8o 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



again, as they seem to be aware 

 that they are safe as long as they 

 keep out of sight. 



If you force them to the edge of 

 the marsh, they will fly over the 

 water and make a wide detour back 

 to land. As long as you remain on 

 the marsh you will hear their song, 

 first on one side, then an answer 

 from the other. They have a pecul- 

 iar song too, to correspond with their 

 habits. It consists of two or three 

 chirps, followed by a rasping "tzee- 

 ee-ee." it is not a loud note, but it 

 has considerable carrying power, 

 and you can hear it at a distance of 

 several hundred yards. 



Although shy they are inquisitive 

 too, and from time to time they will 

 come to the top of the marsh grass, 

 to see where you are. histead of 

 flying or jumping up as other spar- 

 rows would, they walk up until they 

 reach the top. Having satisfied 

 their curiosity, they relax the grip 

 of their toes and slide down 

 again. 



Mr. J. B. Canfield, of Bridgeport, 

 Conn., writes: 



"Last June 1 spent two days on a 

 marsh bordering Long Island Sound 

 in Connecticut, and I had the good 

 fortune to take several sets of eggs. 

 The bird when disturbed will slip 

 off of the nest and run along the 

 ground for four or five yards before 

 flying. A peculiar thing is, that if 

 the bird has just left the nest, it will 

 always excrement when it begins its 

 flight, something a feeding bird sel- 

 dom does. Although of retiring 

 habits, it seems to be of a social dis- 



position, for I have found the Vir- 

 ginia Rail, Seaside and the Sharp- 

 tailed Sparrow nesting within a 

 radius of 75 feet. Their eggs and 

 young are very often destroyed by 

 an unusually high tide, and I have 

 seen nests containing dead young 

 and with addled eggs. 



"This marsh is covered with a 

 growth of fine wire-like grass that is 

 used extensively as bedding for cat- 

 tle and for packing goods. In many 

 places it is matted down the same as 

 grain will often be after a storm. In 

 these places you will often find the 

 nest, sometimes under a piece of 

 sea-weed left by the tide, and I 

 have found several nests by turning 

 over these pieces of sea-weed. 



"The nest is a rather loosely 

 woven structure of the marsh grass, 

 lined with fine pieces of same, and is 

 often constructed partly of green 

 grass. 



"The eggs are very hard to blow, 

 the whites being very gummy and' 

 thick in fresh eggs, and if left a few 

 days, it is almost impossible to blow 

 them. This may be caused by 

 the action of the salt air and 

 water" 



This habit of depositing the nest 

 under seaweed which has been de- 

 posited on top of the grass, by the 

 tide seems to be very prevalent. 

 Of all the nests I have found (some 

 twenty-five in number) fully three- 

 fourths of them were hidden in this 

 way. I have found them where 

 the water at high tide would cover 

 the ground under the nest, and come 

 within two inches of the bottom of 

 the nest. 



