124 



BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS 



been taken at Nahant, a young male in August, 1877. This 

 specimen is now in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural 

 History (No. 221). l On Neponset River in early autumn ; 2 from 

 Monomoy Island in April ; 3 and possibly from Stony Brook, near 

 Boston, in 1836 and 1837, 4 and it is not unlikely that it may be 

 found breeding at some of these places. 

 April 14 to [September] ; (Winter). 



341. Ammodramus caudacutus (Gmel.). SHARP-TAILED 

 SPARROW. 



A common summer resident in the salt marshes of the coast. 

 Mr. Howe, in company with Messrs. G. C. Shattuck and H. B. 

 Bigelow, took a female on February 9, 1901, on Sandy Neck, 

 West Barnstable, where it had undoubtedly wintered. The bird 

 was shot in the sand dunes by the edge of the marsh. This 

 moves the wintering range of this species from New Jersey to 

 Massachusetts. 



May 20 to November 3 ; (Winter). 



Cambridge : [Formerly] common summer resident. Cohasset : " Nu- 

 merous summer resident.' 1 Ipswich: "Common summer resident." 

 Martha's Vineyard: "Uncommon summer resident." 



342. Ammodramus nelsoni (Allen). NELSON'S SPARROW. 

 An uncommon autumn and rare spring migrant along the coast 



from the west and northwest. Mr. Howe, in company with Messrs. 

 G. C. Shattuck and H. B. Bigelow, found this species wintering in 

 small numbers in the marshes and about the cranberry bogs at 

 Sandy Neck, West Barnstable, from February 6 to 8, 1901. 

 Eleven birds in all were seen, three being taken. This is the 

 only known wintering record for these birds north of Virginia, 

 where near Cobb's Island Mr. Shattuck found it wintering not un- 

 commonly in December and January, 1 896-^97 , and certainly a 

 most interesting occurrence. Although the winter of i9oo-'oi has 

 been comparatively mild and open, during early February the tem- 



1 Brewer; Bull. Nutt. Orn. Club, Vol. Ill, No. i, Jan., 1878, p. 48. 



2 Faxon ; Auk, Vol. XIV, No. 3, July, 1897, pp. 320, 321. 

 : ' Gaboon; Auk, Vol. VII, No. 3, July, 1890, pp. 289, 290. 

 4 Brewer; Hist. No. Amer. Birds, Vol. I, 1874, p. 560. 



