406 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



inland; but lack of suitable habitat has probably had full as 

 much to do with their not being present as anything else. 



The species is peculiar and rather retiring in its habits, 

 sneaking through the grass with lowered bobbing head and 

 tail, when pressed rising and flying a short distance low down, 

 to suddenly drop and remain petrified a short time and then 

 run again. They likewise run along the grassy edge of the 

 roadsides in similar way. When feeding or otherwise so 

 busily engaged as to be unaware of a person's approach they 

 often do not take alarm until nearly stepped upon, when away 

 they go from almost under the feet. 



The song of the male is a grasshopper-like sibilant "tschip- 

 tsip-sip-se-e-e-e-r-r-r-r-r-r" uttered from the grass or more often 

 while perched on some rock, bush or fence. While they sing 

 at intervals through the day, evening is their favorite time 

 and several can be often heard answering one another from 

 the fields at hand. A "chip" of alarm is frequently uttered. 



Both birds aid in building the nest but the female does 

 most of the work, and likewise most of the incubation. The 

 male however does his full share towards feeding the young 

 and angrily protesting against human intruders and other 

 enemies. The nest is always placed on the ground, either in 

 fields, intervale lands and meadows, salt marshes along the 

 coast or on dry grassy slopes on some of the outer islands. 

 A nest composed entirely of very fine grass was placed in a 

 hollow made for it in a tussock of grass on an island in Penob- 

 scot Bay, containing four slightly incubated eggs on June 18, 

 1896. The nest was one and a half inches in depth externally 

 by three-fourths of an inch internally. Its external diameter 

 was two and a half and the internal diameter one and a half 

 inches. 



The eggs are bluish white in color, washed and blotched with 

 cinnamon brown to form a large confluent broad wreath about 

 the larger ends. These eggs measure 0.79x0.57, 0.78x0.57, 

 0.80 X 0.58, 0.77 x 0.58. Another nest taken at Orono, June 



