EASTERN SAVANNAH SPARROW 679 



In view of its extensive distribution, it is interesting to note that 

 while the common name, Savannah sparrow, truly indicates its 

 preferred habitat, it was actually named by Wilson for the town of 

 Savannah, Ga., where the type specimen was collected. It is also 

 something of a paradox that the species should acquire its familiar 

 name from a town in the only section (southeastern United States) 

 of the continent in which it does not breed. 



Nesting. — Although the Savannah sparrow is confined in its choice 

 of breeding sites to grassy or grasslike vegetation, these conditions are 

 met in a wide variety of ecological situations across the continent. 

 Therefore Savannah sparrows are found nesting from the sedge bogs 

 of Labrador to the grass-capped islands of the Aleutians, from the New 

 England hayfields to the short-grass prairies of mid-western Canada, 

 from the salt marshes of the northeastern coast to the coastal marshes 

 of California. 



Throughout this extensive range there is remarkable uniformity in 

 nest location and construction. With the possible exception of some 

 of the "large-billed" Savannah sparrows of Baja California, the nest 

 is buUt on the ground, almost always in a natural hollow or depression 

 (the hollow may be scratched or dug out by the bird as indicated by 

 Townsend, 1905; Forbush, 1929; Palmer, 1949), with its edges even 

 with the ground or the tussock. By the very nature of the low rank 

 vegetation of the nest site, the nest is well concealed, but further con- 

 cealment is sometimes effected by a loose canopy of grasses and forbs 

 overhanging the nest. 



The nest is usually made of coarse grass stems, the cup lined with 

 finer grasses. Sometimes mosses and other coarse plant materials are 

 used in the bulky exterior, while hairs and rootlets may be used alone 

 or in combination with the fine grass lining. 



The following descriptions drawn from widely separated areas 

 illustrate the similarities of nest construction despite the diversity of 

 habitat. 



From Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Donald L. Newman (in litt.) de- 

 scribes two nests located in an upland meadow: "The nest, which 

 measured 3 inches at the widest point and was about 1% inches deep, 

 was made entirely of grasses — coarse and heavy on the outside, finer 

 on the inside. It was placed in a perfect cuplike cavity on a 

 small hummock of earth, perhaps 12 to 14 inches wide and about 

 C inches above the general level of the field. Short over-arching 

 grass and a narrow border of strawberry vines served to shade 

 and conceal the nest. * * * ^ second nest * * * was constructed 

 of coarse dead grass mth a somewhat finer grass lining, was located 

 in a slight depression or pocket of ground and was well concealed by 



