838 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part 2 



longed and varied flight song. When flushed, the birds frequently- 

 fly for 50 yards or more before alighting." 



Food. — Howell (1932) states: "Examination of 13 stomachs of 

 birds of this subspecies taken on the east coast of Florida showed the 

 bird's food to consist wholly of animal matter — small crabs, amphi- 

 pods, marine worms, dragon flies, grasshoppers, beetles, bugs, moths, 

 Hymenoptera, and spiders," 



Enemies. — As a final note, D. J. Nicholson (1946) adds: "It is 

 outstanding the percentages of the nests found with broken eggs or 

 egg shells; fully one fourth of the nests found have been broken up 

 by some unknown agencies which I suspect is mice which infest the 

 marsh. It is almost useless to mark down nests with a view of re- 

 turning later to find a set of eggs. Nine times out of ten you will 

 find upon your return that the nest has been deserted or torn up. 

 Rarely is the nest occupied. Ants are very numerous and build 

 their nests everywhere in the marsh and doubtless are responsible for 

 part of the damage." 



Distribution 



Range. — The Smyrna seaside sparrow is resident locally in salt 

 marshes of northeastern Florida from Amelia Island to Matanzas 

 Inlet, formerly to New Smyrna. 



Egg dates. — Florida: 9 records, April 26 to June 19. 



AMMOSPIZA MARITIMA (Wilson) 



Seaside Sparrow: Eastern Gulf Coast Subspecies* 



PLATE 46 



Contributed by Oliver L. Austin, Jr. 

 Habits 



The extensive marshes of black rush (Juncus roemerianus) that 

 rim the Gulf Coast of Florida almost continuously from Tarpon 

 Springs northward and westward to WakuUa and Franklin Counties 

 support resident populations of seaside sparrows distinguishable at a 

 glance from all the Atlantic Coast populations (except nigrescens, the 

 blackest of the entire complex) by their darker color above and 

 below. A gradual cline is evident from the smaUer, grayer popula- 

 tion in the south {jpeninsulae) to the slightly larger, darker, and 

 dorsaUy browner birds in the northwest corner of the range in the 

 Wakulla area (juncicola). 



Little has been pubHshed on the habits and behavior of these 

 subspecies, which do not seem to differ materially from those described 



*The following subspecies are discussed in this section: Ammospiza maritima 

 peninsulae (Allen) and A. M. juncicola (Griscom and Nichols). 



