SHARP-TAILED SPARROW. 



549. Passerherbulus caudacutus. 6% inches. 



Back of head greenish; sides of head, breast and 

 flanks buff with black streaks; tail feathers sharp. 



Salt marshes along the seacoast or along streams 

 emptying into the ocean are the dwelling places of these 

 finches. They creep about like mice in the salt grass, 

 now running across an open space, now threading their 

 way tlirough the upright stalks. 



Song. — A rather weak, squeaky trill. 



Nest. — Of seaweed and marsh grass, attached to the 

 grass stalks several inches above ground and often cov- 

 ered by a mass of dry seaweed. Eggs greenish white 

 specked with brown (.78x.56). 



Range. — Atlantic coast of the U. S. 



NELSON SPARROW. 



549a. Passerherbulus nelsoni. bV2 inches. 

 Similar to the last but brighter colored and not 

 streaked below. In the Mississippi Valley north to Man- 

 itoba. 549a. Acadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow (sub-vir- 

 gatus ) , Atlantic coast, breeding from Maine to New 

 Brunswick. 



