Jones — Birds of Cedar Point. 97 



THE BIRDS OF CEDAR POINT AND VICINITY. 



BY LYNDS JONES. 



107. Pcucaea aestivalis hachmanii. — Bachmaii's Sparrow. 



A bird believed to be tbe same one wai^ listened to and seen at 

 close ranee on May 14 and 17, 1909, on the sand spit at the eastern 

 extremity of the telephone line. The bird was first seen on the 

 wires where it was singing lustily, at intervals making short ex- 

 cursions to the ground and bushes for food, always returning to 

 nearly the same spot and taking up its wonderfully beautiful song. 

 I made determined efforts to secure the specimen on both occa- 

 sions, but its good angel intervened. The pattern is sufficiently dis- 

 tinct and the song so unique that there should be no more room for 

 doubt of the identification than with the other familiar sparrows. 

 It was not found on May 22, wheu I again visited the place. One 

 might well be pardoned for departing from the strictly scientific 

 method in an attempt to describe the song of this sparrow — but 

 I shall not attempt it. 



IGS. Mclosinza iiiclodia. — Song Sparrow. 



Abundant during the migrations, common all summer, and found 

 in considerable numbers all winter in all brushy and weedy places. 

 It is one of our most characteristic birds. It bursts into song on 

 any bright day in winter, and sings imperfectly during the fall 

 months. The migrants appear in the second wave of migration, 

 usually just before the middle of March, and the bulk have gone 

 south al)Out the time of the first hard frosts, in October. In winter 

 it selects sheltered places, such as brush piles, weeds and grassy 

 fields and tangles, and often spends the night in hay mows or in 

 straw or stalk stacks. It has been found in some numbers on every 

 trip to Cedar Point, even in the severest weather. When the 

 marshes are frozen it ranges everywhere over the marsh in the 

 dry vegetation. 



1G9. Mclospiza liiicolni. — Lincoln's Sparrow. 



A fairly regular spring migrant, not thus far noted in fall. The 

 median date of arrival is May 11, and of departure May 17. It 

 often sings during its stay, but the song is weak and delivered from 

 a low perch, not attracting attention. A typical habitat is the 

 brushy border which fringes the marsh side of the sand spit. On the 

 mainland it is most often met with in the bushes bordering a small 

 stream, whether in tbe deeper woods or elsewhere. It also fre(iuents 

 the low, wet areas of woods where there is brush. In habits it may 

 be distinguished from the Song Sparrow, which it resembles, by its 

 skulking habits and timidity. The breast streaks are finer and 

 darker. 



