NORTHERN SEASIDE SPARROW 827 



the edges of the creeks. As it runs the legs seem rather long and 

 the body is held well up from the ground while the tail is always 

 pointed downward." 



Trotter (1891) explained this species' large strong feet and short, 

 stiflF pointed tail as adaptations for clinging to tall reeds being swayed 

 about by the wind. Stone's suggestion that the feet are enlarged 

 for running over the soft mud seems more plausible. Short tails 

 are a characteristic of a number of species that dwell in dense grassy 

 habitats, those that do not cling to reeds such as the rails and meadow- 

 larks (Sturnella) as well as those that do, such as sparrows of the 

 genera Ammodramus and Passerherbulus. The short pointed tails 

 seem more likely an adaptation allowing the birds to dart through 

 and turn quickly in the maze of vertical grass stems. 



Voice. — The song of which Audubon ^vrote so disparagingly is ut- 

 tered only by the male seaside sparrow, who seems to use it primarily 

 to advertise the occupancy of his territory. It normally lasts just 

 under two seconds, three-fom'ths of which are taken up by the final 

 buzzing note. Saunders (1951) describes it as short and buzzhke, 

 beginning with two or three rather faint short notes followed by a 

 higher-pitched, louder, strongly accented buzzy note that drops 

 sUghtly mto the final trill, which starts loud and fades away toward the 

 end. The song has been variously written tup tup ZEE reeeeeeeeee 

 and tup TEE tie reeeeeeeeee (Saunders, 1951), cutout, zhe-eeeeeeee 

 (Peterson, 1947) and che-zheeeege, che-zhee, che-weege, chur-zhee 

 and too-szheee (Stone, 1937). My field notes contain the following 

 renditions: CHUR-er eeeee, CHUR eeeeee, and oka-CHE weeeee. 

 These and other variations in syllabization occur not only between 

 individual birds, but individuals also vary their song. I have heard 

 birds giving a characteristic song suddenly smg a different type for 

 a while, then revert to the original again. 



The seasides usually sing from exposed perches on their territories 

 such as tall cattail stems or tall or isolated marsh-elder bushes. The 

 bill is elevated and opened considerably with each note, and the head 

 bobs with the accented note. In Tomkins (1941) are excellent 

 photographs of the seaside's typical singing postures. The bu'ds 

 also perform an extended version of the song in flight, the male 

 fluttering upward 10 or 20 feet and gliding back down into the marsh 

 grass while buzzing. In the Lavallette and Chadwick populations 

 the flight song was infrequent, of short duration, and seemingly 

 unimportant. It is probably commoner and of greater significance 

 in populations inhabiting marshes of even growth where prominent 

 exposed perches are scarce, such as occur more plentifully along the 

 coasts to the southward. 



