1474 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 pabt s 



MELOSPIZA GEORG1ANA ERIGRYPTA Oberholser 



Northern Swamp Sparrow 



PLATE 74 



Contributed by David Kenneth Wetherbee 



Habits 



"In this moderately well marked race," (Godfrey, 1949) "breeding 

 adults differ from Melospiza georgiana georgiana in their paler upper 

 parts, the browns of back and rump averaging grayer, the pale 

 dorsal feather edgings whiter and apparently broader. Autumn 

 specimens of ericrypta are distinguishable by their paler dorsal and 

 rump coloration, and by the paler feather edgings of the back which 

 provide more contrast with the black dorsal streaking than in 

 georgiana, which average darker and duller above. In juvenal plumage 

 the differences are somewhat less obvious but ericrypta averages 

 paler." Wetmore (1940) finds that Oberholser's (1938) statement 

 that the western birds are smaller is not confirmed by measurements. 



Distribution 



Range. — Southern Mackenzie, northern Ontario, central Quebec, 

 and Newfoundland south to central Mexico, the Gulf coast, and 

 northeastern Florida. 



Breeding range. — The northern swamp sparrow breeds from south- 

 western and central southern Mackenzie (Fort Norman, Hill Island 

 Lake), northern Saskatchewan (Lake Athabaska), northern Manitoba 

 (Churchill), northern Ontario (Fort Severn, Attawapiskat Post), 

 central Quebec (Paul Bay, Mingan Island), and Newfoundland 

 (Pistolet Bay, St. John's) south to northeastern British Columbia 

 (Nulki Lake, Tates Creek), central Alberta (Red Deer), southern 

 Saskatchewan (Indian Head), southern Manitoba (Margaret, Indian 

 Bay), northeastern North Dakota (Fargo), northern Minnesota, 

 western and central Ontario (Big Fork, Chapleau), and south-central 

 Quebec (Lake St. John, Gaspe" Peninsula). 



Winter range. — Winters south to Jalisco (Ocotlan), Tamaulipas 

 (Altamira), eastern Texas (Beaumont), southern Louisiana (Buras), 

 southern Mississippi (Cat Island), southern Georgia (Grady County, 

 Folkston), and northeastern Florida (Gainesville, Palatka). North- 

 ern limits in winter imperfectly known; recorded from Tennessee 

 (Nashville), South Carolina (Anderson County), Virginia (Manassas, 

 Alexandria, Mount Vernon), and Massachusetts (Wayland); casually 

 to northwestern Oregon (Tillamook), California (Morro Bay; San 

 Diego County; Riverside, Sal ton Sea), central Nevada (Ruby Lake), 

 and southern Arizona (Tucson). 



