LAND BIRDS OF THE DUNES 



running the head is held low and the bird dis- 

 appears behind a clump of grass or a dune in 

 exceedingly quick time. As a catcher of tor- , 

 pid flies in the sea-wrack they are fairly ex- 

 pert, and they occasionally jump into the air 

 after their game, usually without success, 

 however, as far as I have observed. Like 

 many other sparrows they occasionally scratch 

 for food, and they do it in such a vigorous 

 manner that they fairly make the litter fly. 

 This sparrow-scratching is done in a different 

 manner from the scratching of barn-yard 

 fowls. The latter scratch with one foot and 

 then the other alternately, while sparrows 

 jump forward and scratch with both feet to- 

 gether, as if they were on springs. Why they 

 do not fall forward on their heads, I never 

 could understand. 



The call note of the Ipswich sparrow is a 

 sharp tsip, to my ears exactly like that of the 

 Savannah sparrow. They rarely sing while 

 with us, but Dr. Dwight says the song on their 

 breeding grounds is like that of the Savannah 

 sparrow but '' more polished and tuneful. "^ I 

 have been so fortunate as to hear the Ipswich 

 sparrow sing once on an April day at Ipswich, 

 but unfortunately the song was rather imper- 



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