302 Bird Studies, 



Great Plains. They range north to Newfoundland and Labrador. They 

 breed from Pennsylvania and Northern Illinois north, and winter from Mas- 

 sachusetts and Southern Illinois to the South Atlantic and Gulf States. 



The Seaside Sparrow or Finch is a maritime bird, confined almost 



exclusively to the salt or brackish marshes of the Atlantic seaboard. Here 



it is found from Massachusetts to Georgia in the breed- 

 Seaside Sparrow. . j v ■ ^ ( ^i, \r- ■ ■ n ^ ^ 

 Ammodramus maritimus mg season, and it wmtcrs from the Virgmia Coast to 



(wiis.). Georgia. The bird is about six inches long, is stoutly 



built, heavily feathered, and has a narrow tail. 



In full plumage it may be distinguished by an area of yellow just in 



front of the eye, and the same color is noticeable on the bend of the wing. 



The upper parts are olive green with a decided gray tone. The wings and 



tail are browner. A dusky streak on either side defines the grayish white 



throat. Grayish white prevails on the lower parts. The breast is obscurely 



streaked with darker gray, and the sides and flanks are washed with the 



same color. In fall and winter there is a buffy wash on the breast. 



^taMMIiiidM 



SEASIDE SPARROW. 



The birds build on the oround in a orrass tussock or amoncr reeds. The 

 nest is made of coarse reeds and grasses, lined with finer trrasses. Three or 

 four eggs are laid. These are white, closely speckled with reddish brown 

 most profusely at the larger end. They are about four fifths of an inch long 

 and rather more than three fifths of an inch broad. 



