670 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUIVI BULLETIN 23 7 part 2 



resorting to hopping for another minute before flying off. On eastern 

 Sable Island a tailless bird hopped for several minutes and continuously 

 flipped its wings together rapidly as it circled on the bare sand in a 

 small depression out of the wind. The small hopping steps ranged 

 from 4 to 6 inches between the center of footprints. The hopping 

 and wing-flipping continued for 5 minutes, and in that time the bird 

 took a few running steps only once. Occasionally Ipswich sparrows 

 are seen to hop on our beaches during early fall migration. Measure- 

 ment of prints of fast hopping birds on Long Island sand beaches 

 showed they average about 9 inches from center to center." 



Julian Potter writes me of its behavior in New Jersey: "As the bird 

 comes out into the open spaces between grass clumps on the dune it 

 runs from one grassy spot to another. Once in a while a bird will 

 pause, stretch its head up high for an instant to notice my approach 

 and then proceed on its skulking retreat. When approached too 

 closely, the bird flies a short way, then drops into the grass." Alex- 

 ander Sprunt, Jr., writes me from South Carolina: "The behavior of 

 this bird is very similar to that of the Savannah sparrow, with which 

 it is often found in company. It is certainly adept at hiding amid 

 clumps of grass, and usually prefers running to flying." 



Voice. — W. E. Saunders (1902a) writes that he heard singing 

 almost every moment of the day during his May 1901 visit. J. H. 

 D wight (1895) tells of a rolling chatter uttered by quarreling males. 

 He remarks than the song is a more polished and tuneful effort than 

 that of the Savannah sparrow and lower in tone. He describes it as 

 two or three high-pitched and slightly sibilant introductory notes 

 followed by a prolonged, still more sibilant, grasshopperlike lisp, and 

 concluded without pause by a trill which carries farthest and is 

 swung "out with a vim" unlike the weaker ending of the Savannah's 

 song. 



When heard by Dwight during May and Jime, the birds sang 

 several times a minute, but rarely for more than a few minutes at a 

 time, followed by perfect silence for up to 20 minutes when the 

 chorus would start once more. They were partial to early morning 

 and dusk singing, when five or six might be heard at one time. He 

 states that the birds might start regardless of the fog and didn't 

 greet the sun with an outburst of song. According to him, they sang 

 from the top of a dune, fence post, or telephone pole, sometimes start- 

 ing from one individual's song. 



Regarding midsummer song on Sable Island, I (1956) UTote "On 

 July 31, singing was heard in mid-afternoon and continued irregularly 

 until after dark. Although that day broke clear and sunshine con- 

 tinued all morning, fog swept in, covering landmarks, at 2:30 p.m. 

 and remained into the night. As dusk came on singing increased 



