The Sharp-tailed Finch— Ammo- 



dromus caudacutus, — its 



Nest, and Eggs. 



T. M. HKEWEK. 



^^ HIS very iuterestiug and peculiar spe- 

 vii , cies appeal's to liave a somewhat re- 

 ^''^ stricted distribution. It occupies, at ; 

 different seasons of the year, a narrow belt 

 along the Atlantic sea-coast from southern 

 Georgia to northern Nova Scotia. In win- 

 ter it seems to be confined to the sea-coasts 

 of Virginia, North and South Carolina and 

 Georgia. 1 am not aware that any are 

 known to breed south of Delaware Bay. 

 During the breeding season, it is most com- 

 mon on the low and marshy shores of New 

 Jersey and Long Island. It is found, in 

 favorable locaHties on the coast of Connect- 

 icut, Rhode Island and eastern Massachu- 

 setts. In "-North Amei-ican liirds," it is 

 stated that the Sharp-tailed Finch, tliough 

 found bi'eeding as far north as Ipswich, 

 Mass., had not been traced as far east as 

 Maine. More recently, however, its pres- 

 ence has been detected both in the neigh- 

 borhood of Portland and on the Bay of St. 

 Andrews, an estuary of the River St. Croix, 

 and even so far to the north as Prince Ed- 

 ward Island, north of Nova Scotia. So 

 that its occurrence, in congenial localities, 

 from Nova Scotia to Delaware, in the sum- 

 mer months, may be reasonably supposed 

 to be probable. In the winter it is more 

 or less abundant from the Delaware to 

 Florida, though its presence in the latter 

 state has never, to my knowledge, been ac- 

 tually ascertained. 



Mr. E. W. Ni^lson has discovered in the 

 marshes bordering Lake Michigan, as well 



as in the vicinity of smaller lakes, a local 

 race closely allied to the Sharp-tailed, A. 

 NeJsoni, Allen, which, from its abund- 

 ance in the i'all is supposed to be quite com- 

 mon in some more northern regions. With 

 this exception this Fiuch is to be met with 

 only near the sea-shore, and not to be found 

 at any considerable distance from it. There 

 it feeds both upon minute marine insects, 

 such as are to be found near the water's 

 edge, or on the floating seaweed, as well 

 as upon the seeds of grasses and sedges that 

 grow in the neighboring uplands. In its 

 search for the latter the Sliarp-tail will climb 

 the stems of reeds and other })lanls, moving 

 up or down, and even hanging from them, 

 in different positions, combining thus some 

 of the habits of shore-birds with those of 

 Titmice. 



The Sharp-tailed Finch is also a bird pe- 

 culiarly of terrestrial habits. It runs about 

 on the ground more in the manner of a 

 mouse than in that of most birds, and is 

 hard to flush and consequently difficult to 

 shoot, as it keeps so closely to the grass by 

 which it is concealed. In their winter re- 

 treats they assemble in flocks and feed in 

 more open gi-oiinds than when they are 

 rearing theii- young, and are more readily 

 procured. It has no song worthy of men- 

 tion, but is said to utter an occasional call 

 note and a feeble twitter, but I have never 

 heard them utter a sound. 



Their nest is always placed on the ground, 

 in dry places above the reach of the highest 

 tides, often on the side of a low bank, un- 

 der a projecting sod, or in a grassy tussock. 

 Not unfrequently it scratches out for itself 

 a slight depression in the sandy soil, and 

 therein arranges its inartistic nest. This 

 ' construction is a comparatively large one 

 tor the bird, is loosely made of soft grasses 



