SMYRNA SEASIDE SPARROW 837 



young and in others mostly fresh eggs. This only a few hundred yards apart. 

 Generally speaking the height of the first nesting is April 20th; second sets June 

 1st, and third sets July 10th-15th, on into August. Perhaps a fourth laying is 

 fairly general. 



Eggs. — D. J. Nicholson (1946) says the three or four eggs are — 



white or greenish-white, finely and heavily marked with irregular spots or specks 

 of light or dark brown, grayish, or "lavender" markings. Some are heavily 

 capped or wreathed at the large end and, in addition well sprinkled over the 

 entire surface. Occasionally a specimen is found with a cap or wreath on the 

 small end of the egg. Manj' have a bluish or greenish ground color, differing in 

 this respect from the eggs of the dusky seaside sparrow whose eggs are usually 

 white of ground color. The shapes of the eggs vary considerably, some being 

 quite roundish, others very long and narrow, but the majority are ovate. As 

 compared in a large series with the eggs of the Dusky, the latter are lighter in 

 color, partly because of the white ground color and also larger areas of the eggs 

 are unspotted. However sets of both species can be matched. 



Young. — The same author (1946) states: "Usually the incubatiiig 

 does not commence until the last egg is laid, however, in a number of 

 nests incubation does vary in eggs of a set several days or more. I 

 have never determined the length of time it takes to hatch the eggs, 

 but about 10 to 11 days should be about correct. 



"The newly hatched young are practically naked with the excep- 

 tion of a little smoky grey fuzz along the back and on top of the head. 

 By the time the fledglings are ready to leave the nests the yellow on 

 the bend of the shoulder is present. * * * They remain in the nest 

 about 7 or 8 days." 



Voice. — To quote Nicholson (1946) again: 



Towards the end of March the marshes are fairly buzzing with the purring, 

 wheezing songs of the Smyrna sparrow as the males perch in the concealment of 

 the glossy mangrove leaves. He tires of one perch and seeks another fifty or 

 seventy-five yards away flying low over the rank growth. Every so often he 

 fairly "explodes" with passion leaving his concealment to rise on fluttering wings 

 sixty or seventy feet above the marsh uttering his erratic little song as he goes 

 up and down dropping out of sight in the salicornia. All day long throughout 

 the breeding season many pairs of rivals are seen chasing each other swiftly here 

 and there chippering as they go. Invariably as the female rises and flies from 

 her nest the male leaves his perch and chases her uttering rapid chipperings as 

 they skin the tops of the low growth. The song reminds one strongly of that of 

 redwing blackbirds; the initial part of the song resembles that of the redwing. 

 Their song is unhke that of the dusky. 



To this Howell (1932) adds: "The bu-ds are shy, and during the 

 breeding season remain concealed in the dense vegetation of the marsh 

 a good part of the time, and may be heard chirping in these retreats. 

 Every little while one will fly to a small mangrove bush or a weed 

 stalk and deliver his short, weak song, which suggests a faint, distant 

 song of the Redwing. It consists of a sharp, double note, followed by 

 a weak, buzzing trill. Occasionally a bird indulges in a more pro- 



