216 LAND BIRDS 
number hidden in the weed patches and nesting in the 
wiry marsh grass. His song at best is so weak and low 
as to seem like the note of an insect, to one who has 
never heard it, and is not likely to attract attention 
unless the listener is very near. 
In nesting habits the Savanna resembles the field 
sparrow described elsewhere. 
542c. BRYANT MARSH SPARROW. — Ammodramus 
sandnichensis bryant. 
Famity: The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 
Length: 4.78-5.30. 
Adults: Similar to the Western savanna sparrow, but darker and 
browner, with sides and breast usually more heavily streaked ; the 
whole head often tinged with yellow. 
Geographical Distribution : Salt marshes about San Francisco Bay, south 
in winter along the coast to the San Diegan district. 
California Breeding Range : On marshes of San Francisco and Monterey 
ays. 
Breeding Season: May. 
Nest: Placed on the ground, usually in a slight depression. 
Eggs: 4 or 5; grayish white, irregularly blotched with shades of brown 
and marked with light purple. Size 0.73 X 0.57. 
AmonG the thick rushes of the San Francisco Bay 
marshes the Bryant Marsh Sparrow makes its home. 
There you may find it swinging on a tule or warbling a 
short sweet song, as it flies out over the tangled sedges. 
Its nest is made on the ground among the coarse 
meadow grass at a safe distance from the edge of the 
marsh, to escape high tides. Here in the thickest tus- 
sock, or perhaps in a hollow in the soil, a thin mat of 
