24- NELSOXn'S spaklow. 



ing top which scarcely bears their weight, then hanging head 

 dovaiward in order to reach some insect, after which they will 

 drop to the ground and make their way v/ith surprising ra- 

 pidity to some other point. When surprised they wdll rise a 

 short distance above the grass, fly a few yards, and then dart 

 into some place of concealment from which it is difficult to 

 make them rise a second time. 



The Sharp-tailed Sparrows arrive from the South late in 

 April and remain until about the middle of October, when 

 they retreat southward and enter the marshes of the Carolinas 

 and Georgia, where they are exceedingly abundant all winter. 

 So2TO. During the breeding season, the males give what is 

 certainly the feeblest approach to a song that any of the fam- 

 ily attempt. This is given when the bird is hovering in air a 

 few fuet over the surface of the ground, and is so low as to be 

 indistinguishable when the wind is blowing, even if the bird 

 be only twenty yards away ; but on still days a sputter- 

 ing, husky warble may be heard, which continues a moment 

 only, then at its termination the bird drops as if shot into the 

 grass and does not rise again to repeat this rude lay undl after 

 a considerable interval. 



Nelson's Sharp=tailed Sparrow. 



Ammodramus caudicutus nelsoni. 

 Similar to the Sharp-tailed Sparrow, but differs in being 

 smaller, with a shorter, more slender bill, with the colors 

 brighter and more varied. The buff of the head and other 

 parts deeper. The light edges of the back feathers are lighter 

 and the stri-oes beneath are finer and less numerous. 



