1486 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 pabt 3 



broom sedge where the ground is moist. The birds are silent at this 

 season and quite inconspicuous as they feed on the ground, threading 

 their way through the brush like mice." In Louisiana, S. C. Arthur 

 (1931) says "it is found not only in swamps but in old fields, over- 

 grown with brush and briars, and particularly in wet patches of 

 broom sedge. It leaves the salt-water tidal marshes, of course to the 

 seaside sparrows." 



The uncommon but regular occurrence of a few swamp sparrows 

 within the northern breeding range in winter may (Abbott, 1895) 

 or may not (Bagg and Eliot) indicate that these individuals are 

 nonmigratory. In Cambridge, Mass., William Brewster (1906) 

 writes: 



During the earlier years of my field experience Swamp Sparrows were not known 

 to occur in midwinter near Cambridge, but on January 11, 1883, Mr. Charles 

 R. Lamb met with a flock of seven birds in some dense maple woods on the western 

 side of Pout Pond. Not long after this the cattail flags began to increase and 

 spread in the Fresh Pond Swamps; since they became widely dispersed over 

 the marshes lying to the north and west of the Glacialis, Swamp Sparrows have 

 been constantly present there in winter. The birds vary considerately in numbers 

 with different years, but one may be reasonably sure of starting at least three 

 or four during a morning walk in December, January, or February, and under 

 exceptionally favorable conditions as many as a dozen or fifteen may be seen. 



Cruikshank (1942) says: "After the first killing frost in early 

 November the Swamp Sparrow is purely casual in the highlands of 

 the interior, but in the spring-fed marshes around New York City 

 many regularly linger until Christmas, and some always remain to 

 brave the winter." 



While no correlation is apparent between the number of such over- 

 wintering birds and weather conditions, their survival probably 

 depends largely on the comparative mildness of the season, or on 

 their finding a suitable refuge with enough food and protection. 

 Many individuals have repeated through the winter at banding 

 stations on Cape Cod and Long Island. E. A. Mearns (1879) records 

 a bird in the Hudson River Valley that remained through the severe 

 winter of 1874-75 "* * * about a roadside drain, which, owing to a 

 continual inflow of water, was not often frozen. The water was 

 supplied through a small passing beneath the road, in which the bird 

 doubtless found a desirable and effectual retreat in severe weather, 

 as I several times started it from within the opening of this passage- 

 way, where the water was quite shallow." 



Distribution 



Range. — Eastern South Dakota, northern Wisconsin, northern 

 Michigan, southern Quebec, and Nova Scotia to southern Texas, the 

 Gulf coast, and southern Florida. 



