SPARROWS 413 



Through the kindness of Mr. Norton five stomachs of this bird 

 were furnished me for examination. Their food seemed to 

 consist, judging by these instances, of Nemertean worms, beetles 

 (only the harder body parts and wings remaining undigested 

 in the specimens examined), unidentifiable flies slightly larger 

 than common house flies, beetle larvae and sand with a little 

 vegetable matter which was seemingly extraneous. It seems 

 very likely that any of the various worms, flies, beetles, grubs 

 and larvae frequenting the marshes would be readily eaten. 



550. Ammodramus maritimus (Wils.). Seaside Sparrow; 

 Seaside Finch; Meadow Chippies. 



Plumage of adults : sides of head, wings and tail and upper parts olive 

 green ; back feathers edged with olive and pearl gray ; a median crown 

 stripe of gray, bordered by two lateral stripes of olive green, obscurely 

 streaked with black ; outer primaries edged with white, others with olive 

 green ; lesser coverts edged with yellow, the greater with russet ; supercili- 

 ary line greenish ; edge of wing yellow and a yellow spot before the eye ; 

 below white, washed on breast and sides with huffy and faintly streaked with 

 grayish ; black line from base of lower mandible down side of throat. Imma- 

 ture plumage : above olive brown, streaked with clove brown ; wings dull 

 black ; primaries edged with olive gray, secondaries with russet, coverts and 

 tertiaries with buff and alulas with white ; below white, washed with buff on 

 sides of chin, on throat, along sides; narrowly streaked on throat and along 

 sides with brown. (Dwight). Wing 2.48; culmen 0.63; tarsus 0.90; tail 2.15. 



Geog. Dist. — Atlantic coast, breeding from Georgia to Massachusetts ; 

 wintering from Virginia to probably Florida. 



County Records.— Lincoln ; Mr. Smith has an immature male, taken at 

 Shark Island, Muscongus Bay, (probably in Lincoln County) August 18, 

 1884, this being the one recorded by him in Forest and Stream, (Cf. Norton 

 and Smith J. M. 0. S. 1904, p. 47). 



Only once has this more southern sea coast species straggled 

 into Maine, as far as records show its presence. They are 

 essentially birds of the salt marshes, being secretive and passing 

 much of their time on the ground. Mr. Chapman records the 

 fact that they mount on stalks of grass to sing their short song 

 of four or five notes, and occcasionally flutter into the air above 

 the reeds to sing on the wing. 



