SOUTHERN SWAMP SPARROW 1485 



The banding files show banded birds reported killed by: cats, dogs, 

 hawks and owls, shrikes, rodents, cars, and weather conditions. 

 Migratory calamities such as the 1906 fall storm over Lake Huron 

 (Lincoln, 1950) that killed many swamp sparrows must take their 

 toll fairly regularly. E. G. Rowland (1925) described two individuals 

 that succumbed to a "pea-green diarrhoea" (botulism?). 



The Communicable Disease Center at Atlanta, Georgia, reports that 

 the swamp sparrow has been found to carry antibodies of one or more 

 of the American arthropod -borne encephalitides. The species has 

 been found to be host to the following ectoparasites: four species of 

 bird louse (Mallophaga): Degeeriella vulgate, Menacanthus chryso- 

 phaeum, Philopterus subflavescens, and Ricinus sp.; three species of 

 bird fly (Hippoboscidae): Ornithoica confluenta, Ornilhomyia anchi- 

 neuria, and Omithomyia fringillma; and one tick, Haemaphysalis 

 leporis-palustris. 



Fall. — As Cruikshank (1942) notes, the swamp sparrow on migration 

 "regularly leaves the marshlands and occurs in all types of habitat 

 with the exception of deep woodlands." The crest of the autumn 

 migration occurs throughout the northern states usually during the 

 first week of October (Brewster, 1937 and Mason, 1938). The high 

 percentage of immature birds in the population at this time attests 

 the species' high annual reproductive capacity. From his banding 

 studies at Belchertown, Mass., E. G. Rowland (1925, 1928) concluded 

 that local breeding birds disperse locally before September 19th, and 

 most depart by September 23. Autumnal migrants average about 

 a week's stopover, as determined by repeat captures, and some 

 individuals remained 2 weeks before moving on. 



A swamp sparrow banded at Shirley, Mass., Oct. 4, 1937 was shot 

 the following January at Plant City, Fla. One banded at Branch- 

 post, N.Y., Oct. 7, 1926, was found dead at Renfrew, Ont., May 2, 

 1928. Numerous returns to the same banding stations during succes- 

 sive spring and fall migrations suggest the birds retrace the same 

 migration routes each year in both directions. 



Winter. — The species is a common winter resident in the Gulf States. 

 In Georgia, T. D. Burleigh (1958) notes: "Its preference for the 

 vicinity of open marshes and streams, however, limits its distribution, 

 for rarely, if ever, will it be found in thickets or underbrush far from 

 water. Cattail marshes are favored spots, and here its numbers 

 during the winter months are limited only by the size of the area 

 covered by the cattails. Bottomland fields overgrown with broom 

 sedge likewise have their winter quota of Swamp Sparrows, provided 

 a stream is close by and the ground is damp." In Florida, A. H. 

 Howell (1932) writes: "Swamp Sparrows are by no means confined 

 to swamps in the winter season, but are found most frequently in 

 fields overgrown with brush and briers, and particularly in patches of 



