SIIAIir-TAILEJ) SFAEIiOW 239 



Sharp-tailed Sparrow : Ammodravms caudacutus and 

 races. 



Above, dark olivaceous ; cheeks gray, inclosed by a dark brown 

 ring- ; tall feathers narrow and sharply jjointed ; breast and 

 sides buff, distincdy streaked with black ; middle of tlu-oat and 

 belly white. Lengthy about 6 indies. 



Geogkaphic Distribution. — Atlantic coast north to New 

 Brunswick ; marshes of Mississippi valley north to Dakota 

 and Manitoba. 



This species is confined exclusively to the salt- 

 water marshes of our coast, where it may be 

 found in large numbers. 

 It runs about among the 2" 

 reeds and grasses with the ^i 

 celerity of a mouse, and 

 is not apt to take wiug 

 unless closely pressed. „ ., , ^- ^^" . ' ,' 



1 n 1 I' 1 1 ail of bharp-tailed Sparrow. 



Mixed nocks of the sev- 



eral varieties of the Sharp-tail, together with the 

 Seaside Sparrow, gather in the fall among the 

 sedges, and may be observed hiding in the grass, 

 or clinging to the tall stalks of the cat-tails. In 

 the breeding season it is usually associated with 

 the Seaside Sparrow on the same marsh ; but it 

 prefers the drier parts, and builds its nest in the 

 tussocks on the bank of a ditch, or in the drift 

 left by the tide, rather than in the grassier sites 

 chosen by its neighbor. 



" From some bit of driftwood or a convenient 

 stake its infrequent song may be heard morning 



