 1917, in the low sedge bushes at the edge of salt meadow
at East Norwalk.

^ P ®°" Mauaeau So*©, of If, y, QQ.Qy

D . . . . - . - Dr. L. B.

Bishop supplied information bearing upon Carolinian species in Connecti-
cut. He also spoke of a specimen of Ammodramus princeps taken in
Connecticut ten miles from the sea.

S i Apr, 1888 , p. / ??•

Occurrence op Passerculus princeps in New York. — One of my
correspondents, Mr. Prank E. J ohnson, of Gravesend, Long Island, writes
me that when out collecting, on December 20, 1876, on Coney Island, in
New York harbor, he shot three specimens of a Sparrow new to him,
which were shown to Mr. George N. Lawrence, and pronounced to he the
Ipswich Sparrow ( Passerculus princeps). They were shot on the salt
meadows of the island, and were in company with Savannah Sparrows
{Passerculus savanna) and Swamp Sparrows ( Melospim palustris). This is
the most southern record of this species.* — H. B. Bailey, Newton, Mass.

Bull. N.O.O. 2, July. 1877. p. •

The Ipswich Sparrow {Passerculus princeps) on Long Island, N. Y.,
— On the 1st of January, 1878, I took a fine specimen of the Passerculus
princeps at Rockaway, Long Island. The bird when taken was in com-
pany with Savanna and Tree Sparrows {Passerculus savanna and Spizell a
monticold), and was found among a low range of sandhills that skirt
the main shore of the bay at Par Rockaway. Another was observed the
same day, but, being very wild, I was unable to procure it. This makes
the fifth specimen that has been taken in the same locality : the first in
December, 1870, the second and third in November and December, 1872,
the fourth, November, 1874, and the fifth, January, 1878. — N. T. Law-
rence, New York Gitrj. Bull. N.O.O. 3, April. 1878, p. f O 2.

Ipswich Sparrow. I noticed in March
O. and O. that Mr. Griffing took three
! Passerculus princeps in November last
near Shelter Island, L. I. I have taken
eight out of ten I have seen on Great
South Beach, Long Island, since Jan. 1,

1883. — Wm. Dutcher, 304 Second-avenue ,

New York , March 2 d.

O.&O. 7111, June. 1833. p. W-

694. Ipswich Sparrow. By Moses B. Griffing. Ibid., p. 22. Taken
on Shelter Island, N. Y.. Nov. 21, 1882. Q, & OMol a Vlll

Ipswich Sparrows.

On Nov. 21, 82, I had occasion to go to
} m Islancl Beach. This is a wide sandy
acli some fifty acres in extent, and cov-
3d with beach grass, and in some parts
tli bushes and small cedars. As I was
out to leave I saw several sparrows fly
and alight on the cedars, and at the

first glance it struck me that they were
Ipswich Sparrows, and as if to convince
me a Song Sparrow flew up beside one of
them, showing off the large size and pale
tints of the former very markedly. Hav-
ing no gun I reluctantly left, but returned
in the afternoon, and after some hunting
secured all three of them. Two of them
measured 6£ inches in length ; the 3d 6 in.
Since then I have searched the beach over
carefully but found no more specimens of
Passerculus princeps.

0.«l.Mar. 18 8 3 .p. W ,

BIRD NOTES FROM LONG ISLAND, N. Y.

BY WILLIAM DUTCHER.

i. Passerculus princeps. Maynard. Ipswich Sparrow.
— While collecting, January i, 1883, on Jones Beach* ; I was for-
tunate enough to secure four specimens of this Sparrow. The
first one seen was shot while running through the short beach-
grass, between two sand-dunes. The others were flushed in
similar localities and shot while flying. Another was seen but
escaped. February 14, 1883, the gunner who usually accompa-
nies me on my collecting trips, shot on the same beach two more
specimens, which he sent me. He wrote that he saw one other,
which he could not secure. February 22, 1883, I again visited
this beach and saw two more specimens, both of which I secured.
The following measurements were carefully taken while the birds

were in the flesh :

Sex.

Extent.

Length.

Whig.

S

6.12

10.00

3.00

?

6.25

10.00

3.06

?

6.25

9 - 5 °

2.88

s

6.25

9-75

3.00

s

6.50

10.25

3.06

s

6.00

9-50

2.88

?

6.00

9-75

3.00

s

6.00

9 - 5 °

CO

CO

ri

—

—

—

—

Average

6.17

9.78

2.97

* Jones Beach is part of the Great South Beach of Long Island, distant about 28
miles east from New York City. Auki J J an 1884. p. J/.

BIRD NOTES FROM LONG ISLAND, N. Y.

BY WILLIAM DUTCHER.

i. Passerculus princeps Maynard. Ipswich Sparrow. — Wishing to
ascertain whether this species is as rare as it has been generally supposed
to be, or was overlooked from the inaccessibility of its winter habitat, I
arranged with two of my correspondents to send me all the individuals of
this species that they could secure. Both of them spend the winter
months on the beach, one at Fire Island Inlet and the other at Shinne-
cock Bay, which is some forty miles further east. That they might be
perfectly familiar with these birds, I sent them early in the autumn a skin
of one as a sample. December 29, 1883, I received from my Fire Island
correspondent twenty-nine specimens which he shot between December
17 and 29. He informed me that he had looked carefully but unsuccess-
fully for them until December 17, when he found six and secured them all:
Subsequent to that time and prior to the 29th he secured twenty-three
additional specimens. lie also added that he usually observed them in
pairs, although sometimes there would be three or four together. They
were always found feeding on the seeds of tall grasses and weeds that
were above the snow level. January 30 he wrote, “I have not seen any
Sparrows lately.” My Shinnecock Bay correspondent did not succeed
in getting any specimens until February 4, 1884, when he sent me four,
and also stated, “these birds are very scarce.” February 27, 1884, he suc-
ceeded in securing two additional specimens, which he sent to me, and
again directed my attention to their scarcity. February 22, 1884, I hunted
carefully for this Sparrow on Rockaway Beach, but unsuccessfully. I am
quite positive, however, that I saw three or four individuals, but they were
so wild I could not secure them. March 7, 1884, my correspondent at Fire
Island wrote that he had seen but one Sparrow since the first cold spell
when he sent me twenty-nine, and that he was at a loss to know whether
he had killed them all or whether they had gone away. Of the thirty-
five specimens received five measured 6.75 inches in length, and only two
were under 6. 15 inches. The largest and smallest birds measured respect-
ively :

Length, 6.75; extent, 10.50; wing, 3.20.

“ 6.10; “v'%*s; “ 2-65-

The average of the thirty-five specimens was : length, 6.49; extent, 10.02 ;
wing, 3.03.

Auk, 2, Jan., 1885. p. - J 7.

Lone Island Bird Notfcs. 'Wm. DutchSt

19. Ammodramus princeps. Ipswich Sparrow.— On
Long Island I think this species is a regular winter resident on
the barren sand beaches of the South Shore. It can undoubtedly
be found from the middle of October till the first of April. Al-
though this bird is a winter resident in numbers, yet some must
migrate further south, as Mr. J. Dwight, Jr., found them at
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, November 22, 1884 (Auk, Vol. II,
p. 105). It may be that the 120 miles of coast line of Long
Island is their southern winter range, below which, however, a
few may straggle. In addition to the Long Island records already
published I will add the following, which will extend the time of
their residence on the island materially. Charles Carter, of
Shinnecock Bay, wrote me October 20, 1884, that he had seen
but one j princeps this fall ; that on October 12. There can be no
doubt of Mr. Carter’s identification of the bird, as he is very
familiar with the species, having shot and sent to me a large
number of them from time to time. He is a keen and reliable
observer, and I am indebted to him for many valuable notes and
rare birds. Very early in November he commenced to send me
specimens of this species and continued to do so at intervals all
winter. February 7, 1885, Dr. A. K. Fisher and myself secured
eleven during a walk of two miles on the beach at Rockaway,
and saw at least three individuals which we did not get. On the
same ground, the 23d of the same month, Mr. L. S. Foster and my-
self shot thirteen and saw probably as many more. Of these the
genital organs of some of the males were quite sensibly increased
in size, and of some received March 19 they were quite marked-
ly so. Some of these last specimens were in the midst of the
moult. April 1, I received from Mr. Carter two specimens, the
stomachs of which were filled with small black insects, d. his
was the first instance where I had found anything but vegetable
matter used for food. All of the stomachs examined before con-
tained, so far as I could determine, seeds. Mr. N. T. Lawrence
kindly permits me to record one shot at Far Rockaway Beach,
April 3, 1885. He thinks he saw another the same day. Here-
after this species will have to be relegated to the commonplace,
and not worthy of special record on Long Island.

Auk, 3, Oct., 1886. p,

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The Probable Breeding-place of Passerculus princeps.— The National
Museum possesses a considerable series of eggs labeled “ Passerculus
savana, Sable Island, Nova Scotia, July. 1862 ; J. P. Dodd,” which are
uniformly so much larger than those of the Savannah Sparrow as to
strongly suggest the probability that they may be in reality those of the
Ipswich Sparrow. At any rate, the matter is worth investigating, and it
is hoped that some reader of ‘The Auk’ may be able to decide the
question. — Robert Ridgway, Washington, D. C.

Auk, I, July, 1884. p. 2*72 ~

Breeding of Passerculus princeps on Sable Island.— In the last number
of ‘The Auk’ Mr. Ridgway stated: “The National Museum possesses a
considerable series of eggs labelled ‘ Passerculus savana, Sable Island,
Nova Scotia. July, 1862 ; J. P. Dodd,’ which are uniformly so much larger
than those of the Savannah Sparrow as to strongly suggest the probability
that they may be in reality those of the Ipswich Sparrow. At any rate
the matter is worth investigating, and it is hoped that some reader of
‘The Auk’ may be able to decide the question” (pp. 292-293). Acting

upon the above suggestion I immediately wrote to the Rev. W. A. Des-

Brisay, a resident missionary of Sable Island, requesting him to send me
a specimen of the common ‘Gray Bird ’ of the Island. This he was kind
enough to do, and the specimen, in confirmation of Mr. Ridgway’s suspi-
cion, proves to be an unquestionable Ipswich Sparrow.— C. Hart Mer-
riam, Locust Grove, N. T. Auk, I, Oct. , 1884. p, * 3*70

Jeffries on the Ipswich Sparrow.

103

on his part has failed to discover even the
any of the specimens that he has examined,
writes that his set are exactly similar irr'shape
and color to those now in my possession, and that all l>e 'has seen
are entirely immaculate. I am aware that occasional^lnspotted eggs
occur in nes<s of the other and better known yireos ; indeed my
collection embrflteras several such specimens, bji€ they must be classed
as comparatively rtb^exceptions. If, ljsywever, the Black-capped
species ever lays spottea\eggs, they wilFprobably be found to con-
stitute the exceptions to the rule. The testimony on this point is
already, I think, ample enough to warrant this conclusion, based as
it is upon the examination of-nthless than fifteen authentic examples.
So far as I am aware, no, 'other Ndrtji American representative of
this interesting family is known regulaWy to lay unmarked eggs.
To show the range, 6f variation in size, I give rhe following measure-
ments, kindly falken for me by Messrs. Werner abd Ricksecker. Set
of four eggs, in the collection of Mr. Ricksecker : .68 x\50 j -71 x .51 ;
.70 x .51 ; .65 x .50. Set of four eggs collected by Mr. Sterner and
recently presented by him to the Smithsonian Institution : ,7%x .52 ;
\T& x .50 ; .76 x .53 ; .74 x .56. Set of three eggs in the collection
of Mr. W. H. Werner : .72 x .53 ; .73 x .50 ; .74 x .52.

the closest scrutiny
faintest dotting upon
while, Mr. Ricksecker

THE IPSWICH SPARROW ( PASSERCULUS PRINCEPS,
MAYNARD).

BY W. A. JEFFRIES.

On the 23d of January, 1875, while collecting in Swampscott, Mass., I
shot a female Passerculus princeps. It was, at the time, on the crest of
the beach, running about on the snow, and picking up seeds in company
with a few Snow Buntings. Not hunting for it, I did not again meet
with it till October 26, 1878, when, by chance, it was noticed in the
same locality in good numbers. My brother and myself shot eleven be-
fore December 1, and one again on January 25, 1879. During November
we searched for them carefully several times, and, with one exception,
always shot one or more specimens. Probably as many rose out of range
as we shot, although, from the same bird being seen several times, it was
hard to judge of the true number. From what I have seen and heard of
this bird in this part of Massachusetts, I should give it as a late fall mi-
grant, a few spending the winter here, there being few true winter but
many fall records of its capture.

, , • ATr-w Versev. By William L. Abbott. Ibid.,

Passerculus princeps in New Jersey. )

XIV p 44 . — One shot and one or two others seen on Seven Mile Beach.

December 30 , 1879 - For. & Stream

719 . Ipswich Sparrow . By Wra. Dutcher. Ibid., p. 48 .- — Eight, out
f ten seen, taken at Great South Beach, L. I., in January and February,

ss 3 . O.&Q.Vol.Vlti

1025 . The Ipswich Sparrow in Rhode Island. [By F. T. Jencks.]
Ibid., No. 3 , pp. 17 , 18 .— Numbers taken on the sandy beach, near Point
Judith, Nov. 27 , 1884 . TTot©sN®h. HiSj XX

At one time it was thought that Baird’s Bunting had been found
in Massachusetts. The error was not rectified until several notices
to such effect, including Mr. Maynard’s full account, and his plate
of the supposed Massachusetts “ Cenlronyx,” had appeared. Mr.
Maynard made the correction in 1872, when the New England bird
was named Passerculus princeps.

The complete synonymy of the ta species, and tear nearly en-
tire bibliography, are as follows : —

Passerculus princeps.

Centronyx bairdii, Allen, Am. Nat. iii, 1869, 513 (original notice of
supposed occurrence of P. bairdi in Massachusetts, the actual reference
being to P. princeps). — Matn., Am. Nat. iii, 1869, 554 (next notice of
the same). — Allen, Am. Nat. iii, 1869, 631 (third notice of the same).

— Mayn., Nat. Guide, 1870, 113, frontisp. (fourth notice of the same).

— Brewst., Am. Nat. vi, 1872, 307 (fifth notice of the same, and of
additional specimens).

Passerculus princeps, Mayn., Am. Nat. vi, 1872, 637 (explanation of
the error, and the supposed “ C. bairdii ” from Ipswich, Mass, named P.
princeps). — Ooues, Key, 1872, App. 352. — Coues, Am. Nat. vii, 1873,
696. — Bd., Brew., and Ridgw., Hist. N. A. B. i, 1874, 540, pi. 25, f. 2. —
Brewer, Pr. Bost. Soc. xvii, 1875, 441. — Brewst., Bull. Nuttall Club,
i, 1876, 52 (New Brunswick), — Merriam, Bull. Nuttall Club, i, 1876,
52 (Connecticut). — Brown, Bull. Nuttall Club, ii, 1877, 27 (New
Hampshire). — Bailey, Bull. Nuttall Club, ii, 1877, 78 (Coney Island,
N. Y.). — Minot, Birds New Engl. 1877, 195 (general account). — May-
nard, Nat. Guide, 2d Ed. 1877 (colored plate ; text rewritten).

Bull, N. O.C, 3, Jan. , 1878, p, JJ-J.

THE IPSWICH SPARROW IN ITS SUMMER HOME.

BY W. E. SAUNDERS.

Owing to a happy combination of circumstances I had the
pleasure of visiting Sable Island recently, arriving on May 16,
1901, and leaving on the 23d. Ever since reading Dr. Dwight’s
delightful monograph of the Ipswich Sparrow I have longed to
visit this bird at home but with little hope that my desire would
ever be realized, and it was therefore an unexpected delight when
a feasible opportunity occurred. It will be remembered that not
only is Sable Island the only breeding ground of this Sparrow,
but also that the Sparrow is the only land bird which breeds there,

eminently protective, and they appear to realize this thoroughly
and would often remain motionless and allow a fairly close
approach before flying. There was seldom any difficulty in
approaching to within comfortable range of the few that I shot.

While I was too early for most nests to have eggs, I arrived at
the most favorable time to find them, because the first step in
nestbuilding is the excavation of the nest cavity which usually
results in the exposure of some black soil, the patch of dark color
being easily seen among the dried grass stems which cover the
site. A few days later, when these holes were covered with
grasses, detection became very difficult indeed.

three nests were found in the enclosure surrounding the Super-
intendent’s house, and nearly 30 were found altogether, most of
them being, of course, incomplete. Of those containing complete
sets, four contained 5 eggs, and four contained 4 only, part of one
set being hatched. All the nests but five were placed among long

268

Saunders, The Ipswich Sparrow .

fAuk

LJuly

a fact which seems curious when one considers the migrants which
remain for days in both spring and fall. The total number of
summer residents is ten, including two Ducks, two Plovers, two
Sandpipers, three Terns, and the Ipswich Sparrow.

During my stay, I was in every way highly favored, for not
only was the season much farther advanced than at the time of
Dr. Dwight’s visit, without which I could have been able to see
nothing of the nesting season, but on three of our eight days we
saw the sun, and though many trifling rains were encountered,
there were none that made one desire shelter, so that the whole of
all the eight days were available for bird study, when other duties
would permit.

The Sparrows were found in increased numbers and their song
could be heard at all hours of the day.

The song resembles very closely that of the Savanna Sparrow,
but instead of ending with dzzz as does that species, the conclud-
ing note is a weak imitation of the call of the terns which, as
Dr. Dwight truly remarked, can be heard at all hours of the day
and night. He has well described this note by the syllables
pree-a and they are delivered rapidly and abruptly, almost as much
so as one can articulate while giving the letters their full sound.

The birds were not found to be very shy, but their color is
eminently protective, and they appear to realize this thoroughly
and would often remain motionless and allow a fairly close
approach before flying. There was seldom any difficulty in
approaching to within comfortable range of the few that I shot.

While I was too early for most nests to have eggs, I arrived at
the most favorable time to find them, because the first step in
nestbuilding is the excavation of the nest cavity which usually
results in the exposure of some black soil, the patch of dark color
being easily seen among the dried grass stems which cover the
site. A few days later, when these holes were covered with
grasses, detection became very difficult indeed.

Ihree nests were found in the enclosure surrounding the Super-
intendent’s house, and nearly 30 were found altogether, most of
them being, of course, incomplete. Of those containing complete
sets, four contained 5 eggs, and four contained 4 only, part of one
set being hatched. All the nests but five were placed among long

Vol. XIX"1
1902 J

Saunders, The Ipswich Sparrow .

269

grass where the bleached stems of last year had fallen over, thus
increasing the shelter, the exceptions being placed, one in a clump
of crowberry ( Empetrum nigrum), one among dark green rushes,
and three in a field of clover, of the most vivid green, surrounding
the Superintendent’s house. The former was said to be a favorite
situation, but such cover was rare on most of the ground where I
hunted, and only the one was seen, so situated. The nests are
large, deep and thick, sometimes being heavily lined with horse-
hair, and always placed in an excavation of one-half to one inch
in the ground. A few of the incomplete nests were placed in
holes in hillsides, just such positions as the Junco frequently uses,
a projecting piece of sod partly sheltering the nest from above.

The chief ingredient in the construction of all the nests is fine,
dry grasses ; and frequently these compose the whole of the bottom
of the nest, there being only a slight difference in the fineness of
those placed on the ground and those on which the eggs are laid.
The upper edge of the nest is covered with coarser grasses, with
a very few weed stems, but the latter increase in number as the
ground is approached, and at the ground level the weed stems
predominate. Eel grass is often added and sometimes moss, but
the centre of the nest against the ground shows from three to six
square inches of fine grass only.

The measurements of the nests average as follows:

Average.

Extremes.

Diameter inside

2\ inches

2^ inches

2% inches

“ outside

5 “

41 “

r 1 a

54

Depth inside

2 “

ii “

2 li

“ outside

3 “

2| “

0 1 “

The thickness of the walls is thus shown to vary from one-half
to two inches.

The nest in Empetrum was the smallest, all the minimum
measurements belonging to it, the reason probably being that this
plant grows so thick that the site selected was too small to hold
a much larger nest, and the birds have not the art of embracing
twigs in it, but place it as a rule entirely free from its surroundings.

The only nest of the Savanna Sparrow to which I have access
just now, measures 2^ x 4^ in diameter against 2^ x 5, average
for the Ipswich, and in depth if x 2 J against 2 x 3 for the Ips-

270

Saunders, The Ipswich Sparrow.

fAuk

LJuly

"wich. These figures utterly fail to give any idea of the enormous
difference in the quantity of material present in the nests of the
Ipswich Sparrow, which are very thick-walled and substantial ;
therefore I have weighed them and find that while two ordinary
nests of the Ipswich Sparrow average 300 grains each, the nest of
the Savanna weighs but no grains.

Since returning from the island, a letter from the Superinten-
dent informs me that they had (in July I think) a gale of 60
miles an hour ! Such occurrences, coupled with a spring tempera-
ture which inay be characterized as moderate to cool, explain the
absolute necessity that these birds are under to build a heavy
and compact nest.

Dry localities were almost invariably selected as nesting sites,
only two exceptions to this rule being noted, both on May 20 when
I obtained a set of 4 eggs from a nest in low damp ground under
long wiry rushes ; and found another nest near water but on drier
ground among long grass, containing one addled egg, one egg
almost hatched, and two newly hatched young.

The birds were seldom close sitters, some of them leaving the
nest as soon as an intruder was seen, judging from the fact that
the eggs were so often found uncovered. Others would be seen
to leave when I was still 15 to 20 yards distant and only the one
that had built in the damp locality dared to remain till I got
within 2 or 3 feet. Even the mother of the newly hatched young
flew when I was 15 yards away but in that instance I was running,
and I came over an eminence and down a grade towards her nest
which was situated on a slight upward slope facing me and directly
in my line of passage, and she could hardly be expected to await
such an attack. It must be remembered that all upright objects
appear disproportionately large on Sable Island from the lack of
trees or other upright growths of any size.

The eggs vary considerably both in size, shape and color. The
two largest measure .81 x .64 and .84 x .59 in. and the two smallest
•75 x -57 and -73 x - 6 3> the average of the eggs in the six sets in
my possession being .79 x .60.

But the variation in color is more surprising to me, perhaps
because my limited series of Savanna’s show so little variation.
Two sets resemble a common phase of the Vesper Sparrow, one

2 7 1

° j" Q02 J Deane, Unusual Abundance of the Snowy Owl.

with bright, well defined streaks and blotches of light brown on a
greenish ground, the other with a more cloudy effect. Two other
sets are almost exactly like some of the Savanna, thickly dotted
with fine brown spots so as to hide the ground color; the fifth
bears a striking resemblance to some eggs I have seen of the
Bobolink, being clouded and washed with dull brown on a dirty
greenish white ground, while in the sixth set, 3 eggs are almost
exactly like the ordinary type of the Prairie Horned Lark, with
the buffy tint of the latter replaced by greenish, and the ground
color being sparingly dotted with light brown ; the other egg in
this set resembling a light colored Savanna’s, thickly dotted with
brown spots, so as to nearly hide the ground color. I had no
time to take a description of the seventh nest, which was taken by
Col. Gourdeau, Deputy Minister of Marine and Fisheries, to the
Museum of his Department at Ottawa.

Mr. James Boutilier, who seemed to know where nearly every
pair nested annually, assured me that pure white eggs were seen
in the nests occasionally, perhaps one egg in two years.

Auk, XIX, July, 1902, pp.

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Birds of Upper St, John,
.B&fcoiieJder,

44. Passerculus sandwichensis savanna ( Wils.) Ridgiv. Savanna
Sparrow. — Common in the pastures at Grand Falls. At Fort Fairfield
it was common. It was found in grassy fields, especially along the
roadsides.

Bull.!?, O.O, 7, July, 1882, p. 148

Sont^a7 en r Mil6e <*

onts ' Can » Oomeau & Merriam

36. Passerculus sandvicensis savana. Savanna Sparrow. — Tol-
erably common, breeding on the thinly grassed sand-fields about the
mouth of the Godbout. Mr. Comeau shot one as early as April 21, 1882.

Bull, N, 0,0, 7 , Oct, 1882, p, 23fi

Summer Birds of Bras D’Or Region
Cape Breton Id,, N.S. J. Dwight, Jr.

m

34 . Ammodramns sandwichensis
savanna.

Xttk, 4, Jan. , 1887, p.ie

An Ornithologist’s Summer in Labrador
M, Abbot tFrazar.

Amrodramus sandwichensis savanna, Savannah
Sparrow. The commonest of all the land birds
| [ S aw, and breeds abundantly on all the treeless
islands I visited.

O.&O. XII, Mar, 1887, p, 5

Breeding Dates of Birds in Kings
County, N.S. Watson L. Bishop.

Savanna Sparrow ( Passerculus sandwichensis
savanna ). May 21, 25, 26, 27.

O.&O. XIII. Mar. 1888 p.45

Birds of Magdalen Islands.

Dr. L.B.Biahop.

40. Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna. Savanna Sparrow.—
Ve.y abundant, breeding in every open field on the islands, especially in
neighborhood 0 f the shore. Most of the Savanna Sparrows taken
wanted the yellow on the wing, but a careful search failed to reveal any
specimens of A. fimncefis. ^

Auk, 71. April, 1889 . p. 148

•Samsaer Birds of Sudbury, Ont.

. 542a. Savannah Sparrow. Tolerably common.

°» *0, XV, J0B6, 1890, p»87

her Birds of

Prince Edward Island.

Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna. Savanna Sparrow. — It is
probably the most abundant bird on the island, and is found everywhere
except in woods. On sand beaches, marshes, or dry fields its weak song
was constantly to be heard, and in certain pastures it seemed as if every
third fence post were occupied by a singer. As an illustration that flying
is a matter of practice on the part of young birds, I instance a young
Savanna Sparrow that I flushed one windy day in a pasture where the
grass was very short. The wind upset all his calculations and himself as
well, apparently getting under his wings and turning him upside down
every time he started on a fresh flight. He would get along pretty well
foi a tod or so and then a puff would send him bowling over the sod till
he reached a point of fright and exhaustion that left him panting just
where he happened to roll.

Auk. X, Jan, 1893. p .11

A Further Note on the Subspecies of Passerculus sandwichensis
inhabiting Labrador. — Mr. J. D. Sornborger lent me sometime ago for
examination three specimens of Passerculus from Labrador. Two are
from Okak, and one from Hopedale. As they are not sexed they do
not serve to amplify the data in regard to the sexual range of size the
race shows.

No. 1451 (52), taken at Hopedale by W. W. Perrett in 1898, in slightly
worn plumages, measures, wing, 2.75; tail, 1.86; tarsus, .80; bill, .41 X .42.

No. 1452 (55), taken at Okak by C. Schmitt on July 6, 1896, in
unworn plumage, measures, wing, 2.90; tail, 1.95; tarsus, .84; bill, .40 X .26.

No. 1453, taken at Okak by C. Schmitt on June 29, 1897, in worn plum-
age, measures, wing, 2.56 ; tail, 1.87; tarsus, .80; bill, .39 X -24.

It was pointed out by Dr. Allen in 1871 ( Winter Birds of Florida) that
Savanna Sparrows show tremendous individual variation, which is by
the way true to a great degree in all Fringillidai, and he tabulated the
measurements of twenty-six breeding specimens from Massachusetts
which showed a range of wing measurement from 2.44 to 2.95, only two
of which, both males, however, measured over 2.80, and these two, Nos.
5092 and 5096 in the collection of the Museum of Comp. Zoology, I have
remeasured, and had my measurements checked, and find they now
measure 2.90 and 2.62 respectively. Of some hundreds of measurements
published by others, and taken from fresh and dried skins, I have yet to
find but this one bird from south of Labrador whose wing measurement
overlaps sexed Labrador specimens.

The range of wing measurements shown by Labrador specimens which
I have examined is as follows: — males, 2.86-2.93; female, 2.67'.
Unsexed, including immature, 2.56 (worn), 2.75-2.90.

I present these facts not to help prove the validness of the race in the
face of the A. O. U. Committee’s ruling, for recognition of subspecies
unfortunately is often, if not generally a matter of personal opinion and
judgment, but I present them simply as facts. — Reginald Heber

Howe, Jr., Concord , Mass. Auk, XX, Apr., 1903 , J?f> - -?/ S ' 1 (>■

1 Specimen kindly loaned by Mr. W. E. Clyde Todd, No. 393, Carnegie
Museum, taken at Nain, Aug. 26, 1901, by D. A. Atkinson. Appreciably
larger than the average of southern females.

204 . Passerculus sandwichensis savanna. Savanna Sparrow.
— Common summer resident, April 5 to October 16 ; breeds (May 31 to
June 23 ).

SummerResidents on Southwest
Coast of Maine, T.H, Montgomery, Jr.,

542a. Savannah Sparrow. Sliot specimens
at Boothbay, Castine, Bobson’s Island, and
Green’s Landing. The common species of
this genus.

Q,a>il AQ, , Nov, 1890.

[ye Beach, N. H. 1866-1885.

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Bds. Obe. at Franconia and Bethlehem
N.H. July- August, 1874. J. A. Alien

24. Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna. Rather common.

Auk, V. April, 1888. p.154

Birds Obsvd. near Holderness, N.H
June 4-12, ’85, and4-ll, *86. W. Faxon

Sava„ a Spa „„.

Auk . v. April, 1888. p .150

Bds. Obs. in Franconia, N.H. June 11-21
’88, and June4-Aug. 1,’87, W. Faxon

34- Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna
Abundant. ' Savanna Sparrow.-

Auk, V. April, 1888. p.152

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Breezy Point, Warren, N.H.

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Summer Bds.Mt. Mansfield, Vfc.

39. Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna. Savanna Sparrow. —

In 1899, several pairs were breeding in the pastures at the base of the
mountain; in 1900, I noted the species but once or twice.'

by Arthur H. Howell. Auk, XVIII, Oct., 1901, p.3 42,

Aramo dr araus s . savanna .

Nan tucke t , Mass.

1873, Sept. 28, Smith's Point was fairly alive with them to-day.

4

Aromo dr arans s .savanna.

Nantucke t , Mas s .

1373, Sept. 28. Smith's Point was fairly alive with them to-day.

'

I

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Winter Birds of Cape Cod, Mass.

Ralph Hoffmann.

Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna. Savanna Sparrow. — Dec.
28, 1894, I found a Savanna Sparrow in a small tidal marsh in Sandwich.
The next day, and again on the 30th, I found two, always in the same

spot . Auk, XII, April, 1895, p,‘Sl-

Mass. ( near Concord').

1887 /

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Auk, XIV, Jan., 1897 , p,/oo-

Unusual Visits of Birds in Western Massachusetts during 1896. — Am-
modramus sandwichensis savanna. — A Savanna Sparrow was taken in
Longmeadow the 8th of last February at a spot in the vicinity of which
it had been repeatedly observed during the six preceding weeks. This^is •
the first record of this species wintering near Springfield, jb^Tv* / e\ d , T^i j^sf-

£1

71 /< 75 .f. {near Concord ).

1838 , *- *'~7~y

APR 5i 6- n‘

&s}}<A* 6 <aU<*s! .

Birds of Bristol County, Mass.

F. W. Andros.

Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna (Wils.),
Savannah Sparrow. Summer resident, com-
mon. Breeds.

G.&O. XII. Sept. 1837 p .140

The Savana Sparrow Wintering in Massachusetts. - On January 18
1902, with Mr. Louis Agassiz Shaw, I took a male Passerculus sandwich-
ensts savanna at Ipswich, Mass. The bird was entirely alone when shot,
in the belt of beach grass which separates the dunes from the beach

y / ^ winterin S record for the State, it having been previously

recorded from Sandwich and Longmeadow. _ Regjnald Heber Howe
JR-, -Long-wood, Mass. 4 n i. YT v a

■ a - aJs > XIX, April., 1902, p . Zo3.

Bds. Obs. near Sheffield, Berkshire
Dy, Mum. June 17-20, '88. W. Faxon

Oy, Mai

Abundm” m ° dramUS Sandwichensis sa vanna. Savanna Sparrow.-

Auk, VI. Jan., i860. p. 44

Bd«. Obs. near Orayiock Mt. Berkshire
Oo. Maes. avmeSs-Ju ylo. W.Faxon

c»sj

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Auk, VI. April, 188©. p.101

J$f4 ~ f foULps.

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Savanna Sparrow. One seen at Ipswich on March 31. As Mr. R. H.
Howe, Jr., shot one at the same place on January iS, this probably had
wintered there.

Auk, XJX, July, 1902, p

Connecticut, June,. 1893,

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Passerculus sandwichensis savanna. Savannah Spabrow. A
male was taken January 20, 1917 in the sedge bushes at the edge of the
salt meadow at East Norwalk. The bird was in company with the Ipswich
Sparrow noted above, and was apparently a healthy bird and a winter
resident.

j4<^Z-jV>t. Xxxy / 7/2. ya (

2r3^.

Savannah Sparrow breeds commonly
^ throughout Western New York. I saw
many sets in Ward’s Museum at Rochester,
2 N. Y., taken in Monroe County, and I take
t“* a few sets here each year, though the nests
'a are hard to find. They arrive the latter
part of April (25th, 1881, 20th, 1882,) and
^ depart about the middle of September,
W (Sept. 19, 1882.) In abundance they rank
? sixth among the Sparrows here, viz. :
? Grass Finch, Hair, Song, House, Swamp,
and Savannah Sparrows . — John M. Jlowey,
Canandaigua, JV. Y.

Long Island Bird Notes N. T. Lawrence

5. Passerculus sandwichensis savanna. Savanna Sparrow. This

bird, I, think, may now be included among the winter residents on Long
Island. I have taken specimens at Far Rockaway during November and
December, and one (male) January i, 1884. Mr. Win. Dutcher secured
two specimens at the same place on February 23, 1885.

Aok, 2, July, 1886. p.272

Sirds Of the Adirondack Region
v.H.Merxiwa,

63. Passerculus sandwichensis savanna ( Wilson ) Ridgway. Sa-
vanna Sparrow. — A rather rare summer resident in suitable spots, where
it breeds.

Bull. N. O.O,

0 »Oct, 1882, p,229

Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna. — The Savanna Sparrow has
been found on Long Island in summer, but not so far west I believe as
the following record. At Garden City 17th July, 1897, an adult male in
worn breeding plumage was found in a locality where many Grasshopper
Sparrows Were resident. Mr. Oberholser considers this an interesting
discovery and- at his suggestion it is made a matter of record. Mr.
Wm. Dutcher has recorded this species from Long Island in summer.
It is also a winter bird on Long Island. The writer met with a specimen
Jan. 30, 1895, at Flatbush, L. I. Auk, XVI, April, 1899 , Qf-Co-Z.

jY'v C. fin hi . 2 ). , ^ , l/C % -

Albinism and Melanism in North
American Birds* Ruthven Deane,

Mr. John Akhurst of Brook-
lyn, N. Y., writes me that he once shot a Savannah Sparrow pure
white with the exception of the head and neck, which had a creamy
tint.

Bull N. O.O, 4, Jan., 1879, p. 28

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The Singing of Birds. B.P.Bicknell.

Passerculus sandvicensis savana.

Savanna Sparrow.

. ThlS Spa 7° W is one of the few s Pnng migrants which are not
in song on their arrival, and is also the only one of our song-birds
winch I find in full moult while migrating in the spring. Even
so late as the fourth week of April individuals are to be found
covered with sprouting and growing feathers ; but at the same
time, and before, others have acquired their full spring attire.

I he dates that I have recorded limiting its presence in the
spring are March 23 and May 19 ; while I have heard its song

between April 9 and May 2. Beyond the latter date it is never
common, and in some seasons there are but few birds remaining
at the end of April. Singing does not usually begin until from
two to three weeks after the pioneer migrants have made their
appearance.

this Sparrow I have never heard sing in the autumn.

Auk, I, Oct., 1884. p. 3Z*f~ 330 .

The Singing of Birds. E. P.Bicknell.

Passerculus sandvicensis savana. Savanna Sparrow.

. Th,S Spa 7° W ' S one of the few spring migrants which are not
i *° ] ng T °, n their a |' r]vai ^ is also the only one of our song-birds
winch I find m full moult while migrating in the spring. Even
so late as the fourth week of April individuals are to be found
covered with sprouting and growing feathers; but at the same
time, and before, others have acquired their full spring attire.

[ 16 date * that 1 have recorded limiting its presence in the
spring are March 23 and May 19 ; while I have heard its song

between April 9 and May 2. Beyond the latter date it is never
common, and in some seasons there are but few birds remaining
at the end of April. Singing does not usually begin until from
two to three weeks after the pioneer migrants have made their
appearance.

Ihis Sparrow I have never heard sing in the autumn.

Auk, I, Oct., 1884. p. Jl?- 330.

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Savannah Spakeow.— I think that part of
the article on this species, in the Septem-
ber number of this magazine, is rather
misleading, at least my observations in
New Brunswick would suggest a different
report, for while it is true that these birds
seem to have a strong liking for the sea
shore, the inference that they are not found
elsewhere is not correct. In the vicinity of
the Bay of Fundy they certainly build their
nests nowhere else than in a marsh or field
close by the salt water, and they are found
in field or marsh along the river bank,
where the water is brackish, but they are
also found all along the banks of the St.
John river, from Fredericton to Fort Kent,
the latter place being some 250 miles or
more away from salt water. They are also
quite common in the fields bordering Grand
Lake and Wasliademoak Lake into which
no salt water enters. — J/! Chamberlain.

O.&O.Vll. (PZ- K 1882- p - ** a

Savannah Spahkow. — I think that part of
the article on this species, in the Septem-
ber number of this magazine, is rather
misleading, at least my observations in
New Brunswick would suggest a different
report, for while it is true that these birds
seem to have a strong liking for the sea
shore, the inference that they are not found
elsewhere is not correct. In the vicinity of
the Bay of Bundy they certainly build their
nests nowhere else than in a marsh or field
close by the salt water, and they are found
in field or marsh along the river bank,
where the water is brackish, but they are
also found all along the banks of the St.
John river, from Fredericton to Fort Kent,
the latter place being some 250 miles or
more away from salt water. They are also
quite common in the fields bordering Grand
Lake and "YVashademoak Lake into which
no salt water enters. — M. Chamberlain.

O. & O. V21. T ' 1882 - p - ** 2

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sand-
wiehensis Savanna , Wils.) Ridgw. We
presume it is the long name that drives
this modest little Sparrow away from civil-
ization down to the sea shore and adjacent
islands where it breeds. We had never
' seen to recognize this bird until the pres-
ent Summer, when, with a friend, we vis-
ited Plum Island, on the eastern end of
L. I. While tramping over the ground a
female Sparrow was flushed from the nest,
which was supposed to be a Song Sparrow,
but the nest was lined entirely with grass.

This raised our suspicion at once. When
the field glass was brought to bear on the
bird, which was not a Song Sparrow,
but more striped, and the stripes more
prominent and the actions of the bird was
different. It kept on or near the ground
on very low bushes. Its song was
feeble and not that of the Song Sparrow.

The eggs, too, which were fresh, were dif-
ferent, being more rounded and the brown
blotches longer. The ground color was
lighter and not so much on the greenish
blue order as the Song Sparrow. After
identifying this bird we saw many pairs of
them breeding on the Island and found
another nest, which was in an almost bare
pasture in a very slim tuft of grass. This
bird remained on the nest, so that we
J could get very close to her and study her
markings as much as we cared for. The
first nest was also on the ground in the
long, thin, coarse grass, incident to a
sandy plain. O.&O. V 11 . 8 «pt._ 1882 .p. /•?'£

Savannah Sparrow. — John H. Sage re-
ports that he has never taken a set of these
eggs at Portland, Conn., although they
breed thera Chas. H Neff 188a . p

tunate and found a set this season.

On May 15 , 1889 , I found a nest and five
eggs of Savanna Sp arro w. One egg lias a
pure white ground, with a faint wreath of
very pale lilac, and is longer than the others
by one-fifth of its longest diameter.

y. - - . D. o. 3/«

Q&O.XVT, March. 1891. p. HI .

415. Savannah Sparrow. . . . Editorial. Ibid., p. 156. — Breeding on
Plum Island, off the eastern end of Long Island. <&CX V&la VII

420. Savan?iah Sparrow. By M. Chamberlain. Ibid., p. 162. — Breed-
ing inland in New Brunswick. 0 *9 -. vq lyu

688. Savannah Sparrow. By J. M. Howey. Ibid., p. 16.— “Breeds
commonly throughout Western New York.” Q, 8 s 0» VolsVIIl

Birds of N.E. coast of Labrador
by Henry B . Bigelow.

68. Passerculus sandwichensis labradorius. Labrador Savanna
Sparrow. — The new subspecies of Passerculus sandwichensis recently
separated by R. H. Howe, Jr., seems to rest on good foundation, but ranges
much farther north than he supposed (Lance and Loup), for I found it
fairly common at Port Manvers (Lat. 57 °) during last half of August and
the first week of September.

Auk, XIX, Jan., 1902, p.30.

The Labrador Savanna Sparrow. — I have, since describing Passercu-
lus savanna labradorius , learned more from various sources of its range,
habits, and migrations which seem of interest to present.

The species inhabits Labrador as far north certainly as Port Manvers,
and probably further — though the bird is apparently most common on
the southern Labrador. It is known as the 1 Chipbird,’ as are most of
the small sparrows in the north, and is mentioned by all, I think, of the
writers on the Labrador avifauna. I have examined nearly a hundred or
more specimens of Passerculus s. savanna from Newfoundland and south-
ward since describing the race, with the result that I find Newfoundland
and Cape Breton birds approach most closely the Labrador race in measure-
ments, as would be expected, one bird in particular from Cape Breton
measuring, wing 2.87, bill .39 X .24, which slightly overlaps the smallest
Labrador bird measured. Two other specimens from Labrador have also
been sent me from Bowdoin College, taken on the expedition to Labrador
in 1891. Both birds, one a male, and one unsexed, were taken at Cha-
teau Bay on July 14 and are in very worn breeding plumage. The male
measures, wing 2.86, tail 1.83, tarsus .83, bill .42 X .25. The other, wing
2.75, tail 1.87, tarsus .80, bill .41 X .24. On the migrations an occasion-
ally very large Savanna Sparrow has been noticed by observers and
collectors, which are referable to this form, and I have in my collection
five such birds, two from Massachusetts ($, Brookline, April 26, 1895,
wing 2.88 ; , April 28, 1894, wing 2.90), evidently late northern migrants ;

two from Rhode Island, wintering birds ($, Middletown, Dec. 22, 1900,
wing 2.89, , wing 2.86) , and one from Florida (J, Kissimmee, Dec. 5,

1892, wing 2.88).

In the collections there will probably be found many specimens referable
to this race, which, though I am adverse to naming slight natural and to
be expected differences, are widely different enough to deserve a name, if
the present accepted races of sandwichensis are to be recognized. —
Reginald Heber Howe, Jr., Mass. „

Auk, XIX, Jan., 1902, p/a.

Coturnieulus passer inus .

Belmont ,

Mass. Breeding.

1.378.

Drove to the top of the hill above Cotton's. Pound five

June ( ? ) .

or six pairs of C. passer inus breeding. Took one female,.

V

Copied from Jour

i

Ammodramus s . passer inns .

Cambridge, Mass. My first record.

1898.

After leaving the Cemetery this morning I drove through

June IS.

■

Fresh Pond Lane. Just beyond Gray's Pond, in the corner

formed by Huron Avenue and Fresh Poijld Lane on the west side

of the latter and about thirty yards bach from the fence in

the open field where an old house once stood a Yellow-winged

Sparrow, the first that I have ever seen or heard of within

the limits of Cambridge was sitting on a stump singing at

short, regular intervals. His P't. u'l't. e-e-e-o-e-o-e-e

seemed to me stronger and fuller than usual and I heard it

dietinctly when I was more than 200 yards away after passing

the spot.

Concord, Mass.

1899.

A bird heard singing in the Keyes' pasture May 7th and

June.

again on the 28th was the only one met with this season al-
though in June I tool: many long drives about Concord and

through the bordering towns.

Ir^r *&/< .

/JtAf~7 /, <&***- <J (3 yi^-cAa.

0- 's^-A'X-K tV,^<w. noy r j,' % d
205. Coturniculus savannarum passerinus.

Grasshopper Spar-

EOW . Two records — one taken on Toronto Island by Dr. Brodie, the

other by Mr. John Edmonds May 24, 1890, at Ashbridges Bay; both are
still in the collection of the Biological Society.

Of/o. VA/tt O 77 /ft T/Q

The Grasshopper Sparrow at Ottawa, Ontario.— On June 30, while
prowling around in one comer of the Experimental Farm here, I heard a
here unknown but to me familiar song. Its author allowed me to ap-
proach closely and to inspect him carefully with the glass. It was as I
knew immediately upon first hearing his song, a Grasshopper Sparrow
(Ammodramus savannarum australis), an old acquaintance of mine in the
south There were two birds there, both singing from the wire fence
around a large timothy field. Next day I went there again to secure it,
but could find it no more. But there is no mistake possible; I know the
nrd too well, having taken and prepared many when living in Maryland.

, hi® ls 9 mte an extension of the range of this species, comparatively un-
known m Canada. As stated on authority of W. E. Saunders in Macoun’s
Catalogue, it is fairly common only in the two southwestern counties of
Ontario^ is rare at London, and has only twice been taken at Toronto
(J. H. Fleming). — G. Eifrig, Ottawa, Ont.

Auk 26, Qet-l©OD ,p, //jz

The Grasshopper Sparrow in Ontario. — In ‘The Auk’ for October,
C. W. Eifrig, reports the occurrence of this bird in Ottawa, stating that this
extends the bird’s range by a long distance. This is, however, not the
first time that the bird has been taken there. In the ‘Ottawa Naturalist’
for 1898, page 87, under the heading of ‘Bird Notes’ by W. T. Macoun,
is the following: “Grasshopper Sparrow, one seen beyond Hull, on the
24th of June, doubtless breeding. Seen in rear of Experimental Farm on
26th and 27th, and one shot on the 28th.” This is another addition to
Ottawa’s bird list.

My impression is, that this bird has not been observed near Ottawa in
the intervening period, but evidently there were several of them around in
that year. But it will also be observed, that as Hull is in Quebec, the
bird was added that year to the Quebec list as well. — W. E. Saunders,
London, Ont.

Aok ^7. Jan -1910 p.

The Grasshopper Sparrow in Maine, and Other Notes. — When return-
ing from a short trip with Mr. J. M. Swain, on June 8, 1901, we heard a
thin sparrow-like song which we could not identify. The bird was in a
large field not far from my home, and as the singer proved shy, I got my
gun and soon secured it. It proved to be a Grasshopper Sparrow ( Cotur -
niculus savannarum fiasserinus), the first to be taken in the State since
Boardman’s original specimen, captured many years ago.

D Auk, XIX, July, 1902, p. ^^0,

Summer Bds.Mt. Mansfield, Vt.

40. * Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. Grasshopper Spar-
row. — Mrs. Straw says of this species: “First seen June 5, 1899 —
remained all summer.”

by Arthur H. Howell. Auk, XVIII, Oct., 1901, p.342.

75

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Birds of Bristol County, Mass,
F. W. Andros.

Ammodramus savannarum passerinus (Wils.),
Grasshopper Sparrow. Summer resident,
rare.

0.&0, XII, Sept. 1887 p.140

Bds. Obs. near Sheffield, Berkshire

Oy, Mae*. June 17-26, ’88. W. Faxon

34. Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. Grasshopper Sparrow.
—Common.

Auk, VI. Jen., 1*80. P. 44

"7zxa?oo

as

7 oiuv! LizX^O

Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. One pair found on the east
slope of Northwest Hill in Williamstown.

/ wvr il r

Auk, XIX, Oct., 1002, #. ho t>~

O»oa^5.

76

Aramo dr aiaus savannarum passerinus . Lincoln, Mass.

1902. "We also found yesterday a pair of Grasshopper Sparrows,

May IS. singing on the western side of the Cambridge Reservoir, near
where Concord Turnpike crosses it". Postal to W. Brewster
from Richard S. Rust is, May 10, 1902. He was accompanied by
Howard Turner.

77

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/f^ <Z/UL , t .' '}

Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. Grasshopper Sparrow.

This little Sparrow is a rare summer resident in Western New York. I
have been on the lookout for it for six or seven years but without finding
it until last spring. On May 2, 1894, I was riding my wheel just outside
the city when my ear caught the peculiar note of this species. I stopped
to investigate and soon flushed a Grasshopper Sparrow. I returned to
the spot next day and secured a specimen and saw five or six others.
Later in the season, on and about the first of June, I searched on several
occasions for the nest of two pairs which frequented the same field, north
of the city. And still later in June I saw one of these Sparrows near
Abbott’s Corners, and another near North Boston.

Auk, XIV, Apr., 1897, p. ZZ?.

AlAu) Ale-u) .

Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. — A specimen of this bird was
killed on the hills south of Oneida Village, July 2, 1895, by Messrs. Wm.
R. Maxon and T. F. Wilcox. , TXfUu . , iAC t f.

f?UA<L O2&U. A A .

Ammodramus savannarum passerinus. Grasshopper Sparrow. —
Mr. W. R. Maxon finds this bird common in the hills south of Oneida.
He has taken several specimens in successive summers. Additional
records.

Auk, XVII, April, llIOO, p.

VwcDi r- rL. (rCtSn

14- Ammodramus savannarum passerinus
row.- Mr. Embody is quite correct in regarding thi SPAR -

mon summer resident.” In fact where A S . not an uncom-

. -

YyixxY^nx , ABit, xx, July, 190:;. p.

1962. The Yellow-winged Sparrow. By Lynds Jones. Ibid., pp. 8-9.
— In Iowa. Ora* 8s Ooxogist’s Bomi-aniau&l, YoI»l e

<60

Descriptions of First Plnmage of Cer-
tain North Am, Bbs. W ux. Drews ter.

62. Coturniculus passerinus.

First plumage: male. Upper surface, including sides of neck, dark
brown, each, feather edged and tipped with pale fulvous, — no chestnut
marking. Sides of head ochraceous, spotted finely with dusky. Super-
ciliary line pale buff. Greater and middle wing- coverts dull white. Be-
neath dull white (in some specimens with a decided yellowish cast).
Sides with a few dusky streaks. A broad continuous band of ovate black
spots across the breast and jugulum, running upward in a narrowing line
to the base of the lower mandible. Several specimens in my cabinet, col-
lected at Nantucket, Mass., in July, 1874. This species in the first plu-
mage may be at once separated from C. henslowi in the corresponding stage
by the conspicuous band of spots upon the breast, and by the darker
and more uniform coloring of the upper parts.

Bull. N. O.O, 8, July, 1878. p, //?•

The Singing of Birds. E.P.Bicknell.

Coturniculus passerinus. Yellow-winged Sparrow.

This little field bird continues in song up to the middle of July
or later, sometimes even into the early days of August. It seems
most persistent in song in hot, dry summers, when, on the most
fervid days, its fine notes sound sibilant and insect-like about the
parched fields. Auk, I, Oot. , 1884. p. 33 0 .

A Pew Nests Collected at Cornwall, Vt.

Spring-1880. O.H. Parkhill.

Yellow- winged Sparrow (Ammodramua savan-
arum passerinus ), which is by no means a com-
mon bird in this locality, and I consider it
quite a rare breeder, as this is the first and
! only nest that I have any notes on from this
section. Collected July 17th. The nest which
was a very slight affair was situated on side
hill, well concealed in the tall grass. It was
composed of a few dried grasses, barely
enough to keep the eggs from the ground, and
contained five eggs nearly ready to hatch.

C. II. Parkliill.

O & O. XIV. Oct. 1889 p.150

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COs

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Aramodramus henslowii .

Concord,
1893.
July 12.

1899.
June .

Mass .

As I passed the mouth of Dugan Brook ( in my open canoe )
two Henslow's Sparrows were singing. One appeared to he rath-
er near the river, the other well back towards the high ground
Both were in the Dugan Brook meadow proper, not above near
Heath's Bridge where I heard one last year. These are the
first that I have met with this season but Faxon found about
the usual number in Pantry Brook Meadow one day last morjth.

In addition to the bird noted on May 11th near the Bar-
rett farm I heard four additional males singing near Concord
in June, three on the 10th in Carlisle, the fourth on the 25th
in the meadow below Cyrus Clark's in Concord.

96

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Passerherbulus henslowi.

1911, 1912.

Henslow’s Sparrow —

A ^>1* QA

- Nested in 1909,

P# V ^ 7«

Coturnicultjs henslowi in New Hampshire. — As the northern
range of Henslow’s Sparrow has not previously been recorded beyond the
Massachusetts line, the following notes, which have been kindly placed at
my disposal by Mr. Chas. F. Goodhue of Webster, N. H., will be of interest.
He w'rites : “ I detected my first specimen on April 17, 1874, in Webster,
N. H., and shot another on April 26, 1875, in Boscawen, N. H. On Au-
gust 16, 1877, I found several pairs in a large meadow in Salisbury,
N. H. They were all apparently breeding, and I was so fortunate as to dis-
cover a nest containing four young large enough to fly. The nest, which
was a bulky structure composed externally of coarse grass and lined with
finer of the same, was placed in a bunch of grass where the water was
about two inches in depth. These birds were not at all shy, but remained
singing on some low bushes until I approached them within a few yards.”

I have a specimen which Mr. Goodhue shot on Salisbury meadows, and
kindly presented me. — Ruthven Deane, Cambridge, Mass.

Bull. N.O.O. 3, Jan. , 1878. p", J9-

Birds Known to Pass Breeding Season
nr. Winohendon, Mass. Wm. Brewster

38. Ammodramus henslowi.*

1LT

Auk, V, Oct,, 1888. p.389

"VCirCLo |/ /l><VL/^X^<Ay

1 vuiAAa 0_jL.u-.4ji iZa .

Ammodramus henslowii. Common about Williamstown, in wet
meadows grown up with the steeple-bush (Spircea tomentosa). In Nor-
wood, Massachusetts, a meadow they inhabit is grown with sedges
( Scirpus alrocinctus, Carex monile , bullata , Jiava, scop aria), red-top
[Agrostis alba vulgaris , fowl-meadow grass (Poa serotina), and rush
Juncus effusus — species kindly identified by Mr. Walter Deane); and Mr.
G. M. Allen tells me the white hellebore ( Veratrum viride ) was the
principal growth in a meadow where he once found them in New

Hampshire. We found several pairs on the east slope of Stone Hill, and
quite a colony on the western slope of Northwest Hill on both the
Massachusetts and Vermont (Pownal) side of the State line.

J

I) , '

Auk, XIX, Oct., 1902, p f •‘I ° '

Some Rare Rhode Island Birds. — The following species, considered
rare for that portion of the country, have been observed by me in the vicin-
ity of Newport, Rhode Island : Il enslo w’s S parrg w (. Ammodramus k en-
dow i')^ abundant in September and October, 1888; Florida Gallinule '

( Gall inula galeata), a number seen in October, 1S88; Black-throated^
Bunting ( Sfiza americana ) , one specimen, September, 1888; Red Phala-.
rop (Crymofliilus fulicarius), one specimen, Oct. n, 1888. — Wirt
Robinson, 2d. Lieut., 4th Artillery , Fort Adams , R. I.

Auk, VI. April, 1889. p.

Ammodramus henslowii. — A Correction. — In ‘The Auk’ for April,
1889, p. 194, I reported the occurrence at Fort Adams, Newport, R. I., of
Ammodramus henslowii. My identification was afterwards found to be
incorrect, but through oversight the record has not been changed until

now. -W irt Robinson, XVI, Oct. , 1899, p. 3 <>' 6 .

Auk t 4 , Oct. 1887. P. 3S^> ■

Central New York Notes. — Henslow’s Sparrow ( Ammodramus hens-
lovji). An adult male of this bird was taken by me near Syracuse, on
June 30 of this year. Attention was drawn to the bird through its peculiar
song, delivered from a tall weed in a field.

Henslow’s Sparrow on Shelter Island, N. Y. — On November 20, 1901,
as I was crossing a rather barren, hilly pasture field, with a somewhat
sparse covering of grass, I was much surprised on flushing a small brown
sparrow, on which I had almost placed my foot in taking a step, which I
at once recognized by the peculiar corkscrew flight as Ammodramus hen-
slowi, having observed and taken numbers of them in the Southern States.
A snap shot at long range (my astonishment at seeing the species so un-
expectedly having banished at first all thought of shooting) wounded, but
failed to kill, and the bird dropped fiutteringly into another bunch of grass,
and was out of sight in an instant. Knowing their habits, I thought the
specimen lost to me, but rushing to the spot and stamping quickly about,
thanks to the scanty grass, the specimen was flushed again, and finally
secured, making the first record for eastern Long Island. The bird was a
female, and in good condition. I took an Ipswich Sparrow on the same
day, and another Nov. 22, and on December 18 a Lapland Longspur.—

Descriptions of First Plumage of Cer-
tain North Am, fibs. Wm. Brewster.

61. Coturniculus henslowi.

First plumage. Top of head, neck, upper parts of back and rump, oliva-
ceous brown ; crown with a broad black ; spotted stripe on each side.
Feathers of interscapular region with heavy central spots of dull black.
Beneath pure delicate straw-color, lightest on the abdomen, deepest, with
a strong buffy tinge, on the throat, breast, and sides ; no spots or markings
of any kind on the under parts. Outer edging of primaries and secondaries
dull cinnamon ; wing-coverts buff. Lores and spot upon the auriculars
dusky. Bill colored like that of the adult. From two specimens in my
cabinet, collected at Concord, Mass., June 19, 1878. With the single ex-
ception of Chrysomitris tristis, this is the only species of the Fringillidce,
so far as I am aware, in which the young in first plumage are entirely
immaculate beneath.

Autumnal plumage : young female. Bill black. Crown, cheeks, and su-
perciliary line, anteriorly, reddish-buff. A narrow maxillary and inframax-
illary stripe and a small spot behind the auriculars, black. Top of head
with two broad stripes of dark brown upon the sides. Post-orbital space,
neck, nape, and back anteriorly dull olive-green, the nape dotted finely with
dusky. Tertiaries, upper tail-coverts, and feathers of interscapular region
with broad, rounded, central spots of black, shading round their edges
into dark chestnut, and tipped narrowly with ashy-white. Outer surface
of wing similar to the adults, but paler. Under parts pale reddish-buff,
fading into soiled white upon the abdomen. A broad continuous band
of black spots across the breast, extending down the sides to the erissum.
Throat flecked faintly but thickly with dusky. Chin, jugulum, and
central abdominal and anal regions unspotted. From a specimen in

my cabinet, collected at Osterville, Mass., November 6, 1874. In the
absence of sufficient material for comparison, I am unable to say whether
this specimen represents the typical autumnal plumage or not. The
black bill is, to say the least, a remarkable feature, and one not found in
either the adult or young in first plumage.

BuliN.O.O. 3, July, 1878. p.

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35. Ammodramus henslowi. Henslow’s Sparrow. — T.wo pairs in a
low, wet piece of ground in Sheffield. They were not shy. The males
sometimes sang in the grass and sedge, wholly out of view, at other times
mounted on tall weeds, shrubs, or low trees. Mr. Maynard compares the
song to the syllables see-Tvick, but to my ear there was a liquid sound in
the first part —flee-sic, with a strong accent upon the first syllable. When
heard at a very short distance it seemed almost tri-syllabic— f'-lee-sic.
The song is delivered rapidly, the head thrown back as the notes are
emitted.

▲uk*Yl. J&o., LB88. p. 44 -ij>f

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-z.

camping with

Mr. Wallace Craig, we found this small Sparrow was common in a field
of weeds near the southeast corner of Bass Lake in Starke County, Indi-
ana. Two were secured, both males, which were singing while perched
on the tallest weed tops. July 24, 1895, while camping on the Kankakee
River, near Wilders, Indiana, we found this Sparrow was abundant in an
extensive field of tall weeds. Mr. Craig shot at one and it fell wounded
in the weeds where it was very hard to find for it tried to keep hidden in
the grass. The weed on which he had been standing was one of the
tallest in the neighborhood, although not over three feet high, and it had
evidently been used by the bird a great deal, judging from the amount of
excrement on the grass below it.

The Yellow-winged Sparrow was found in the same locality and was
more numerous than the Henslow’s, and, when perched on weedtops or
fence posts, was tamer. They could easily be distinguished from the
Henslow’s by their notes. The following is from our notebook written
by Mr. Craig while we were camping at Wilders: “ Henslow’s Sparrows
seem to be quite numerous and found over a considerable area in the
prairies. They sing frequently and may be heard in almost, if not quite,
the hottest part of the day. The song is very simple, being a very rude
attempt at producing music. It consists, so far as I have been able to
determine, of two insect-like notes; it may be represented by the
syllables stitch lick , uttered in quick succession, and once, when I
had fired several shots without hitting anything, I thought the birds

said ‘ such luck,’ ‘ such luck.’ The notes, as has been said, are insect-
like in character, especially the first one, which is very lisping, the last
note having more volume. The notes are not loud, but may be heard at
some distance, and are somewhat ventriloquistic, seeming to come from
some general direction but not from any definite spot so that it is impos-
sible to locate the birds easily by their notes.’'

While camping at Bass Lake in 1894, we heard one of these birds at
up. m., the night being clear and moonlight. — James O. Dunn, Chicago ,
III .

Ank, XII, April, 1895, 9 * / £

"I, .

£

Ammodramus henslowii. Henslow’s Sparrow. — While engaged in
collecting a few shore birds on the 22nd of May, 1894, upon Peck’s Beach,
I ran across a nest of this Sparrow. It was placed at the brink of a small
sand dune, the top of which was about six feet above the level of the
beach. The nest was sunken flush with the sand and directly against the
roots of a solitary bunch of grass. The bird did not leave the nest until
I had approached within three feet and almost touched her breast with my
finger, when she flew to the edge of a thicket of bayberry and holly
bushes some distance away, and, while protesting vigorously, did not come
near or call up her mate. The nest, of bleached sedge grass with a lining
of fine grass stems, contained four partly incubated eggs of a very light
greenish to grayish white, thickly speckled and spotted with chestnut and
hazel, with a very little Vandyke brown here and there. The markings
were confluent at the larger end in two and at the smaller end of the
remaining two eggs. One egg also shows many olive gray shell
markings. They measure .71 X .63, .70 X .62, .70 X .62, .70 X .62, and
are short ovate to oval. — Frank L. Burns, Berwyn, Chester Co., Pa.

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Description of the nest and eggs of Coturniculus henslowi
obtained NEAR Falls Church, Ya. — Nest rather rud# and irregularly
shaped, composed externally of coarse grass, lined with exceedingly fine
grass-tops circularly disposed and well finished but without any horse-
hair; no other material than grass was used in its construction. The nest
is about four inches in diameter, about two inches in height, and
two inches inside diameter; it was placed in the center of a large
clump of wild clover ( Trifolium agrariuiti) and rested directly on the
ground without any appearance of a cavity. The clover had grown up
about a foot or more in height and completely surrounded the nest, which
was only discovered by parting it. The female was secured as she flew
from the nest. The eggs, four in number, are much blotched and speckled
all over with a mixture of madder-brown and sepia, the color becoming
more confluent on the larger end ; there are also a few dashes and dots of
very dark sepia, almost black, scattered among the spots. One of the
eggs has a number of large blotches of a lighter fint than the spots
scattered all over it so as to almost form a ground tint for the spots. The
ground color is a delicate greenish-white. The measurements, in hun-
dredths of inches, are as follows: .75 x .60, .75 x .58, 75 x .56, .75 x .60.
These eggs, taken June 3, contained large embryos within four or five days
of hatching. As I took full-fledged young last year on the 12th of July,
they undoubtedly raise two broods in a season.

The above described nest and eggs were taken in the locality where Mr.
Ridgway found the birds last year (see this Bulletin, Vol. IV, p. 238).
They are more or less common in all suitable places, probably a dozen
pairs breeding in this and the adjoining meadows.

Since writing the above, two fully fledged young birds have been taken
(June 6) in the same place. The birds have been also seen and heard
singing at Ball’s Cross Roads in Virginia, about two miles nearer the
District than the other locality. Besides the characteristic note of tee-wick ,
they have quite a song, which may fairly be represented by the syllables
sis-r-r-rit-svit-srit, with the accent on the first and last parts. This song
is often uttered while the bird takes a short flight upward; it then drops
down again into the tangled weeds and grasses where it is almost impossi-
ble to follow it. — Pierre Louis Jouy, Washington , D.C.

O ,

1

BuaNtO.O, 61 ?

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is often uttered while the bird takes a short flight upward; it then drops
down again into the tangled weeds and grasses where it is almost impossi-
ble to follow it. — Pierre Louis Jouy, Washington , D.C.

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, 2S2 ' He ™ lo ™’ S Sparrow. Nesting in Northern Conn. By C. M.

.J. Jones. #/*, «bpp. 17, 18- Coturniculus henslowi met with several
different years, and two nests found, at Eastford, Conn.

781. Henslow's Bunting. Coiurniculus henslowi (Aud.) Bp. Editorial
Ibid., Nos. 3-4, p. 2.— Refers to various previously recorded instances of
its occurrence in Massachusetts, and the capture of a specimen at Amherst
June 7, 1884, Where the bird is ‘almost common.’ Also record of the can’
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This afternoon I went with my brother Charles to the Neponse^*
marshes just below Milton Lower Mills (i«e., a little higher up the
river than those big marshes near the Atlantic station) and fo md
a nice little colony of Sharp - tails , Saw about six birds. They
were in full song, although the thermometer stood at 92. I think
this indicates that they are underway with their second brood. The
locality is on the Milton side of the river at the foor of "Milton
Hill", Like the Rever locality, the marsh is rich in Juncus geradi
and creeks and ditches, & I fancy these are essentials - the Juncus

indicating a level above high-tide & the ditches affording the
favorite place for retreat & perhaps for feeding.

Pound nothing near Atlantic yesterday.

Birds of Southern New Brunswic
I&,0&a.ixiBerla.in.

7. Ammodromus caudacutus. Sharp-tailed Finch— On June 21,
1881, five individuals of this species were taken by Mr. H. A. I urdie
Mr. Fred. W. Daniel and myself, on a marsh near Hampton, lhis marsh
is watered by the Kenebecasis, a tributary of the St. John, and lies some
twenty-five miles up the former river. The junction of the two rivers
takes place about five miles from the mouth of the St. John. The marsh
is some twenty miles, air line, from the nearest point on the Bay of Fundy
shore, and at the time we visited it, the water running past it did not taste
in the least brackish.*

Bull. N.O.O, 7, April. 1882, p.105

AmMODRAMUS CAUDACUTUS. — A SOMEWHAT ISLAND RECORD ON THE

Atlantic Coast. — On June 21, 1881, in company with my friends
Messrs. Chamberlain and Daniel, of St. John, N. B., I found a few pairs
of Sharp-tailed Finches in the tall grassy marshes bordering the Kene-
becasis River at Hampton, which is about twenty miles to the north of the
above named city and the Bay of Fundy. and about at the head of tide water.
The birds were singing, and undoubtedly breeding, but a severe hunt for
their nests was unsuccessful. Although a closely allied variety ( nelsoni ) is
known to occur in certain western States. I think our maritime form has
not before been observed away from the immediate coast on the Atlantic
seaboard. It might however be looked for up our rivers and creeks as far
as or a little above the flow of tide water. See this Bulletin, II, pp. 27, 28 ;
TIT no. 48. q8; V, p. — H. A. Purdie, Newton, Mass. , , a

in, pp- 4°- 9 8 > ’ p J ulliN ,o.O. 7, April, 1882, p, U * ■

Northern Range of the Sharp-tailed Finch ( Ammodromus cau-
dacutus). — My friend, Mr. William Stone of Cambridge, has recently
presented me with five specimens of the Sharp-tailed Finch which he
shot at Tignish, Prince Edward’s Island, on August 2 and 3, 1876. The
locality where they were taken, as he describes it to me, was exceptional,
— a wide waste of marsh, dry, and at some distance from the sea, grown
up to bushes, with h few scattered dead pine stubs, remnants of a former
forest. Throughout this tract these birds were abundant, the males singing
on all sides from the tops of the bushes. The individuals examined are
all adults in very pale, worn breeding plumage. Dr. Coues, in his “ Birds
of New England ” (Proc. Essex Inst., Vol. Y, p. 282), gives Ammodromus
rmritimus as occurring at Rye Beach, New Hampshire, but this record, he
informs me by letter, was a mistake, the bird which he found there being
A. caudacutus. The finding of the Sharp-tailed Finch in numbers at
Tignish, taken in connection with the fact of its recent detection at Scar-
borough, Me., by Mr. N. C. Brown [see above], renders it extremely
probable that it may occur regularly, at suitable localities, all along the
intermediate line of coast. — William Brewster.

BuU. N.O.O, 2. Jan., 1877. p.

SummerBesidents on Southwest
Ooast of Maine. T. B, Montgomery, Jr,,

549. Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Sliot seven or
eight specimens at Castine, and two or tliree
at Hobson’s Island.

Q a m&Q, 15* Nov a l390, p,102

The Sharp-tailed Finch ( Ammodramus caudacutus) in Maine. —

Dr. Brewer strangely misquotes me on page 48 of the present volume of
the “ Bulletin,” in reference to the Sharp-tailed Finch ( Ammodramus cau-
dacutus). In my note to which he refers, no mention is made of the cap-
ture of a “ single ” specimen in Scarhoro’, Me., nor indeed of the capture
of any specimen at all. What I did say (see Bulletin, Yol. II, p. 27)
was that I had found the species a rare inhabitant of a part of Scarboro’
Marsh.

Late in October, 1876, I observed a few individuals of this species on
Pine Point, — a sandy strip of land which forms the seaward extremity of
the great Scarboro’ Marshes. Aside from the fact that this was consider-
ably to the east of their previously known range, I was surprised to find
them here, for I had carefully examined the Point and its vicinity, at
other seasons of the year, without detecting a single specimen. Accord-
ingly, during the season of 1877, I made the Sharp-tailed Finch the ob-
ject of almost daily expeditions, from early spring until late autumn ;
but, in confirmation of my suspicions, not a bird was to be found until
about October 1. At that date great numbers appeared on the marshes
and sea beaches adjacent to Pine Point, and for a couple of "weeks they
fairly swarmed in their favorite haunts. They were noticeably less
numerous during the latter part of the month, and by November 1, only
stragglers remained. I captured the last of the season on November 15.

To the best of my knowledge, then, although abundant during the
autumnal migration, the Sharp-tailed Finch is not to be found in this
vicinity during the spring and summer months. — Nathan Clifford
Brown, Portland, Me. PaU.N.O.0. 3, April, 1878, P. .

Ammodromus caudacutus a Summer Resident in Southern
Maine. — Although it rather reflects upon my previous thoroughness as a
field observer,* I suppose the ornithological public ought to be informed
that Ammodromus caudacutus remains to breed in the Scarboro’ marshes,
after all. I say to breed, and the presence there of some half-dozen
pairs during the past summer (1879), will probably be accepted as good
evidence of nidification, though I have not actually seen any nests. °The
bird is so shy and lurking in habit that a few scattered pairs would hardly
be detected amongst the rank grass and weeds of the marshes, during
summer, were the faint song of the male not heard ; and I am forced to
believe, in spite of my previous negative evidence to the contrary, that the
species ought to be included among the regular summer residents of this
locality.— Nathan Clifford Brown, Portland, Maine.

* See note on this species, in this Bulletin, Yol. Ill, pp. 98, 99.

Buli. N.O.O. 5. Jan., 1880, p, S2 ,

Notes on Birds new to the Fauna of Maine, etc. — Of the follow-
ing five species, three are here for the first time recorded as birds of Maine,
another as found for the first time so far in the interior, and another as
found for the first time breeding on the New England coast.

1. Ammodromus caudacutus Swain. Sharp-tailed Finch. I
have found this species, now, I believe, for the first time recorded as a
bird of Maine, a rare inhabitant of a certain part of the great marsh in
Scarborough.

71. 7r. A A ■ / S a .. cA .

ns

BulLN.O.C. 2, Jan., 1877. p, *7-

The Sharp-tailed Sparrow ( Ammodramus caudacutus) in a Fresh-Water
Marsh. — I am informed by my friend, Mr. Lewis M. Todd, of Calais, Me.,
that during the autumn of 1886 he captured one of these Sharp-tails on a
marsh some distance above the falls on the St. Croix River. The water at
that point must be free from saline flavor, as the falls prevent the sea
water from reaching it. — Montague Chamberlain, St. John , At. B.

Auk, 4, July 1887. p. 5.6/

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Birds of Bristol County, Mass
F.W. Andros.

Ammodramus caudactus (Gmel.), Sharp-tailed
Sparrow. Summer resident, rare.

O.&O.XII.Sept. 1387 p.140

Ar.irao draraus caudacutus .
Saugus and Revere, Mass.

1891, Oot.8. See Journal.

Connecticut, June. 1893,

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Besoriptions of First Plumage of Cer-
tain North Am, Bbs. Wm. Brewster.

64. Ammodromua caudacutus.

First plumage : male. General coloring, both above and beneath, bright
reddish-brown, nearly as in the superciliary stripe of the adult. Feathers
of interscapular region streaked centrally with dark brown ; nape brownish-
olive, unspotted. Two broad stripes of dark brown on the sides of crown.
Wings and tail scarcely more reddish than in adult. Sides of head with
fewer dark markings. Sides of breast somewhat thickly streaked with
dusky ; otherwise unmarked. From a specimen in my collection, taken
at Rye Beach, N. H., August 20, 1869. It is not a little remarkable that
in a family whose 3 r oung are nearly without exception more thickly
streaked or spotted than their parents, — and often, indeed, conspicuously
marked in this manner, when the parent is entirely plain, — this bird in
first plumage should exhibit less streaking beneath than the adult, which
has not only a continuous band of dusky markings across the breast,
but also the sides thickly marked in a similar manner. In view of
this fact, the further development of the young is most interesting.
When the autumnal plumage is acquired, the dusky streakings upon the
sides of the breast are entirely lost, and do not again appear until after the
spring moult, when, as previously stated, they are distributed over much
larger areas. A nearly analogous case of development is afforded by the
Arctic and Wilson’s Terns, whose young have the bill and feet at first pale
red or yellow, afterwards dusky or nearly black, and again, when fully
adult, deeper and clearer red than when first from the nest.

Bull, N.O.C, 3. July, 1878. p.

' Albinism and Melanism in North
American Birds* Ruthven Deane.

I am indebted to Mr.

N. 0. Brown for a specimen of a male Sharp-tailed Finch, which he
collected at Scarborough, Me., October 19, 1877, showing slight
traces of albinism. A few white feathers may be seen over each
superciliary stripe and also on the secondaries and coverts of one

uriw^.

BmLL N.O.O. 4, Jan., 1879, p.28

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On the 12th of June, found a nest of s harp-
t ailed Sparrow on salt meadow. Nest contained
one egg. There were three others outside of
the nest and near it. Visited the nest again on
the 14th, and found five eggs outside and none
in the nest. Two of the eggs were three feet
or more away from the nest on top of the fine

grass that was bent down. Took the eggs, but
left the nest. Visited the nest for the third time
on the loth, and found top of the nest tom out
and several feet away. Went to the nesting
site four days after and found that the nest had
disappeared with the exception of a few blades
of seaweed. Did not see any birds about, the
last time.

Q.&O. XHI.J

,137 -/Sir-

957 - Sharp-Tailed and Seaside Finches. By Everett Smith. Ibid..
Dec. 18, p. 405. — The Sharp-tailed stated to be found as far north as the
Tantremar marshes, near the head of the Bay of Fundy. The Seaside is
added to the fauna of Maine on the basis of its recent capture at Shark
island. For. & Stream, 51X111

58. The Sharp-tailed Finch — Ammoaromus canaScitUis — < t o i»««.

Eggs. By T. M. Brewer. Ibid., IV, pp. 41, 42, Jan. 1879.— General
account of its geographical distribution, nesting habits, etc. OC'lOgXSfc

159. Nesting of the Sharp-tailed Finch (Ammodromus caudacutus).

By G. S. Smith. Ibid., IV, pp. 66, 67, April, 1879.— Account of nesting
habits, with special reference to the salt marshes near Boston. OOlogiHt

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Massachusetts Notes.— On October 24, 1910, I shot a partial albino
Sharp-tailed Sparrow ( Passerherbulus caudacutus ) on a salt meadow at
Nantucket, Mass. I had seen it several days previous but was unable to
secure it then. The upper parts are blotched with several patches of pure
white feathers. The coverts of the left wing are also pure white while
the feathers on the right wing are only margined with white. The tail,
crown and primaries are normal in color as are also the underparts and
nearly all the rest of the bird.

Early in November, 1909, two White-fronted Geese ( Anser albifrons
gambeli) were shot at a stand on Sesachacha Pond, Nantucket. I heard
of their being killed last spring and was told by the man who had one of
them mounted that they were Lesser Snow Geese. However, this bird
has recently been presented to the Boston Society of Natural History
and has proved to be Anser albifrons gambeli. It is a young bird and the
white at the base of the bill is only just beginning to appear. Also the
tips of the feathers of the underparts show faint traces of black. There
are only three other records for New England, and these are all from
Massachusetts. A male was shot at Quincy some time about 1848-50
and was presented to the Boston Society ol Natural History. 1 At present
there is no trace of this bird. Dr. T. M. Brewer, in ‘A Defence of his
Catalogue of the Birds of New England,’ 2 says: “Anser gambeli, between
1836-46, was much more common than it apparently is now, but even
now there is no lack of evidence of its presence .... A fine specimen in
immature plumage has been recently taken in Gloucester and is now in the
collection of Mr. William Jeffries of Boston.” The bird referred to was
shot October 20, 1876, at West Gloucester, and at the time was supposed to
be Anser albifrons gambeli ; it turned out, however, to be a Blue Goose.
This also is now in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History
and is the only one ever recorded from this State. Possibly after all A. a.
gambeli was not as common even between 1836 and 1846 as Dr. Brewer
supposed. The second authentic record was one shot at Plymouth,
November 26, 1897, by Mr. Paul W. Gifford. 3 It is an adult specimen and
is to-day in Mr. William Brewster’s collection. Of these few records the
third is the most interesting, for it is an adult bird that was caught alive

in a wounded condition early in August, 1907, at Great Neck, Ipswich,
by Mr. A. B. Clark. 4 This bird is still alive and I believe several unsuc-
cessful attempts have been made to cross it with a wild Canada Goose.

In ‘The Auk,’ Vol. XXVII, No. 3, page 339, Mr. R. Heber Howe, Jr.,
mentions a King Rail (Rallus elegans) being shot at West Barnstable on
Dec. 30, 1909, as the ninth record for the State. I have five more un-
recorded specimens making a total of fourteen. The first one was shot
on the Neponset meadows, near Canton, on September 9, 1893, and is
in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History. The other
four were all shot in 1909, at Chatham, and as far as I can find they are
the only ones known to the local gunners ever to have been taken there.
Of these four the first was taken January 9, 1909, by Mr. Russell Bearse
in a brackish marsh while he was duck shooting by moonlight. This
is now owned by Mr. IV. E. Freeman of Arlington. The second was shot
by Mr. W. A. Carey of Boston on October 2, and is now in his collection.
He was shooting quail along the edge of a cranberry bog when the dog
flushed this bird. The third was caught alive on October 25 by a setter
dog in a bit of salt marsh, and is now in the collection of the Boston Society
of Natural History. The fourth was killed by Mr. Frank Eldredge on
October 20. This one was shot on Monomoy Island, in a salt meadow
where Mr. Eldredge was after shore birds. It seems very remarkable
that these last three should have all been taken within the space of about
three weeks time and all within an area of a few square miles. Undoubtedly
the King Rail is more abundant than is generally supposed, and although
it is thought that it may breed within the limits of the State, no authentic
case has yet been recorded. However, this recent abundance may lead

/2'i

The Acadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow and Other Birds at Plymouth,
Mass. — The winter had been quite severe and on February 2, 1912, the
harbor was nearly frozen over, only the channels, some distance off shore,
being open. The shore was covered with snow and broken ice. Gulls
and ducks were numerous around the open water in mid-harbor.

Where a small stream entered the harbor, I noticed quite a modification
of the otherwise prevalent, boreal conditions. Waste water from some
mills enters this stream, evidently raising the temperature considerably,
for a mist hung over the stream and the beach was bare of ice and snow for
some thirty feet on either side of the brook where it entered the harbor.
The birds seemed to have taken advantage of this very local, climatic
condition.

About a hundred Herring Gulls were feeding about the mouth of the
stream; fifty Horned Larks were busy gleaning edible bits and two had a
spirited contest for a choice morsel, while at times they twittered to each
other in low, musical tones; and a bright and active Acadian Sharp-tailed
Sparrow was noticed among the Larks. I observed it for some time, and
it came within eight feet of me, searching for food among the sea-weed and
stones, and rested for a minute or more upon a large beach stone. The
creamy-buff appearance, of the back and head markings, breast and under-
parts, longitudinal gray side streaks, the contour of the bill, and the sharp-
tipped tail feathers were distinctly visible. I was pleased to note this-
species on our coast in severe mid-winter.

I am reasonably sure that this sparrow was not maritimus which species
has some late, northern records, as its larger size and different bill would
serve to identify it.

I continued my observations at this point about an hour and while here
a male Golden-eye whistled overhead, so near that his attractive dress
and white spot near eye were distinctly seen. Also a fine adult, male
Great Black-backed Gull was noticed with some Herring Gulls near a.
channel. — Charles L. Phillips, JTaunton, Mass,

Jr-

THE AUK:

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF

ORNITHOLOGY.

vol. xiii. October, 1896. ^ *7/- 2 ■ NO - 4-

THE SHARP-TAILED SPARROW ( AMMODRAMUS
CAUDACUTUS) AND ITS GEOGRAPHICAL
RACES.

BY JONATHAN DWIGHT, JR.

Plate IV.

The Sharp-tailed Sparrow is a bird that can boast of con-
siderable antiquity among North American species and it has
been figured more than once by early writers, but the two geo-
graphical races that have been described of late years are now
figured for the first time on the accompanying plate. The spe-
cific name dates from 1788, when the bird was called by Gmelin
Oriolus caudacutus (Gmelin, Syst. Nat., I, pt. i., ^ 7 S8, 394)-
His description, however, is practically a translation into Latin
of Pennant’s description of a bird he calls the Sharp-tailed Ori-
ole (Pennant, Arctic ZooL, II, 1785, 261), which Latham also
describes (Latham, Synop. Birds, I, pt. 2, 1782, 448, pi. xvii),
giving a fairly recognizable colored plate and stating that he is
indebted to Pennant for the drawing of the bird as well as for the
description. Neither Pennant nor Latham made use of any
scientific name and therefore Gmelin becomes the authority for

125

272

Dwight, The Sharp-tailed Sparrows.

r Auk
L Oct.

a name that still survives. That it is applicable to true caudacutus ,
and not to either of the subspecies, becomes most probable when
we read Gmelin’s description in conjunction with Latham’s plate,
both based on the same material, a specimen from New York in
Mrs. Blackburn’s collection. We read, “ pectus, femora et crissum
pallide flavescentia, maculis fuscis,” a statement which seems to
indicate the paler buff and distinct streaking of caudacutus as
compared with nelsoni , and other parts of the description contrib-
ute to show that pale subvirgatus was not the bird in hand, — these
being the three forms to which the old description might apply.

Wilson, apparently unaware of previous recognition, figured and
described an undoubted caudacutus , which he named Fringilla
caudacuta, Sharp-tailed Finch (Wilson, Amer. Orn., IV, 18 n, 70,
pi. xxxiv, f. 3), and Audubon also -figured and accurately described
the species (Audubon, Orn. Biog., II, 1834, 281, pi. cxlix, V,
1839,' 499; Birds Am. III. 3, 1841, 108, pi. clxxliv,). It is
again poorly figured by DeKay (Zool. N. Y., pt. ii, 1844, 164,
pi. 67, f. 154) and from him received the curious name of ‘ Quail-
head,’ so called from a fancied resemblance to the markings of
the Bob-white.

The name caudacutus , once applied, seems to have been adopted
by all later writers, save Nuttall (who saw fit to call the bird
Fringilla littoralis for' reasons best known to himself), and conse-
quently the bird has not been burdened with -the multiplicity of
names that so often fall to the lot of early described species.

In 1875 a smaller, brighter colored race was separated under
the name nelsoni (Allen, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., xvii, March,
1875, 293) on the evidence of a number of specimens obtained
by Mr. Edward W. Nelson and others on the Calumet Marshes
near Ainsworth, Illinois, in September and October, 1874. This
has proved to be the inland representative of its strictly littoral

relatives.

In 1887 I described a race from the marshes of New Brunswick,
Canada (Dwight, Auk, IV, July 1887, 233) to which I applied the
name subvirgatus. It is a comparatively pale race that seems to
have closer affinities with nelsoni than with its nearer breeding
neighbor caudacutus , and its recognition raises interesting ques-
tions of distribution yet to be solved.

273

0

0

j3 9 5 J Dwight, The Sharp-tailed Sparrows.

In 1891 a race called becki was described from California
(Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIV, 1891, 483) on the strength
of a single specimen. 'Phis proved to be a straggling nelsoni so
that becki became a mere synonym.

I have briefly sketched the history of the Sharp-tailed Sparrow
and its races and only touched upon a few essential points, because
it is beyond the scope of the present paper to treat the subject
exhaustively. It is rather my purpose to emphasize by collation
the facts of which we are already possessed and call attention to
the gaps in our knowledge of these birds, well-known as they may
seem to be.

Plumage.

First of all let us grasp the characters by which the three forms
may be distinguished. I went over them at some length in my
early article and to-day, after a lapse of nine years, having examined
fully five times as much material as was originally before me, I find
that there is little to modify the conclusions then reached.

Ammodramus caudacutus is, at all seasons, so distinctly streaked
below with black, that seldom does a specimen present itself that
can for a moment be confounded with either of the other races,
when once this difference is appreciated by specimens in hand.
Besides, the birds are large, with large bills and are richly colored
when in unworn plumage, although with all the members of this
genus the feathers are rapidly and extensively abraded. There
is considerable individual variation, and, it may be noted, winter
specimens from South Carolina are as a rule richer in color and
more heavily streaked than northern birds.

Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni is a small form, this being most
readily apparent in the bill and length of wing. In coloration it
is very similar to caudacutus , though usually richer in browns and
buffs, especially the ochraceous, buffy yellow wash of the breast
and flanks. The streaking below is obscure, the lines dusky,
suffused and narrow as compared with the other forms. In
spring plumage, and occasionally in the fall, the lines are more
definite yet characteristically narrow.

Ammodramus caudacutus subvirgatics is intermediate in size
between caudacutus and nelsoni. It lacks the distinct streaking of

35

2 74

Dwight, The Sharp-tailed Sparrows.

r Auk
L oct.

the former and the bright colors of the latter, being a pale grayish
looking bird, and the edgings of the back feathers are ashy or
pearl-gray, according to season, instead of pure white, as in nelsom.
The accompanying plate is intended to show these differences, and
on it are figured the type of subvirgatus (No. 1261 $ adult, Hills-
borough, New Brunswick, July 19, 1886, J. Dwight, Jr.), and a
breeding male nelsom taken by Dr. Louis B. Bishop in 1 owner
Co., North Dakota, July 5, 1895 (L. B. B. No. 2071). It seems
preferable to thus compare two breeding males rather than figure
the type of nelsoni which, taken in the autumn, is very possibly a
migrant. The coloring is most excellent save in the tarsus and
foot of nelsoni , which should be of a purplish flesh color. The
bills do not show the differences in size that usually are obvious.

In order to bring out as definitely as possible the points of
difference (appreciable at any season in all birds, save those in
first plumage) between these allied races I will present them in
parallel columns :

caudacutus.

nelsoni.

subvirgatus.

Lateral crown stripes.

Deep brown.

Deep, rich brown.

Paler, greenish brown.

Nape and back.

Browns prevail.

Browns prevail.

Grays prevail.

m

Outer edgings of back
feathers.

Ashy or buffy.

White and conspicuous.

Ashy or pearl-gray and
obscure.

Edgings of secondaries
and tertiaries.

Rusty.

Bright, rusty buff.

Paler.

Breast and sides of
head.

Buffy and ochraceous
tints intense.

Buffy and ochraceous
tints more intense.

Tints pale.

Breast and flank
streaks.

Distinct black and
broad.

Obscure, or suffused
and narrow.

Obscure, or, suffused
and medium width.

Abdomen.

Clear white.

Clear white.

Dingy white.

Bill.

Large and long.

Small and short.

Medium.

Measurements.

Largest size.

Smallest size.

Medium size.

Typical birds are easily recognized when birds of like season
are compared, but difficulties arise in determining certain fall
migrants or winter birds (of which there are a large number in
collections) that show intergradation between nelsoni and subvir-
gatus. They are taken on the Atlantic coast at various points

Vol. XIII1
1896 J

Dwight, The Sharp-tailed Sparrotvs.

275

and we can only suppose they come from unknown breeding
grounds. When we realize that nelsoni has not been recorded as
breeding east of about 87° W. long, while subvirgatus has not
been found west of about 70° W. long., there is ample ground for
such supposition.

Distribution.

Ammodramus candacutus is restricted in the breeding season to
the salt marshes of the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Massachu-
setts. North of the latter named State, in the limited marshes
of the New Hampshire and Maine coasts, it is probable that
subvirgatus would be found. In fact a few stragglers have been
secured that, singularly enough, approach more nearly to nelsoni
than to caudacutus as would naturally be expected. One speci-
men is from Cambridge, Mass., May 31, another from Revere,
Mass., June 7, and a third from North Madison, Conn., June 9.
These birds may have been late migrants but the probability is
they were breeding. It is obvious therefore that breeding speci-
mens from the Maine coast are greatly to be desired. A few
caudacutus linger through the winter as far north as New Jersey
(Stone, Birds E. Pa. and N. J., 1894, 114), the bulk passing to
the South Atlantic States and even reaching Tarpon Springs,
Florida, on the Gulf coast (Scott, Auk, VI, 1889, 322).

A. c. nelsoni has been sparingly found during the breeding sea-
son in Northern Illinois, in Wisconsin, in Minnesota, in Kansas,
in the Dakotas, and in Manitoba. It seems to be a compara-
tively rare species and spring records are few and far between.
Large numbers of migrants are found, however, at many points
on the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to South Carolina, they
have been taken at Corpus Christi, Texas (Chapman, Bull. Am.
Mus. N. H., Ill, No. 2, 223), and a straggler to the vicinity of
San Francisco, California, was described as a new race, to which
reference has already been made. It is probable that the birds
found at Galveston (Nehrling, Bull. N. O. C., VII, 1882, 12)
were of this race and not caudacutus as recorded, and the same
may be true of the record of caudacutics for Ottawa, Ontario (E. E.
Thompson, Auk, VI, 1889, 204).

Dwight, The Shcirfi-tailed 'Sparrows,

r Auk
[_Oct.

276

jL. c. subvirgatus is peculiar to the fresh and salt water marshes
of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, especially those bordering
on the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Strangely
enough it has never been taken in Nova Scotia, although it
undoubtedly occurs there, for I have observed it within two or
three miles of the boundary line when rambling over the mead-
ows of the Petitcodiac River in New Brunswick, not far from the
type locality. Since my discovery of the birds about ten years
ago I have found them breeding at Tignish, Prince Edward
Island, where they were recorded as c audacutus long before sub-
virgatus was separated (Brewster, Bull. N. O. C., II, 1877, 28), at
Bathurst, N. B., and at Rivifere du Loup, Quebec, on the south
shore of the St. Lawrence. They have also been found a few
miles west of the last named place at Kamouraska (Dionne,
Oiseaux de Quebec, 1889, 82). West of this I have not found
them, neither at L’lslet nor on the marshes between the city of
Quebec and Ste. Anne de Beaupre. Consequently there appears
to be a wide gap between the headquarters of this form and
those of nelsoni , — over one thousand miles. In migration the
birds pass as far south as South Carolina (Brewster, Auk, VII,
1890,212) mingling with the true caudacutus and wtef when
Massachusetts is reached. I have already spoken of three birds
of this race that apparently were stopping to breed in southern
New England. One was recorded as nelsoni (Henshaw, Auk. Ill,
1886, 486) and it might well be compared with some of the pale
nelsoni from the west, but I can absolutely match it with occasional
specimens from the type locality of subvirgatus , which themselves
approach very close to exceptionally pale nelsoni. This is to be
expected in any large series of birds, especially those which are
split into races, but if it should be proved that subvirgatus regu-
larly breeds on the same ground as caudacutus, the question of
considering nelsoni as a separate species with subvirgatus as its
eastern race may be seriously _ discussed.

Habits.

A few words about the habits of these birds may not be amiss
although there is little to add to what has already been written

Voi. xnn
1896 J

Dwight, The Sharp-tailed Sparrows.

277

by numerous observers. The three races are very much alike in
habits and their chief trait is secretiveness. True caudacutus may
be found on salt marshes hiding successfully under the sheets of
sea-weed and drift brought by the tide and left to dry on the
banks of the ditches, or nimbly racing through the short grass
and weeds peculiar to such localities. Their wheezy gasp of a
song may be heard from tussock, stake or block of drift wood
and on the least alarm, the birds vanish, generally preferring not
to take wing. During the migration they are more reckless in
exposing themselves and often cling to tall reeds or perch on
them when pursued. They usually go in small bands associated
with the other races and with Ammodramus mantimus , a species
that is a bosom friend at all seasons. The nests are hidden in
drift or protected by a tussock of grass.

Of nelsoni little seems to be known. Mr. E. W. Nelson has a
little to tell of their habits and even states that they “ utter a short
unmusical song ” in the autumn (Nelson, Bull. Essex Inst., VII T
1S77, 107). He found them abundant on the Calumet. Marshes,
near Chicago, Illinois, and observed a few in June, probably breed-
ins;. Hitherto no nest has been taken, although a correspondent
writes that he secured one some years ago in this very locality.
As he sold the nest and eggs, and has lost all the data, and I have
been unable to trace the purchaser, I think it best to say no more
about it and wait for an authentic set to be secured, before
attempting a description. A brief account is given of this race by
Goss (Birds of Kansas, 1891, 449) and he speaks of the song as
“ a short weak unmusical twittering warble.” He observed two
young in first plumage, of which no specimens have as yet been
taken, so far as I know.

Since my description of subvirgatusyizs published nine years ago
I have had opportunity nearly every summer to study this bird and
yet there is but little to add to my original observations. The
birds are scattered rather abundantly in the breeding season over
immense tracts of meadow land along the Petitcodiac River in New
Brunswick. I have traced them for twenty miles and notice that
they most frequent certain damp spots and utilize the narrow
ditches as highways. These meadows are diked off from the tide,
and are in no sense salt marshes where the tide creeps at will. A

Nelson's Sparrow [Ammodramus nelsoni ) at Toronto, Ontario. On

the 22d of September, 1894, whilst I was Snipe shooting near Toronto, I
noticed several small Sparrows, flitting out of the rushes before my dogs,
whose manner of flight was new to me. Two of these X shot and found
them to be of this species, — the first I had ever seen or heard of in the
Province. During the remainder of that autumn I kept a sharp look-
out for them but saw no more.

On the 10th of June, 1895, I saw a small bird flying up the shore of
Lake Ontario from east to west ; it was then about thirty yards high, but
as it neared the marsh at the eastern end of Ashbridge’s Bay, it gradually
lowered as if intending to alight. However, I killed it. This was a
female with ova about as large as No. 12 shot; in the autumn of that
year I saw only two others though I watched for them carefully.

In 1896 I saw only one and that was on the 28th of October. This
bird was in a marsh about three miles from where I have seen all the
others.

During the autumn of 1897 none appeared until the 9th of October;
from that date until the 29th one or more were seen every day but they
never became common.

In the autumn of 1898 the first appeared on the 23d of September,
when I saw one ; on the 24th several were seen, and from that time until
the first of October they were quite common ; on some days I must have
seen fifty or sixty of them.

They frequent just one spot in the marsh and are, owing to their secre-
tive habits, rather difficult to find; when driven out of one clump of
rushes they fly a few yards and drop into another, which affords them
perfect concealment. I have not yet heard one of them utter a call note
or a chirp of any kind.

Since I first saw them I have looked for them continually through the
spring and summer months, but with the exception of the female taken
on the 10th of June, 1895, I have failed to find any. — C. W. Nash,

T oronto, Canada. Auk, XVI, July, 1899 , p. *77

October 28, 1896. 4

4 Auk, XVI, 1899, 277.

Nelson’s Sparrow in Vermont. — While watching the fall migration
of sparrows on October 8, 1916, Mr. George H. Ross and the writer col-
lected two adult male specimens of Passerherbulus nelsoni nelsoni. These
are the first records for this bird in Vermont as far as the writer can ascer-
tain. The birds were obtained in sedges in the wettest parts of swampy
meadows adjacent to Otter Creek which runs from the Green Mountains
into Lake Champlain. One of the birds was taken in Rutland and the
other in Clarendon, about three miles apart. They were not in company
of any other birds. — George L. Kirk, Rutland, Vt.

Occurrence of Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni in Massachusetts. —
The Nelson’s Finch was originally described by Mr. Allen, from near Chi-
cago, and has been supposed to be strictly confined, in the breeding season,
to fresh water marshes. Recently Mr. Ridgway has called my attention
to specimens of this race from the salt marshes of Cambridge, Mass.,
which raise some interesting questions in regard to this form. The spec-
imens are three in number, collected by myself as far back as 1871. Two
were taken October 7, and their occurrence at this season, though interest-
ing as adding a new bird to the Massachusetts list, need not occasion sur-
prise, since the bird has been taken frequently near Sing Sing, New York,
by Dr. Fisher, and is known to occur elsewhere on the Atlantic coast
during the fall migrations.

The third specimen, however, occupies a different status. It was taken
3 1 3 the lateness of which date would seem to preclude the possi-
bility of it being a migrant. In fact, if I am not mistaken, I took eggs,
supposed then to belong to caudacutus proper, on the very day in question.

The specimen appears on comparison to possess all the characteristics
of the inland race, and though not so typical as some examples from Chi-
cago, is scarcely to be distinguished from others.

The occurrence of this single specimen on the coast at this season may
of course be entirely accidental. The bird may have drifted in, and finding
the locality to its liking, may have remained to breed, mating perhaps
perforce with one of the coast form. Those having Sharp-tailed Finches in
their collections will do well to examine their series thoroughly with a
view to the elucidation of the status of the two forms. — H. W. Henshaw,
Washington , D. C.

Auk, 8. Oct., 1886. p. L/ frip .

Ararao dr araus 0 . no 1 son i .

Saugus and Revere Marshes, Mass.

1091. Oct. 8. See Journal.

TTT-cljs'-j t-y Tfotr&rf O 77Tarr/s.

Ammodramus nelsoni subvirgatus. On the sixth of October last, an
Acadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow was taken in Longmeadow, near Spring-
field. This is the first time the presence , of one here has been proved,
but I believe that its appearance in this vicinity is not so rare as is sup-
posed. Robert O. Morris, Springfield, Mass.

Ank 30. Jan -1900, lb £4*.

Ammodram us caudacut us nelsoni and A c. subvirgatus in Connecti-
cut!— TliaveTn my collection eighteen specimens of Ammodramus taken
here between Oct. 4 and 13, 1S90. Ten are true nelsoni , four subvirgatus , ^
and the others intermediates. _ _r r

They were found in the meadows near the Connecticut River, and
seemed partial to certain localities. The height of the migration was
apparently on the 10th of the month when thirteen were secured, two
more being seen that were not captured. On other days only from one to
three birds could be found.

On the day when the larger number were killed, the birds appeared
somewhat stupid, flying from the thick grass when disturbed and perch-
ing on the wild oats where they remained quiet. At other times they
were wild and difficult to obtain. — Jno. H. Sage, Portland , Conn.

1891 * p, //•*-

[From The Auk, Vol. II, No. 3, p. 306, July, 1885.]

Capture of Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni in the Lower Hudson
Valley, New York. — For a short time in the autumn, included in the time
between the 25th of September and the 10th of October, Sharp-tailed
Finches are comparatively common over certain portions of the low
meadows which border the Croton River near its mouth. Some dozen
or more specimens have been secured in the last four or five years, and
without exception all of them were of the smaller inland variety. They
are easily distinguished from the typical maritime species, by their •
smaller size, shorter bill, and darker plumage. They are evidently
migrants, as none of them have been observed in this vicinity in summer.

— A. K. Fisher, M. D. , Sing Sing, N. T.

79. Ammodramus caudacutus nelsoni Allen. Nelson’s Sparrow.
The Sharp-tailed Sparrows recorded by me from the Hudson Highlands
have recently been referred by Mr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr., to this form,
although he considers them to be intermediate between subspecies nelsoni
and subvirgatus, approaching a little more closely to nelsoni.

Mearns, Auk, VII. Jan. 1890. p. ft-

Nelson’s Sparrow ( Ammodramus nelsoni ) on Long Island, N. Y. — It is

with satisfaction that Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow is herewith recorded
as taken within Long Island boundaries. This species was included in the
‘List of the Birds of Long Island, New York,’ which appears in the last
number of ‘Abstracts of the Proceedings of the Linnsean Society of New
York,’ with some hesitation, since search through the literature, collections
of birds and generously offered field-notes of others failed to confirm my
assumption that is was certainly a migrant. Dr. Bishop found it on the

Connecticut shore of Long Island Sound, in late September and October,
and it was therefore made an exception, and included, as was clearly
stated in the note on this species (p. 82 ), without its having ever been
taken on Long Island. A specimen was first secured by the writer on
October 5 , 1907 , at Rockaway Beach. — William C. Braislin, M. D.,
Brooklyn, N. Y. ^ ^

Hudson
Highlands .

Morao dr araus c . nclsoni .

The Sharp- tailed Sparrow ( Ammo dr anus
oaudacutus ) and its geographical races,
by Jonathan Dwight , Jr.

Auk , XI 1 1 , Oct., 1 396 , pp . 271 -3 .
See under Ararao dr amus candacutus .

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Dwight, -Summer Birds of
Prince Edward Island.

Ammodramus caudacutus subvirgatus. Acadian Sharp-tailed
Finch. — A few birds in a salt marsh at Tignish were the only ones I could
discover, although I searched in many other localities. As Mr. Win.
Stone found this form abundant at Tignish in 1876 (recorded as A. cauda-
cutus , for subvirgatus was not then separated, Brewster, Bull. N. O. C.,
Vol. II, Jan. 1877, p. 28), I was surprised not to find it more abundant. I
saw likely ground along East River, but did not have time to explore it,
and the birds very possibly may be locally distributed here and at other
points also.

AuiT'xVjan' 1803 . p.ll

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Aiamo dr amus o . subvirgatus .
Saugus and Rover e Mar she s, Mass.
1891, Oct. 8. See Journal.

Arnmo dramas c . subvir&atus .
Saugus and Revere Liar she s, Mass.
1891, Oct. 8. See Journal.

e-u/ti4 ^ t«

^ N ' s ;^ _

O. . C. . d

-JiUK, VIII, Jan, 1891, p. 1 / 6 ".

Auk, XIV, Jan* . 1807 , r ,

Acadian Sparrow in Yates County, N. Y 7 — Oct. 7, 1896, I took a male
Acadian Sparrow ( Ammodramus caudacutus subvir gains) and saw one
more. The one I took was identified by Dr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr. I
think there were more of them here, as the marsh grass was full of small
Sparrows, but I was only sure of seeing two of the Acadian. — Verdi
Burtch, Penn Van, JV. Y.

The Acadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow and Scott’s Seaside Sparrow on the
Coast of South Carolina. — Among a large number of Sharp-tailed Spar-
rows which have been collected for me on the coast of South Carolina, I
find no less than five typical examples of Ammodramus caudacutus subvir-
gatus. Three of these were taken at Frogmore by Mr. Hoxie in the spring
of 1886 ($ March 19, $ April 19, $ April 20), the remaining two near
Charleston by Mr. Wayne in the autumn of 1889 (? Oct. 25, $ Oct. 30).
My South Carolina series, as a whole, indicates that typical caudacutus is
the prevailing form, nelsoni next in numbers, and subvirgatus the least
common. It furnishes no evidence that any one of these forms breeds in
the State. There is, I think, no previous record — at least no specific
record — of the occurrence of subvirgatus in South Carolina.

I have also a Seaside Sparrow (a female) killed near Charleston by Mr.
Wayne, Oct. 29, 1889, which Mr. Allen considers “quite far on the way
towards peninsulas and * * * perhaps nearer this form than it is to mari-
timus and which Mr. Wayne assures me is very much darker than any
specimen that he has hitherto taken. All the autumn and winter exam-
ples which he has sent me, except the one just mentioned, are typical
maritimus. I have seen no breeding Seaside Sparrows from any locality
on the coast of South Carolina, but the form which I found breeding in
the salt marshes at St. Mary’s, Georgia, in 1S77, was unmistakably mari-
timus , not one of the dozen or more birds that I preserved (several of
them were taken with nests and sets of eggs) showing the slightest ap-
proach to peninsula. In view of these facts it is hard to explain the occur-
rence oifteninsulcevR. autumn or early winter* at points north of St. Mary’s,
unless it may be assumed that a few individuals of this subspecies occa-
sionally wander northward in autumn, from their breeding grounds on
the Gulf Coast. — William Brewster, Cambridge , Mass.

Auk, VII. April. 1800. p. j 3 / 3 , .

* Mr. Allen has recorded (Auk, V, Oct., 1888, p. 426) a “typical A. m. peninsula"
shot at Sapelo Island, Dec. 14, 1887. I have also two specimens from the same locality
( 9 , Dec. x, J, Dec. 3, 1887) which although not quite typical, must be referred to
peninsula.

Dwight on a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow .

2 33

>887.]

that in autumn all three forms are found scattered along the
Atlantic coast or near it, nelsoni occurring infrequently as far
north as Cambridge, Mass., true caudacutus as far as Ports-
mouth, N. PL, and the new form still farther north. I have no
material from farther south than South Carolina, although Sharp-
tails are known to occur in the Gulf States, and very likely all
three races may be found there at the proper season. I propose
naming the northern race

Ammodramus caudacutus subvirgatus, subsp. nov. Acadian
Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

Subsp. Ciiar. — Similar in size and coloring to A. caudacutus but paler
and much less conspicuously streaked beneath with pale greenish-gray
instead of black or deep brown. Bill averages smaller. Compared with
nelsoni it is much paler and grayer, generally larger and with a longer
bill.

Adult $ in breeding plumage (No. 1261, Hillsborough, Albert Co.,

New Brunswick, Tuly 10, 1886' T t,- a . — 0 eKv-p-rav tino-ed

- ninnies in winter.

Family RECURVIROSTRID/E.

Genus Himantopus Briss.

Himanlopus Brisson, Orn. V, p. 33, 1760.

V .

Himantopus mexicanus (Mull.).

Ckaradrius mexicanus Mull. Syst. Nat. Suppl. p. 1 17 (1776).

Himantopus nigricollis Goss®, Bds. Jam. p. 386 (1847).— Lemb. Aves
Cuba p. 102 (1850). — A. & E. Newton, Ibis, 1859, P- 258 (St. Croix).
—Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc.XNat. Hist. VjJ, p. 121 (1859) (Bahamas);
ib. Brewer, p. 308 (i860) : (Cuba,y-MARCH, Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Phila. 1864, p. 67 (Jamaica).— ^Sundev. Oefv. K. Vet. Akad. For.
1S69, p. 602 (Porto Rico).— Lawr. pXu. S. Nat. Mus. I, p. 197
(1878) (St. Vincent) ; ib. p/238 (AntiguV ; ib. p. 242 (Barbuda).—
Cory, Bds. Bahama I. p. 153 (1880).— E. Newton, Handb.
Jamaica, p. 115 (1881}.— Cory, List Bds. \V. T. p. 26 (1885).
Macrotarsus nigricollisQi undl. J. f. O. 1856, p. 422 (CubX; ib. Repert.
Fisico-Nat. Cuhd, I, p. 357 (,866); ib. J. f. O. 1874, \ 113 (Porto
Rico) ; ib. Ahal. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. VII, p. 377 (1878) (Porto
Rico). /

Himantopus yhexicanus Salle, P. Z. S. 1857, p. 237 (San Domingo).—
Br)Mt, Pr. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, XI, p. 97 (1S67) (San Domingo).
v-^Cory, Bds. Haiti & San Domingo, p. 146 (1885).

Common in the Bahamas and Antilles.

A NEW RACE OF THE SHARP-TAILED SPARROW
(AMMO D RAMUS CA UDACUTUS) .

BY JONATHAN DWIGHT, JR.

Several years ago I obtained in New Brunswick, near the
head of the Bay of Fundy, three Sparrows that I labelled Am-
modramus caudacutus , as a matter of course. They lay un-
noticed in my collection until one day last summer, when I was
struck by their faded and faintly streaked appearance as com-
pared with New York specimens at the same season. My sus-
picions were aroused, and during the summer and fall, which T
was able to spend in the same locality, I obtained a series of
these birds showing so clearly all changes of plumage that I
decided to investigate as much other material as I could gather
with the help of kind friends. My thanks are due to Messrs. J.
A. Allen, Montague Chamberlain, H. W. Henshaw, Robert
Ridgway, Geo. B- Sennett, and Dr. A. K. Fishei, foi the laige
series of Sharp-tailed Sparrows now before me, — 114 specimens
in all. It confirms me in the belief that my birds represent a good
o-eographical race, which forms the connecting link between true
caudacutus and the inland race nelsoni , and it shows, moreover,

18S7.]

Dwigiit on a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sf arrow.

2 33

that in autumn all three forms are found scattered along the
Atlantic coast or near it, nelsoni occurring infrequently as far
north as Cambridge, Mass., true caudacutus as far as Ports-
mouth, N. H., and the new form still farther north. I have no
material from farther south than South Carolina, although Sharp-
tails are known to occur in the Gulf States, and very likely all
three races may be found there at the proper season. I propose
naming the northern race

Ammodramus caudacutus subvirgatus, subsp. nov. Acadian
Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

Subsp. Char. — Similar in size and coloring to A. caudacutus but paler
and much less conspicuously streaked beneath with pale greenish-gray
instead of black or deep brown. Bill averages smaller. Compared with
nelsoni it is much paler and grayer, generally larger and with a longer
bill.

Adult $ in breeding plumage (No. 1261, Hillsborough, Albert Co.,
New Brunswick, July 19, 1886; J. Dwight Jr.) : — Above ashy-gray tinged
with olive, the dorsal feathers, scapulars, and three innermost secondaries
or tertials largely brownish-black edged with whitish. Greater and mid-
dle wing-coverts ashy, with a blackish subterminal spot along the shaft
of each feather. Primaries and secondaries brown, edged with greenish-
gray fading to white on first primary. Broad superciliary and maxillary
stripes pale buff, whitish above the eye, and orange tinged where they
meet at a dark brown spot (the extension of a post-ocular streak) just
posterior to the ashy auriculars. Bordering the superciliary stripes the
head is pale yellowish-brown mixed with black streaks and divided by an
ashy-gray median stripe which extends down to and over the sides of the
neck in a sort of collar, tinged on the hind neck with pale orange-brown.
Faint spot above and below the eye and rictal streak dusky; sides of
throat with ashy bridle. Jugulum, sides, and flanks faintly suffused with
buff and lightly streaked longitudinally with pale greenish-gray, darker
on flanks, the streaking losing itself in the dull white of the breast and
sides of the abdomen. Rest of underparts grayish-white. Edge of wing
pale lemon. Tail ashy, dusky along shafts of feathers and faintly barred.
Upper tail-coverts streaked with dusky. Bill bluish black, under man-
dible bluish-slate, pinkish at base; tomia whitish. Feet purplish-flesh.
Iris dark hazel. Wing,* 59.4; tail, 48. 8; tarsus, 20.6; middle toe and
claw, 20.8; bill from nostril, 8.6.

Adult $ in breeding plumage (No. 1239, same locality and collector,
July 15, 1886) : — Resembling closely the male but with richer yellow-buff,
orange tinged across the jugulum and about the head, and with seconda-
ries, tertials, and wing-coverts conspicuously edged with pale russet in-

*A11 measurements in millimeters.

234

Dwight on a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

[July

stead of grayish. Wing, 54.1; tail, 44.7; tarsus, 19.8; middle toe and
claw, 21.3; bill from nostril, 8.9.

Adult $ and J in autumn (Nos. 1500, $, and 1502, J, same locality
and collector, Sept. 30, 1886) : — Coloring everywhere richer, grayer, and
greener than inbreeding dress, but streaking fainter and grayer. Above
rich greenish-gray, the dorsal feathers and scapulars greenish-brown
(instead of nearly black), decked with dusky, and edged with delicate
pearl-gray (instead of whitish). Tertials, secondaries, and wing-coverts
russet, edged like the female in breeding dress. Primaries nearly black,
edged exteriorly with bright olive-green nearly to tips, except first prim-
ary, which is edged with white. The brown of the head and the gray of
the median line and neck are richer, and the cervical collar greener.
Superciliary stripe intensified into a yellow spot on the eye-brow. A deep
greenish wash above the eye extends backward and loses itself in the
superciliary stripe. The buff of the breast and sides is brighter, and the
streaking is pale lead gray in broader stripes. Edge of wing bright yel-
low. Cesser wing-coverts and alulae edged with yellowish-green, the
longest feather of the alula dusky, edged with white.

Young of the year: — Identical in plumage with autumn adults, but with
slightly smaller bill.

Young, first plumage (No. 1240 $ . same locality and collector, July
15, 1886): — General color chestnut-buff, darker above and variegated
with black. Traces of two or three faint dusky streaks on sides. Dor-
sal feathers, tertials, wing-coverts, and stripes on the head, black with
chestnut-buff edging. Primaries and secondaries black, faintly edged
with ashy. Traces of dusky auriculars and post-ocular streak. Tail
similar to adult but edged with buff. This plumage is worn until the
autumn dress of the adult is assumed.*

Habitat. Marshes of southern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island,
and probably Nova Scotia, and southward in migration along the Atlan-
tic coast.

Measurements. Twenty-five $ and thirteen , all adults, show the
following averages and extremes: Length,! J 142.5 (135.9-147.3) ; § 138.4
( I 3 S- 9 - I 4 I 0 ; extent) 201.7 (193.-209.6) ; ? i 9 2 -3 (190.5-195.6); wing,
c?58.2 (55.6-59.7) ; $54.6 (52.8-56.1): tail, 450.5 (47'2-53.3); ? 46-7
(42.9-50.3): tarsus, 20.8 (19.8-21.6) : bill from feathers, 11.7 (10.4-12.5),
from nostril, S.8 (8.1.91), depth at nostril, 5.3, width, 3.84

* Compare first plumage of A. caudacutus (Brewster, Bull. N. O. C., III, 1878, 119).
Seven specimens that I have examined all show more or less distinct streaking.

t Fresh specimens — 11 males, 4 females.

x The following measurements will prove useful for comparison : A. caudacutus, 34
adults: Length, male, 149. 1 (144.8-157.5); female, 135.9 (129.5-142.2): extent, male,
205.7(203.2-213.4) ; female, 191 (177.8-200.7) : wing, male, 58.7 (57.2-62.) ; female, 55.6
(53.8-57.4) : tail i male, 48.5 (43.9-52.1) ; female, 47 (44.5-50.3) : tarsus, 20.6 (19.3-21.8) :
bill from feathers, 12.2 (11.4-13.2), from nostril, 9.4 (8.9-10.2), depth at nostril, 5.3,:
width, 4.1.

A. c. nelsoni, 24 adults : Length, male, 140.2 (134.6-144.8) ; female, 135.9 (134.6-137.2)

■887.]

Dwight o?i a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow .

This new form is not likely to be confounded with true cauda-
cutus ■, for, so far as my material shows, the palest streaked
caudacutus in any plumage may be recognized at a glance by
being more distinctly streaked than any specimen of subvirga-
tus. More material from suitable localities will no doubt show
intermediates, but as yet I have seen no connecting links at this
end of the chain. At the other end, however, subvirgatus
passes gradually into nelsoni , as a series of fall specimens clearly
shows. I have been unable to obtain any spring nelsoni for com-
parison, but judging by tiie changes of plumage in the other two
forms, nelsoni ought to be a much brighter and more richly
colored bird than subvirgatus in like plumage. This is the
case with fall specimens, and the points of difference are usually
well defined. Compared witli the new form at this season,
nelsoni is characterized by the rich brown of the back with white
edging of the feathers, instead of greenish gray with pearl-gray
edging ; by the deeper brown of the head ; by the richer russet
of the wing-coverts and inner secondaries, and broader rusty edg-
ing of the tertials as compared with whitish or buff; by the
bl ighter orange-buft’ of the jugulum in sharp contrast to a whiter
breast and abdomen than subvirgatus shows ; by distinct (some-
times indistinct, however,) narrow streaks of black or dusky on
jugulum and sides in place of broad indistinct gray stripes ; by
smaller size ; by a bill not over 8.4 mm., and generally by a
shorter wing.

It is difficult to indicate by description differences that are
obvious with specimens in hand, but a preponderance of the
characters just given ought to determine without actual compar-
ison all save a few perplexing intermediates. Measurements
will often aid in determining these, but with a species like the
Sharp-tailed Sparrow that soon wears its plumage ragged and
disreputable among the coarse grasses it frequents, measurements,
particularly of the tail, are not altogether reliable. The length of
bill in nelsoni seems to be a pretty good character, as subvirga-
tus (except in young of the year) seldom has as short a bill. To
be sure, the differences are slight but quite noticeable to the eye,
nevertheless. Although the largest bill of nelsoni never equals

extent, male, 198.9 (193.-203.2) ; female, 193 (190.5-195.6): wing, male, 56.1(53.9
57.7); female, 54.4 (52.1-56.4) : tail, male, 48.3(45.5-52.1); female, 47.5 (44.5-50.3):
tarsus, 20.1 (19.1-20.8) : bill from feathers, 10.7 (10.2-11.2), from nostril, 8.1 (7.6-84)
depth at nostril, 5.1, width, 3.8.

2^(5 Dwight'. on a New Race of Sharf-tailed Sparrow .

t July

the smallest bill of caudacutus, the bills of the three forms
intergrade, and it is the short-billed specimens of the new form
that are likely to give the most trouble. I notice that nearly all
nelsom have lighter colored bills (especially the lower mandible,
which is buff) than the majority of specimens of the new race,
which generally has both mandibles slaty, but I fear no depen-
dence can be placed upon this fact.

A series of Sharp-tails obtained in the autumn at Sing Sing,
N. Y., by Dr. Fisher, is of special interest. From typical nel-
som, as rich in color as those obtained in Illinois, these birds
show a gradual and complete gradation into subvirgatus , the
brown of the head and back, and deep buff of the jugulum be-
coming paler, the white edging of the dorsal feathers passing
into gray, and the streaking of the jugulum fading into gray,
until the imaginary line dividing all subspecies has been passed
and the characters of subvirgatus are seen to predominate.

It is to be regretted that the specimens from which I have
selected my spring types are in worn and faded plumage, but
comparing them with four specimens taken respectively at Point
Judith, R. I., April 29 , N. Madison, Conn., June 9 , Cambridge,
Mass., May 31 , and Hampton, N. B., June 21 , and with two
labelled New Jersey, I find them almost identical in coloring and
amount of wear. I notice that my summer males are generally
paler above and less buffy beneath than the females, although a
few of the latter are paler than the brightest males. Can it be
that the males expose themselves more to the sun for the sake of
singing to their mates, who assume the household car^s of a
shady nest amid the long grass?

The N. Madison and the Cambridge specimens just referred
to have the shortest bills (only 8.1 mm.) of any subvirgatus in
the series at hand, and the latter has been recorded as nelsoni.
(Henshaw, Auk, III, 1886 , 486 .) It is labeled “ $ juv.,”
which may, perhaps, account for the short bill, and the buff
beneath is brighter than the average of the new race, but the
pale coloring of the upper parts is identical with my New
Brunswick birds. The N. Madison specimen, an adult female,
is undoubtedly of the new race and a trifle paler than the Cam-
bridge bird. These two, taken in connection with other short-
billed specimens obtained at Cambridge and at Sing Sing in the
fall, suggest the inquiry whether some inland marshes may not

.8S7.]

Dwight on a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

2 37

furnish a regular supply of connecting links between nelsoni and
the new race, which is certainly more closely related to nelsoni
than to true caudacutus . It may not be out of place to say here
that the latter in fall plumage is more heavily and broadly
streaked than in the spring, the orange-buff about the head and
on the jugulum and sides, much intensified, but otherwise very
much like the spring bird. Its long bill alone (8.9-10.2111111.)
will distinguish it from nelsoni , and the streaking from subvir-
gatus.

Strange to say, nelsoni was originally described by Mr. Allen
(Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XVII, Mar. 1875), as having “a
longer and slenderer bill” than caudacutus , an error that is re-
peated in the latest edition of Dr. Coues’s ‘Key’. The bird
described was in fall plumage and the description of this clearly
indicates the character of nelsoni at that season.

I discuss the subject of Sharp-tails at length because it has
been one involved in some obscurity, and because several records
have been made that will no doubt now require to be revised.
It was not until 1877 that this species was recorded as far east
as Maine, Mr. Brown having found it at Scarboro’ in October,
1S76 (Bull. N. O. C., II, 1877, 27 and 98), while Mr. Brewster
recorded it from Tignish, P. E. I., August 2 and 3, 1876 {Ibid.
II, 1877, 28). I have seen some of the Tignish specimens,
which are of course faded subvirgatus . It would be interest-
ing to know what the Scarboro’ specimens were. One taken
there October 13, 1879, and now before me, is subvirgatus.
Some remarks by Dr. Brewer {Ibid., Ill, 1878, 48 and 147) are
interesting, for A. caudacutus is spoken of as abundant on St.
Andrew’s Bay. As this is partly in New Brunswick, the birds
found there may prove to be subvirgatus. In 1880 Mr. Brown
records caudacutus as breeding at Scarboro’ {Ibid., V, 1S80,
52). Which race was it? I will also call attention to an article
by Dr. Brewer in the ‘Oologist’* for 1879, where reference is
made to the northern range of the Sharp-tails (Bull. N. O. C.,

*The ‘Oologist’ for April, 1879 (Bull. N. O. C., VI, 1881,47, Minor Ornithological Paper
No. 59), is incorrect in stating that A. caudacutus was found breeding near Boston. It
was a complicated case of misunderstanding and wrong identification which I will not
discuss here, but as a matter of fact the birds breeding were nothing more nor less
than A. s. savanna. The salt meadow referred to was on the ‘Back Bay’, and was fairly
haunted with egg collectors. I visited it several 4 times, and the birds found breed-
ing there were Savannah Sparrows and not Sharp-tails.

238 Dwight on a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

[July

VI, 1881, 47). The first record for New Brunswick is made by
Mr. Chamberlain who, with Messrs. Purdie and Daniel, obtained
five individuals at Hampton, June 21, 1SS1 {Ibid., VII, 1SS2, 104
and 122). One of these is now before me, — an undoubted
subvirgatus. The last record I shall refer to is Mr. Henshaw’s
(Auk, III, 1SS6, 486) of three specimens of nelsoni taken at
Cambridge, Mass. That of May 31, I have assigned on a pre-
vious page to the ranks of subvirgatus ; the other two, which I
have also examined, were taken October 7, and are undoubted
nelsoni. Mr. Hensliaw suggests that “those having Sharp-
tailed Finches in their collections will do well to examine their
series thoroughly.” This is excellent advice to follow, and I
earnestly hope that the new subspecies I propose will solve
difficulties that have heretofore presented themselves.

The apparent scarcity of spring examples of this new variety
suggests the idea (probably erroneous) that it follows an inland
route of migration at this season, especially since its breeding
haunts are practically fresh water and inland meadows. One
accustomed to the salt marshes where true caudacutus makes
its home would never dream of finding its northern representa-
tive inhabiting fields where the grass is knee deep, and where
the Bobolink and the Savannah Sparrow find it dry enough to
make their nests. And yet this is the character of the marshes
along the Petitcodiac River where I have found the birds in con-
siderable numbers. The Petitcodiac is one of the rivers empty-
ing into the Bay of Fundy when the tide is running out. The
Bay of Fundy appears to empty into these rivers when the tide
is running in, and long stretches of red mud are rapidly covered
with the incoming water which, rising forty feet and more, has
acquired world-wide renown, especially in the geographies.
The marshes were no doubt overflowed at one time by the tide,
but are now protected by low dikes, and drained at low tide by
numerous narrow ditches, so concealed by overhanging grass that
the unwary collector is liable to disappear when he least expects
it. The river, more than a mile in width at Hillsborough, is
bordered by the marshes, which often extend over half a mile
back from the dikes. In the midst of such surroundings I found
the New Brunswick Sharp-tails last summer. They were abun-
dant in certain spots, but not easy to find on account of their
retiring dispositions. Even their song is inaudible at the dis-

1SS7.]

Dwight on a New Race of Sharf -tailed Sparrow.

3 39

tance of a few yards, and at its best is suggestive of the bird’s
being choked in the attempt. It resembles, as nearly as I can
represent it, lie — se-e-e-e-oop , and the gasping se-e-e-e is usually
all that is heard unless one is very close to the soloist. It is
usually delivered from the top of a weed, where, as the bird sits
crouching, he presents an absurd appearance of ill-concealed
fright. Sometimes he springs up into the air, particularly
towards evening, and setting his wings floats down into the grass
fairly gushing with song — such as it is. This performance may
be compared with that of A. maritimus , for the songs of the two
birds are modelled after the same pattern. But I must not take
up any more space in describing habits that, so far as I have
observed, are little different from those of true caudacutus. I
was unable to discover any nests. I think, however, that two
broods may be reared, as, on my arrival July 15, young were
already on the wing, and it was almost impossible to find any
females. I was not on the ground during August, but in
September the birds were rather scarce. On September 30
they appeared in numbers, probably from some more northern
locality, and on October 4 I saw the last of them.

1 imagine they are found in their present environment because
no salt marshes happen to be convenient. 1 frequently found
them along a swampy brook fully a mile from salt water, frater-
nizing with Swamp Sparrows and Maryland Yellow-throats
among the alder bushes. The locality on the Kenebecasis River,
where Mr. Chamberlain obtained his specimens, is of similar
character, and he informs me that the bird has been taken at
Sackville, where the marshes are similar to, but much more
extensive than those of the Petitcodiac. There is every reason to
suppose that the bird is found in neighboring localities, but at
present I cannot prove it. If I have been successful in introduc-
ing to notice a bird that has been fairly in our midst and yet not
recognized as a stranger, I shall feel that my efforts have not been
in vain, and I hope that this stranger, now that he presents his
proper credentials, may not prove an unwelcome guest.

Auk, 4, July 1887. p. 232' 2 ' " 9 .

/T</

240

Sennett on Birds of Western North Carolina.

fjuly

CAROLINA

OBSERVATIONS IN WESTERN NORTH
MOUNTAINS IN 18S6.

BY GEORGE B. SENNETT.

The locality visited comprises Mitchell and Yancey. Counties,
North Carolina, and a small portion of Carter County in Ten-
nessee. The greater part of the observations were made from
three points in Mitchell County, N. C., viz., Bakersville, Cran-
berry, which is close to Tennessee line, and Roan Mountain, the
summit of which marks the dividing line between the two States.
Frequently a bird was flushed in one State and picked up in the
other.

The altitudes varied from 2600 feet, the lowest, at Bakersville,
to 6400 feet, the highest point of Roan Mountain ; that of Cran-
berry, where I made the longest stay, being 3200 feet above the
sea level. The country is densely wooded to the very tops of the
peaks, and in general characteristics is so similar to that of Mount
Mitchell and vicinity, as described by Mr. Brewster in ‘The Auk’
(Vol. Ill, No. 1, pages 97 and 98), that it is desirable to mention
only two points of difference. First, the country in the immedi-
ate vicinity of Roan Mountain has not as many clearings as has
that about the lower slopes of the Black Mountains some thirty
or more miles to the south. Secondly, the summit of Roan has
extensive table-lands, on which three kinds of vegetation are
found, each growing in separate tracts. This vegetation in-
cludes groves of balsams (the name used by the inhabitants for
spruce and fir trees) ; thickets of rhododendrons, which are most
luxuriant and plentiful here ; and tracts of the coarse, thick moun-
tain grass, which grows in immense patches of from one to one
hundred acres in extent.

The observations were made during two trips ; the first ex-
tended from April 15 to 29 inclusive; the second from June 26
to September 4 inclusive. Of the seventy species of birds ob-
served and noted I can claim but eight of them as additions to the
lists for this State heretofore given in ‘The Auk’ by Messrs.
Brewster and Batchelder (see Vol. Ill, Nos. 1, 2 and 3). A few
things which are perhaps of interest in reference to the birds
already recognized as of this region may also be presented here.

Aiarao drams c. . subvtr^atus .

The Sharp-tailed Sparrow ( Anno dr anus
caudacutus ) and its geographical races,
by Jonathan Dwight, Jr.

AuX, Xlll, Oct., 1896, pp. 271-8.

See under Anno drams caudacutus ,

1

Contmonfocaltlj of ittassarlnisctts.

State Board of agriculture.

GYPSY MOTH DEPARTMENT.

Office Director of Field Work,

■ I? STAN WOOD ■ HA ' Hi -

WM. R. SESSIONS, ~)

N. S. SHALER, > Committee.
F. H. APPLETON, j

E. H. FORBUSH. Director of Field Work.

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For. & Stream,

4. List of the Birds of Nova Scotia. — Land Birds. By J. Matthew
Jones. Ibid., XII, pp. 65, 66, Feb. 27, 1879; pp. 105, 106, March 13,
1879 , p. 205, Apr. 1 7, 1879 ; p. 245, May 1, 1879. — An annotated list of
128 species. Gives Ajmmodrom.us maritimus. as “ very common,” arriving
about the end of March.” Sitta pusilla and Quiscalus major are given on
the authority of Colonel Bland, B. A. (see l. c., p. 205), and Turdus mus-
telinus is included on that of Mr. Winton, “ a close observer of birds ”
(see l. c., p. 205). Empidonax acadicus is given as “ very rare,” while E.
flaviventris and E. trailli are omitted. Siurus ludovicianus (= 5. mota-
cilla) is admittedly given by mistake. While several of these “ finds ”
obviously require confirmation, and a number of species that should be
included are omitted, the list records many facts of interest and value.

The Seaside Finch ( Ammodramus maritimus) in Eastern Massa-
chusetts. — As the existence of this species in Massachusetts has been
challenged, and none are known to have occurred for a number of years,
it would seem not amiss to mention that a single specimen of this species
was shot by Mr. George 0. Welch at Nahant in August last. It was in
company with a number of A. caudacutus , but was the only one of its
kind. It was in the not common plumage described by Audubon as a
distinct species under the name of Ammodramus macgillivrayi, was sent
to Professor Baird, who found it closely corresponding to Audubon’s type,
which he possesses. It was a young male, and appeared to have come from
the north. In “ History of North American Birds” (Yol. I, p. 560) it is
given as not occurring north of Long Island Sound.

In this connection it may not be uninteresting to add that Mr. Welch
found Ammodramus caudacutus quite abundant on the shores of St. An-
drew’s Bay, the estuary of St. Croix Kiver, and lying between the eastern
boundary of Maine and New Brunswick. This, if I am not mistaken,
is the first time that it has been taken in Maine so far to the east, and
not at all, except that Mr. N. C. Brown (this Bulletin, Yol. II, p. 27) ob-
tained a single specimen in Scarborough. Mr. Brewster (ibid., p. 28), on
the authority of Mr. William Stone, mentions it as abundant at Tignish,
Prince Edward Island. — T. M. Brewer, Boston, Mass.

Bull. N. 0.0. 3, Jan., 1878. p, .

Seaside Sparrows at Monomoy Island, Cape Cod. — Although I have
kept a sharp lookout for the Seaside Sparrow (. Ammodramus maritimus')
at Monomoy every season, the first to my knowledge was taken by Dr. L.
B. Bishop on the salt marshes, April 14, 1890. This bird, which was
an adult female, was moulting about the head and lower neck. Dr.
Bishop saw several others but not thinking that they were rare shot only
the above specimen. I visited the marshes several days after and hunted
it carefully without seeing a bird, although I saw several Sharp-tailed
Sparrows. From my own observation I am inclined to believe that this
bird is rare in Massachusetts, at least on the Cape coast. — John C.
Cahoon, Taunton , Mass.

Axi&i 111. July, 1890, P, Xtrf-2-JO .

Breeding of the

Auk. XIV, July, 1397,

Seaside Sparrow in Massa

assachusetts. — On Tulv

1896, I took a set of four partly incubated eggs of the Seaside Sparrow
( Ammodramus maritimus ), together with the female bird, at Westport,
Mass. The nest was cleverly hidden within a tussock of the salt marsh.

The Seaside Sparrow is not rare as a summer resident in the Westport
River marshes. It is, however, rather colonial, and confines itself closely
in the breeding season to certain sections of the marshes. — J. A. Farley,

Newton, Mass.

Auk, XV, April, 1898, D >

The Sea-side Sparrow on Cape Cod in Winter, and other Notes. —I
have been asked to report the following interesting records. Mr. Henry
B. Bigelow and Mr. George C. Shattuck while walking over the salt marsh
on Sandy Neck, Barnstable, Mass., on February 9, 1898, started from the
grass a single Sea-side Sparrow ( A mmod ramus maritimus '). Mr. Bigelow
shot the bird at once and found it to be apparently in perfect health and
without any marks of any old injuries. The sexual regions being
badly torn by the shot, determination of the sex was impossible.

This is the first record of the wintering of this species in New England
to my knowledge, for the bird probably wintered, and the capture also
suggests the idea that the bird probably bred during the past season.
Besides Mr. E. Sturtevant’s records of the occurrence of this species at
"Middletown, R. I. (Auk, Vol. XIV, pp. 219 and 322) in May and July,
1889, 1896, 1897, we have Mr. J. A. Farley’s record of its breeding at West-
port, Mass. (Auk, Vol. XIV, pp. 322). Do these records signify the
increasing number of competent observers in the field or the movement
northward of the species’s range from southern Rhode Island to Massa-
chusetts?

^ o , o Auk,, XIV. July, 1807, £>?• 3X -°' / '

The Seaside Sparrow yAmmodramus mciritimus ) in Massachusetts. —
In a small private collection of mounted birds in Arlington, Mass., I find
an adult Seaside Sparrow with the following history : shot by Mr.
Eugene H. Freeman on the bank of the Neponset River, at high tide,
about half way between Milton Lower Mills and Granite Bridge, on the
Milton side of the river. Unfortunately the date of capture is not
recorded ; it was in the early autumn, however, something over twenty
years ago, so Mr. Freeman tells me.

In most of the older lists of the birds of Massachusetts the Seaside
Sparrow is said to be a common summer resident of the salt marshes
along the coast. This opinion doubtless arose from confounding the
Seaside Sparrow with the Sharp-tailed Sparrow ( Ammodramus cauda-
cutus ). That such a confusion prevailed is shown by the fact that many
of the old lists (e.g., Emmons’s ‘ Birds of Mass.,’ Holder’s ‘ Birds of Lynn,’
and Putnam’s ‘Birds of Essex Co.’) exclude A. cciudacutus altogether!
Even Dr. Coues (Proc. Essex Inst., V, 1868, 282), by a lapsus corrected
in ‘New England Bird Life,’ I, 251, recorded the Sharp-tails of Rye
Beach, N. II., as Seaside Sparrows, and J. Matthew Jones (‘Forest and
Stream,’ XII, 1879, 106) in his list of the birds of Nova Scotia included
the Seaside Sparrow as an abundant summer resident of that Province,
arriving there during the latter part of March ! From what is now known
concerning the breeding range of A. mciritimus , we are warranted in
suspecting that Brewer (Hist. N. A. Birds, I, 1874, 560), too > fell Into a
similar error in saying that a few pairs of Seaside Sparrows, “ identified
by Mr. Audubon,” bred in the marshes of Stony Brook, near Boston, in
1836 and 1837.

However that may be, the eastern limit of the breeding range of the
Seaside Sparrow, so far as now observed, is the western shore of Nar-
ragansett Bay, beyond which it occurs only as a very rare straggler. The
first unquestionable Massachusetts specimen was killed at Nahant in
August, 1877, by Geo. O. Welch, and recorded by Brewer (Bull. Nuttall
Orn. Club, III, 1878,48; Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., XIX, 1878, 260).
This specimen (now in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural
History, No. 221) is a young male with a sharply streaked breast; it was
identified by Baird as a Seaside Sparrow “ in the plumage regarded by
Audubon as a distinct species, and called by him MacGillivray’s Finch.”
Another Massachusetts specimen, an adult female shot by Dr. L. B.
Bishop on Monomoy Island, Cape Cod, April 14, 1890, was recorded by
J. C. Cahoon in ‘The Auk,’ VII, 1890, 289. — Walter Faxon, Museum
of Comparative Zoology , Cambridge, Mass.

The Seaside Sparrow on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in Winter.— On

December 29 , 1909 , while duck shooting in the salt marshes at Barnstable,

Mass., I secured two specimens of the Seaside Sparrow ( Ammodramus
maritimus) . The birds were found in the tall thatch bordering a large
creek about three hundred yards from Sandy Neck. They were the only
birds of the species seen during four days spent in the marshes. One
proved to be a male, the other a female.

Howe and Allen’s ‘Birds of Massachusetts’ records the capture of one
Seaside Sparrow in the Barnstable marshes on February 9 , 1898 , by Messrs.

H. B. Bigelow and G. C. Shattuck, and of another, a male, on February 9 ,

1901 , by Mr. Howe. No later records have come to my notice, so appar-
ently mine is the third winter record of this species in Massachusetts and
would suggest that the bird is perhaps not such an irregular straggler there
in winter. — Alfjred C. Redfield, Wayne, Pa.

Ank 97 . Apr-l»l0 p. *.//

190

q Ank, XIY, Apr. , 1 . 897 , pp. 5 -%zo

I he beaside bparrow {Ammoaramus mantimus) at Middletown, R. I.

In looking over a collection of land and water birds taken by Mr. Edward
Sturtevant in Rhode Island, I found a specimen of a male Seaside Spar-
row which he had shot near Gardiners Pond on the Second Beach
Marshes in Middletown on July 18, 1889.

During the past summer I walked over these same marshes, but did not
see a bird that justified shooting as a Seaside, among the many Sharp-
tailed Sparrows (A. caudacutus) that inhabited the marshes. But on
July 6, 1896, Mr. Sturtevant took a female A. maritimus on the marshes.

Personally, I think that a few of these Sparrows breed on the Middle-
town marshes yearly, and if this is a fact it moves their known breeding
range sixteen miles to the northward, or in other words from Point Judith
marshes to Middletown.

I cannot think that after breeding is over, which by July 6 could hardly
be, the birds would roam sixteen miles to the northward across ocean.
However, we have at least two records of their capture there ; if nothing
more. — Reginald Heber Howe, Jr., Long-wood , Mass.

T , „ „ Ank XIV, July, 1^97, p .3 32,

lhe beaside Sparrow ( Ammoaramus mantimus ) at Middletown, R. I.

I shot an adult male Seaside Sparrow on the Second Beach Marshes at
Middletown, R. I., on May 31, 1897, therefore confirming Mr. Reginald
Heber Howe, Jr’s, supposition that they breed there. (See Auk Vol.
XIV, page 219.) This makes three birds of this species that I have taken
on these marshes. — Edward Sturtevant, Boston , Mass.

Connecticut, -June, 1893,

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Long Island Bird Notes N . T. L awrence

6. Ammodromus maritimus. Sea-side Finch. — One specimen (fe-
male) taken on the salt meadow at Far Rockaway, February 22, 1884.
Another was noted, but not secured, November 25, 1885.

Auk, 2, July, 1885. p.272

Fro'o. LiuaaaaaSoo. of 88-39

, and near Lawrenceburg,
Long Island, a Seaside Finch ( Ammodramus fnaritimus ) was found dead
on March 12, this date being also an early record for this species.

,J0k a ; 8* Apr. 1889. p, (< 17 .

Bde. Ob». at Little and Gr eat Gull Is-
lands, N.T. Aug. *88 B.H. Dutch.fr*

15. Ammodramus maritimus. Seaside Sparrow. — An individual of
this species was found on the concrete, August 7, having struck the tower
the night before.

Auk, ygfu April, 1889 . P. l2>0.

Descriptions of First Plumagre of Cer-
tain North Am, Bbs. Win. Brewster.

63. Ammodromus maritimus.

First plumage. Above light olive-brown, with dusky streakings, broad-
est upon the interscapular region, narrower and more uniformly distrib-
uted upon the occiput and nape. A broad superciliary stripe of fulvous
extending backward to the occiput, finely spotted with dusky upon its
posterior half. Sides of head dull olive, with irregular patches of fulvous.
Wing-bands of pale fulvous upon the greater and middle coverts. Beneath
pale brownish-.yellow, fading to soiled white posteriorly. Sides, and a
broad continuous band across the breast, spotted with dull brown. From
a specimen in my collection, taken at Bath, Long Island, September, 1872.

Bull. N. O.O. 3, July. 1878. p, ti9.

i$Y

THE AUK:

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF

ORNITHOLOGY.

January, 1899. No. 1.

THE DISTRIBUTION AND RELATIONSHIPS OF AMMO-
DR am US MARITIMUS AND ITS ALLIES.

ph.l-IZ.

BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN.

Plate I.

A field experience with four of our five recognized Seaside
Sparrows has been the means of calling my attention to certain
apparent anomalies in their distribution and relationships which
in the following pages I have attempted to make clear.

The material at my command while not wholly satisfactory, is
nevertheless, I trust, sufficient to warrant a provisional explana-
tion of the facts it presents. It numbers some 160 specimens,
including series loaned me by Mr. Robert Ridgway from the col-
lections under his charge, by Mr. William Brewster and Dr. A. K.
Fisher, and also the examples in the American Museum of Nat-
ural History. The specimens loaned me by the gentlemen named
constitute so important a part of the material studied that I feel
under more than usual obligation to them.

From Mr. Ridgway I have received a series of May birds col-
lected by Mr. E. A. Mcllhenny on the coast of Louisiana, and of
breeding birds collected by Lieut. Wirt Robinson near St. Augus-
tine, Florida ; Mr. Brewster sends specimens from the west coast
of Florida, breeding birds collected by himself at St. Mary’s,
•Georgia, and a most puzzling series from the vicinity of Charles-

~*** afiSirv?

2 Chapman, The Seaside Sparrows. rAuk

ton, South Carolina, while Dr. Fisher forwards breeding birds and
young in first plumage from Grand Isle, Louisiana.

The questions involved in a study of these birds may be
best presented by a brief consideration of our recorded knowl-
edge of the distribution and relationships of the five described
forms, namely : Ammodramus maritimus , A. m. peninsula, A. m.
sennetti , A. m. macgillivraii, and A. nigrescens. Of these five forms,
which are here given under their current names, the status of A.
nigt escens and A. m. sennetti is apparently clear and these two birds
may be considered before taking up the perplexing questions
presented by the remaining three forms.

Ammodramus nigrescens ( Ridgw .).

Ammodramus maritimus var. nigrescens Ridgw. Bull. Essex Inst. V,
1873, 198; B. B. & R. N. A. Birds, III, 1875, App. 513 (descr. only)
ibid. I, pi. facing p. 560.

Ammodramus melanoleuctis Maynard, Am. Sportsman, V, 1875, 24S;
Birds of E. N. A. 1881, 119, pi. V (descr., habits, dist.)

Ammodramus nigrescens Ridgw. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. Ill, 1880, 178;
Chapman, Auk, XV, 1898, 270 (habits).

This strongly marked species was discovered by Mr. C. J.
Maynard at Salt Lake, near Titusville, Florida, in March, 1892.
Only a single specimen was secured at this locality, but he after-
wards found it to be “ quite common ” on the marshes bordering
the east shore of the Indian River, opposite Titusville, as recorded
in the ‘ American Sportsman ’ and ‘ Birds of Eastern North
America.’ The information contained in these publications con-
stituted all our published knowledge of the life history and dis-
tribution of this species until the appearance of my note on its
abundance in the marshes about the mouth of Dummitt’s Creek
(Auk, 1 . c.), but Mr. Maynard has furnished me with the follow-
ing valuable data in regard to its distribution, which, with his
kind permission, I print in full : “ The Black and White Shore
Finch, of which I have, so far as I know, taken all of the speci-
mens in collections, excepting two, that were shot by a friend who
was with me in Florida, but who took the two in question after I
left, occurs rarely about Salt Lake, Upper St. Johns, Florida,
commonly on the northern end of Merritt’s Island, on the marshy

Vol. XVI"]
1899 J

Chapman, I he Seaside Sfiarrovjs.

3

islands of Banana River, on the marshes north of this lagoon,
west to the Indian River, north along this body of water to the
Haulover Canal. It never occurs out of the marsh grass or low
water bush. Thus the bird is confined to a belt of country not
over a quarter of a mile wide and about ten miles long if fol-
lowed through its extent.”

When one considers the abundance of this Sparrow and that
t le region it inhabits is in no sense insolated, but that both to the
• n ° rth and south of the area outlined above there are marshes appar-
ently similar to those it occupies, its restriction to a habitat only
a few square miles in extent makes its distribution unique amoiw
American birds. In color it is the most strongly characterized
form of the group, the black which prevails on the upper parts and
so heavily streaks almost the entire under parts, not being equalled
in intensity or extent in any of its congeners. Seventeen speci-
mens taken in March, 1898, at the mouth of Dummitt’s Creek-
are m comparatively unworn plumage and present little variation
m color. Their average measurements are : wing, 2 . S o • tail
2.045 bill from nostril, .43 inches.

I he nearest point at which another representative of this °toub
has been secured is Matanzas Inlet, Florida.

Ammodramus merit imus sennetti Allen, Auk, V, ,888, 286 (onV
descr.); Chapman, Bull. Am. Mns. Nat. Hist. Ill, 1891, 323 (habils p
Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1892, 109.

As the second most distinct form in the group and the only
one, except A. nigrescens, which apparently does not intewade
with its allies, we may next treat of the Seaside Finch resident
at Corpus Christi, Texas.

In April, 1891, I found the bird abundant and breeding in
the marshes of Nueces Bay. A series of thirteen specimens
shows that it more nearly resembles true maritimus than it does
any other member of the group. It is, however, quite distinct

T.l m ’ b61ng distin g uish ed chiefly by its greener color
and the black centers to the feathers of the upper parts. To the

form geographically nearest to it, the dark Seaside Sparrow

4

Chapman, The Seaside Sparrows.

TAuk
L Jan.

breeding on the coast of Louisiana, the Corpus Christi bird is
less closely related than to any other form of the group, except
A. nigrescens. There is no evidence whatever of its intergradation
with any of its congeners and consequently no reason for deny-
ing it specific rank.

Ammodramus maritimus et subsp.

Having disposed of the two forms whose status is clearest we
may now approach those whose relationships and distribution
present certain apparent anomalies. Before discussing the
questions involved in a study of these birds it will be well to
first give briefly our recorded information concerning their
distribution and the accepted views in regard to their relation-
ships.

Ammodramus maritimus ( Wils.) .

In the second edition of the A. O. U. ‘ Check-List ’ the range
of this species is given as “Salt marshes of the Atlantic Coast,
from Connecticut southward to Georgia. Accidental in Massa-
chusetts.” Recent records show the bird to be a regular summer
resident in Rhode Island and as far east as Westport, Mass.,
just beyond the Rhode Island State line. 1 The locality “ Geor-
gia,” given in the ‘ Check-List,’ is evidently based on Mr. William
Brewster’s identification of the series of twelve breedmg birds
taken by himself, in some instances with nests and eggs, at St.
Mary’s, Georgia. 2

In the second edition of his ‘Manual,’ Appendix, page 602,
Mr. Ridgway gives the range of maritimus as “Massachusetts
to northern Florida,” the latter locality being doubtless based on
Lieut. Robinson’s breeding birds from St. Augustine and Matan-
zas Inlet, which I have previously mentioned as included in the
series loaned me by Mr. Ridgway.

1 See Howe, Auk XIV, 1897, 219; Sturtevant, ibid. 322; Farley, ibid. 322.

2 Auk, XII, 1890, 212.

Vol. XVII
1899 J

Chapman, The Seaside Sparrows.

5

Ammodramus maritimus peninsulae Allen.

This race was described by Dr. J. A. Allen from specimens col-
lected by W. E. D. Scott at Tarpon Springs, on the west coast of
Florida, in February, 1888. 1 With the Florida birds Dr. Allen
identified a series of ten adult and six immature birds collected
by Dr. A. K. Fisher at Grand Isle, Louisiana, in June, 1886.
Shortly afterward Dr. Allen recorded a specimen of peninsula,
in the collection of G. S. Miller, Jr., which had been collected on
Sapelo Island, off the coast of Georgia, Dec. 14, 1887. 2 Mr.
Brewster also referred to peninsula two specimens taken on this
same island in December, 1887, and Dr. Allen identified with the
same form a specimen from near Charleston, S. C. 3

Mr. W. E. D. Scott records peninsula as a very common winter
resident near Tarpon Springs, 4 the type locality, where, however,
it does not breed. In fact the breeding grounds of this Sparrow
on the Gulf coast appear to be as yet unknown. Mr. C. J.
Maynard J states that he found Seaside Sparrows, doubtless this
form, about to breed at Cedar Keys, Florida, in February. The
date is surprisingly early but it is quite probable that peninsula
may breed in the marshes at Cedar Keys.

Ammodramus maritimus macgillivraii Ridgw. (not of

Audubon) .

March 25, 1891, I collected at Corpus Christi, Texas, two
specimens of a dark Seaside Sparrow which were provisionally
referred to peninsula, with the statement that they were darker
than that form and had gray instead of olivaceous edgings to the
feathers. 8 They were evidently winter visitants and their breed-
ing ground remained unknown until Mr. E. A. Mcllhenny col-
lected a large series of breeding birds on and near Avery’s Island,

1 Auk,V, 1888, 284. 2 Ibid., V, 1888, 426.

3 Ibid., VII, 1890, 212. 4 Auk, VI, 1889, 322.

6 Birds E. N. A., 121.

Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Ill, X891, 324.

6

Chapman, The Seaside Sparrows.

TAuk

LJan.

Louisiana. Then it appeared that the birds collected by Dr.
Fisher at Grand Isle were also referable to this form. These
birds, with the Corpus Christi specimens just mentioned, were
considered by Mr. Ridgway 1 to represent Fringilla macgillivraii
described by Audubon 2 from Charleston, South Carolina, and
said later by the same writer to also occur on the coast of Louisi-
ana and Texas . 3 This name had previously been synonymized
with that of Ammodramus maritimus under the belief that it was
based on a specimen of that bird in first plumage.

The following year Dr. Walter Faxon called attention to the
fact 4 that Audubon’s description of macgillivraii having been
based on specimens from Charleston, South Carolina, a locality in
which peninsula was known to occur, the name macgillivraii was
obviously applicable to the bird known as peninsula and not to
the quite different bird of Louisiana.

In attempting now to explain the peculiar conditions which
this brief summary of current views has set forth, one is at once
confronted with the difficulty which has beset all students of
these birds, that is, the unusually worn plumage of breeding
birds. So greatly does this abrasion affect a bird’s appearance
that almost the entire range of color variation between mariti-
mus and the Louisiana bird, respectively the lightest and darkest
members of this restricted group, is shown in Dr. Fisher’s series
of breeding birds from Grand Isle. Specimens in worn plumage,
therefore, must be examined with great care and identified only
after the closest comparison. Hence in order to clearly grasp
the characters separating these three forms it will be necessary
to use non-breeding examples. Thus I have selected a series of
fall and early spring 5 birds from Long Island, N. Y., Tarpon

1 Manual N. A. Birds, 2nd Ed., 1896, App. 602.

2 Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 285.

3 Ibid., IV, 1838, 394.

4 Auk, XIV, 1897, 321.

5 It is remarkable, in view of the rapid and extreme abrasion of the plumage
of breeding birds, how little the plumage shows the effects of wear and tear
during the winter. There is practically no difference between the plumage
of'September specimens and those taken early in the following spring.

Vol. XVII

1899 J

Chapman, The Seaside Sparrows.

7

Springs, Florida, — the type locality of peninsula , — and Texas.
From the last named State I have only three specimens repre-
senting the dark, west Gulf coast form, but the characters they
present are shown, by comparison with Mr. Mcllhenny’s series
of breeding birds from and near Avery’s Island, La., to be
typical. From a careful study of this material it appears that
m fresh and unworn plumage the three forms are to be distin-
guished from one another chiefly by the characters set forth in
the appended tabular synopsis. Here it may be briefly said that
mantimus is greenish olive margined with bluish gray above,
with the breast and flanks streaked with bluish gray and mar-
gined with buff. In peninsula the upper parts are dull black
margined with greenish olive, the breast and flanks being streaked
with dusky black margined with buff or bluish gray, while the
dark west Gulf coast form has the upper parts deep black bor-
dered by mummy brown and margined with bluish gray, the
breast and flanks being distinctly streaked with black and heavily
margined with pale ochraceous.

Bearing these differences in mind we may approach the puzzling
series of non-breeding birds from South Carolina and Georgia.
It contains thirty-one adults and two immature (first plumage)
specimens. Fifteen of the adults are perfectly typical, in color, of
Long Island mantimus. Only one has the wing under 2.40 in.,
their average measurements being: wing, 2.46; tail, 2.18; bill
fiom nostril, 45 in. they thus cmsely approach Long Island
birds in size (see table of measurements beyond), evidence that
they were winter residents from the north.

Of the remaining sixteen adults ten are intermediate between
mantimus and peninsula, most of them approaching the latter
much more closely than the former. Their average measure-
ments are: wing, 2.40; tail, 2.15; bill from nostril, 45. Nine
of these birds are in Mr. Brewster’s collection, seven of them
being labeled by him “ peninsula

I believe these birds to be resident, racial representatives of
mantimus, marking a stage in the geographical variation in this
species, which, on the west coast of Florida, appears as peninsula.
A specimen, evidently breeding, collected by Dr. Coues at Fort
Macon, N. C., April 15, 1869 (U. S. N. M. No. 55523) is appre-

8

Chapman, The Seaside Sparrows.

[Auk
L Jan.

ciably darker than comparable Long Island birds and apparently
indicates an approach to the peninsula type, as it is represented
on the Atlantic coast by birds similar to the ten specimens first
mentioned. To this intermediate, South Atlantic form of mariti-
mus I refer with some confidence Brewster’s breeding birds from St.
Mary’s, Georgia, and Robinson’s breeding birds from the vicinity
of St. Augustine and Matanzas Inlet, Florida. These birds, I am
aware, have been referred to true maritimus and their plumage is
in such worn condition that it is true they closely resemble, at
first sight, Long Island specimens of that species. Carefully
compared, however, with equally worn Long Island birds, they
are grayer and more streaked below, while the lateral stripes of
the crown, areas which seem least to show abrasion, are darker
than in maritimus , being raw-umber as in peninsula , agreeing in
fact, considering their abrasion, very closely in the color of this
region with the ten specimens which I have spoken of as inter-
mediate between maritimus and peninsula .

Accepting this identification, what shall we call this dark
representative of Ammodra 7 >ms maritimus which apparently is a
permanent resident on the Atlantic coast from at least St. Augus-
tine to Charleston ? Individually they have for the most part
been identified as peninsula: , and while they have longer bills and
are less green above and less heavily streaked below than true
peninsula , they are so much nearer to this form than to maritimus,
that I should prefer to refer them to the former rather than to
the latter, or rather than to accept the alternative of giving them
a name of their own.

This leaves us with six specimens of the South Carolina and
Georgia series which can be referred to neither maritimus nor
peninsula. Three of these birds are in the collection of the
United States National Museum (Nos. 159387, 2 , Oct. 24, 1893 ;
No. 159388, 2 , Oct. 27, 1893; No. 159657, 2 , Oct. 23, 1895,
all taken at Mount Pleasant, So. Car.), and three are in Mr.
Brewster’s collection (No. 19047, 2 , Dec. 3, 1887, Sapelo Is.,
Ga.; No. 45753 ) S, Nov. 27, 1894 and No. 47656, 2 , April 17,
1897, Mount Pleasant, So. Car.). In the coloration of the upper
parts they resemble the dark, west Gulf coast bird, but the
black of the feathers of the upper parts is margined with olive

Vol. XVI~]

1899 J

Chapman, The Seaside Sparro-ws.

9

instead of mummy brown, the nape is more olive, and, with the
exception of No. 159388, the breast and flanks are much less,
strongly streaked and less heavily washed with buffy ochraceous,
the coloration of these parts agreeing with that of peninsula.

Apparently these two forms of Seaside Sparrow, represented by
my series of ten and six birds respectively, are found breeding
in the same area, a fact which is evidently proven by two birds
in first or nestling plumage. One of these (U. S. Nat. Mus.
No. 159389, <J) was taken by Mr. A. T. Wayne at Mount Pleas-
ant, So. Car., Aug. 10, 1893, and is obviously the offspring of a
very dark Seaside Sparrow, being much blacker than any of a
dozen New York examples in similar plumage, and in fact agree-
ing very well with six young birds collected by Dr. A. K. Fisher
on Grand Isle, La., June 6-9, 1896. This is evidently the
progeny of the dark bird just described.

The other young bird (No. 12437, Coll. Wm. Brewster) was
collected by Mr. Walter Hoxie, near Frogmore, So. Car., Aug.
10, 1886. It is much lighter than the Mount Pleasant specimen,
with which it agrees in age, and approaches young maritimus
from New York, differing from it to just about the same extent
and in much the same manner as do the peninsulce-maritimus
adults of this region from adult true maritimus. This bird is
apparently the offspring of peninsulce-maritimus parents. Hence
the breeding of these birds and of the dark type in the same
region is shown both by the presence of adults and their
respective offspring. What their interrelationships may be, and
whether they occupy different breeding areas, are questions
which can be settled only by observation in the field. Speci-
mens before me apparently show their intergradation but my
material does not admit of satisfactory conclusions.

However, admitting that we have two forms, we are now con-
fronted by the question of nomenclature. What names shall we
apply to them ? The peninsulce-maritimus specimens, as I have
previously said, should, in my opinion, be identified with penin-
sula rather than with maritimus , but what shall we call the black
and gray birds ? Unquestionably, it seems to me, they represent
macgillivraii of Audubon, and while he also placed the Louisiana
and Texas birds under this name, there can be no doubt that, as-

IO

Chapman, The Seaside Sparrows.

TAuk

Ljan.

Dr. Faxon had shown, he figured and described specimens col-
lected near Charleston by Dr. Bachman. In support of this
statement see Volume II, page 285 of the Ornithological Biog-
raphy, on which Audubon states that Bachman presented him with
a dozen specimens of this Sparrow collected near Charleston, where
J. W. Audubon made the drawing which was afterward published
in the fourth volume of the ‘ Birds of America.’ No mention is
made in Volume II of Texas and Louisiana, where the bird was
evidently not discovered until several years later, being first
recorded from these States in Volume IV, page 394, of the
‘Ornithological Biography,’ published in 1838, or four years
after the description of ‘ Fringitta macgilUvraii' from Charleston.

The specimen upon which this description was probably based
is now in the U. S. Nat. Mus. (No. 2894) but is without date or
locality. It is a young bird in first plumage, of the same age as
the specimen taken at Mt. Pleasant, S. C., Aug. 10, 1893, from
which it differs no more than do immature specimens of mariti-
mus from one another.

If this view of the case be accepted it will permit us to give
the Louisiana bird a name of its own, a course which the speci-
mens involved seem to warrant. And I therefore propose to
name it in honor of Dr. A. K. Fisher who, after Audubon, was
the first ornithologist to secure specimens of the Louisiana bird.
Hence we have

Ammodramus maritimus fisheri, subsp. nov.

Ammodramus macgillivraii Aud. (in part) Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 394.
Ammodramus maritimus macgillivrayi Ridgw. Manual N. A. Birds,
2d Ed., 1S96, App. 603.

Ammodramus maritimus peninsula; Allen (in part), Auk, V, 1888, 284.
Ammodramus maritimus ■ pcniusulee ? Chapm. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat.
Hist., III. 1S91, 324.

Char. Subsp. — Upper parts deep black, in fresh plumage the feathers
bordered by mummy brown and margined with bluish gray, the breast
and flanks streaked with black and more or less heavily washed by pale
ochraceous.

Type, No. 163,722, U. S. Nat. Mus. Collected by A. K. Fisher, M. D.
Collector’s number No. 2622, $ ad., egg in oviduct, Grand Isle, Louisiana,
June 9, 1886.

Vol. XVI"]

iSgg J

Chapman, The Seaside Sparrows.

I I

Range. — Coast of Gulf States, breeding from Grand Isle, La., west-
ward, probably to northeastern Texas, southward in winter to Corpus
Christi, Texas, and Tarpon Springs, Florida. 1

In the appended table a comparison of the diagnostic charac-
ters of all the forms of the restricted maritimus group in fresh
plumage is given. As before remarked, abrasion so alters a
breeding bird’s appearance that in some cases badly worn speci-
mens are practically unidentifiable. Of the 17 breeding birds
collected by Dr. Fisher on Grand Isle and by Mr. Mcllhenny on
and near Averys Island, all but four are more or less suffused
with pale ochraceous on the breast and flanks, the most diagnos-
tic character presented by fisheri , and about half the series are
still more or less distinctly streaked with black below. It is in
unworn plumage, however, that the differential characters of
these birds are most evident, and it is on specimens in this con-
dition that the appended table comparing the four forms of the
restricted maritimus group is based.

Table of diagnostic characters of Seaside Sparrows of the
Ammodramus maritimus group.

Crown.

Maritimus. — Sides olive with occasionally black shaft-streaks, median
line well defined, bluish gray.

Peninsulce. — Sides dull black, margined with raw umber, median line
ill defined, bluish gray.

Macgillivraii. — Sides deep black, margined with mummy brown, median
line ill defined,, bluish gray.

Fisheri. — Sides deep black, margined with mummy brown, median line
ill defined, bluish gray. 2

Nape.

Maritimus. — Pale greenish olive.

Peninsulce. — Greenish olive.

Macgillivraii. — Tawny olive.

Fisheri. — Mummy brown.

‘No. 43472, Tarpon Springs, Nov. 2, 1891. Coll. Wm. Brewster, is
clearly referable to fisheri.

2 Ridgway’s ‘ Nomenclature of Colors ’ is used throughout this paper.

12

Warren, The Canada Jay.

r Auk
Ljan..

Back.

Maritimus. — Olive, margined by bluish gray.

Peninsulce . — Dull black, margined by greenish olive.

Macgillivraii . — Deep black, bordered by greenish olive and margined:
with bluish gray.

Fiskeri. — Deep black, bordered by mummy brown and margined by
bluish gray.

Breast.

Maritimus .- — Streaked with bluish gray, margined with buff.
Peninsulce.— Streaked with dusky, margined with buff or bluish gray. 1
Macgillivraii. — Streaked with dusky, margined with buff.

Fisheri . — Streaked with black, widely margined with pale ochraceous.

Flanks.

Maritimus. - — Obscurely streaked with bluish gray and faintly washed’
with buff.

Peninsulce . — Streaked with dusky, margined with grayish or olive buff-
Macgillivraii . — Streaked with dusky, margined with buff.

Fisherii . — Streaked with black, widely margined with pale ochraceous.

Average measurements.

Wing. Tail.

2.52 2.25

2.32 2.09

2.36 2.18

2.29 2.12

1 Eight of sixteen specimens have the breast more or less washed with buff-

Maritimus
Peninsuloe
Macgillivraii .
Fisheri

Bill from nostril.
46.5 in.

42 “

46 “

45-8 “

Qsc<-J<, r x< i Vj ^-o^i v !9 a 7, /*,%o.

206. Ammodramus leconteii. Leconte’s Sparrow. — One specimen
taken by Mr. George Pierce May 5, 1897, is in the collection of Mr. J. H.

Ames. 3

3 Auk, XIV, 1897, 411.

Cjutt a cf <z .

Northward Range of Ammodramus lecontei. — On May 22, 1908, I saw
two Leconte Sparrows on a low marshy flat in the delta of the Athabasca
River, on the south side of Lake Athabasca, opposite Fort Chipewyan.
Tried for some time to flush a bird, and finally, hearing a faint squeaking
in the dry dead grass, rushed noisily forward, and succeeded in scaring
one male up on a dead stump and shooting it. I considered this to be
rather far north for this species, until I saw a specimen collected by Mr.
Harry W. Jones, at Hay River, at the western end of Great Slave Lake,
June 23, 1908. — R. M. Anderson, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., New York City.

Auk 20 ,

Jan -1900 ,p. <^q.

Auk, XV, April, 1898, p

Occurrence of Leconte’s Sparrow ( Ammodramus lecontii ) at Ithaca,
N. Y. — While searching the large marsh at the head of Cayuga Lake

for fall migrants, I succeeded in securing a specimen of Leconte’s Spar-
row. The bird was taken at the edge of the marsh, where a stream had
washed up the mud, making a higher and drier bank, and where, in con-
sequence, the grasses were thicker and less aquatic in character. The
specimen I obtained was a young bird, in the first plumage after the
nestling plumage, thus, in all probability, showing that it had been bred
at no very great distance from where it was taken. The date of its
capture was October u, 1897. Further careful search, both on the same
day, and for many days thereafter, failed to reveal any more of the
species.— Louis Agassiz Fuertes , Ithaca, N. T.

*} 5 / ^ *7 ,

At Montauk Point, L.I., Nov. 13, 1899, I secured a small Sparrow that
proves to be Ammodramus bairdi . The sex I was unable to determine,
as it was too badly injured by shot. Dr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr., who has
examined the specimen, writes me that it is “chiefly in juvenal plumage
passing to first winter.” So far as I am aware this is the first instance of
its occurrence that has been reported from the Atlantic coast. — Arthur
H. Hklme, Brooklyn , N. Y. - A-tik, XVII, July, 1900 , p. H. ? 6 .