830 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 i'art 2 



linger until Christmas, and a few remain on the larger marshes 

 throughout the winter." 



Stone (1937) writes that at Cape May "In the autumn we have 

 recorded them as late as October 7, 1923 ; October 25, 1929 ; October 19, 

 1931 and 1934; while birds seen on November 9, 1930, and November 

 21, 1926, may have been wintering individuals; as was one observed 

 on January 23, 1927." Practically every subsequent Audubon Christ- 

 mas count has reported from one to a dozen individual seaside sparrows 

 in the Cape May area. 



Most of the northern population apparently winters in the Atlantic 

 coastal marshes from Virginia south to northeastern Florida. Howell 

 (1932) called it "A common winter resident on Amelia Island, where 

 Worthington collected numerous specimens between October 18 and 

 March 24." The southernmost record is a bird taken at Fort Pierce, 

 Fla., Jan. 5, 1964, and now in the collections of the Florida State 

 Museum. 



Distribution 



Range. — Tidal marshes from Massachusetts to Florida. 



Breeding range. — The northern seaside sparrow breeds in salt and 

 brackish marshes from Massachusetts (Plum Island, Cape Cod, 

 Martha's Vineyard) south to extreme northeastern North Carolina 

 (Elizabeth City) and along Chesapeake Bay (north to Idlewilde and 

 Kent Narrows, Maryland). 



Winter range. — Winters in coastal and bay marshes from New York 

 (Long Island) and Chesapeake Bay (Churchton, Md.) south to 

 eastern Florida (Amelia Island, Ft. Pierce), occasionally north to 

 Connecticut (New Haven) and Massachusetts (Plum Island). 



Casual record. — Casual in Maine (Shark Rock in outer Muscongu3 

 Bay). 



Migration. — Early dates of spring arrival are: New York — Suffolk 

 County, April 22. Connecticut — New Haven, April 28. Massa- 

 chusetts — Monomoy Island, April 14. 



Late dates of spring departure are: Florida — Taylor County, 

 April 5. Georgia — Chatham, April 18. South Carolina — May 15. 



Early dates of fall arrival are: Texas — High Island, October 31. 

 South Carolina— October 23. Georgia — Savannah, October 3. Flor- 

 ida — Worthington Island, October 18. 



Late dates of fall departure are: Texas — High Island, November 11. 

 Massachusetts — Martha's Vineyard, September 12 (median of 5 

 years, September 4). Rhode Island — South Auburn, October 8. 

 Connecticut — New Haven, October 30. New York — Far Rockaway, 

 November 25. New Jersey — Cape May, October 25. Virginia — 

 Cape Henry, November 25. 



