536 NORTH AMKKICAN IJIRDS. 



Dr. CVnies, in liis visit to LaVmidor, in 180(1, f(»un(l this Sparrow almndant 

 in tliat region in low nu)ist nieatlows and marshy tracts near the sea-shore, 

 ]»ut never noticed it in any other situations. He freciuentlv observed it there 

 teedini: on the beds of (h'ied eel-i^rass ah)n<2 the roekv sliores, searchinji; tor 

 food in company with tlie Titlarks and small Sandpipers. 



During my visits to the islands of the liay of Fundy, in one of which I 

 remained a number of days, I had a good opportunity to notice these birds. 

 In many respects their habits undergo noticeable changes during the breed- 

 ing-season. As they pass north or south in their migrations, they are not 

 ])articulaTly shy or ditticult to approach, but when they had nests they seemed 

 to become particularly cautious and mistrustful. The male and female sat 

 by turns upon their eggs, but generally one remained within hailing distance, 

 and always gave i)romptly a signal of danger when the nest was approaclied, 

 at which the other would glide from the nest, running off on the ground like 

 a mouse. I found it impossiljle to identify by shooting the parent on the 

 nest, and only accomplished its identification by means of snares. When 

 once lost in tl • tall grass, it was impossible to find it again, or if it reap- 

 peared it was impossible to tell which of the many chirping Sparrows, all of 

 them out of reach of shot, and keei)ing a sharp lookout on my movements, 

 had any connecti<jn with the nest. This mameuvre was gone through with 

 in every nest I found, but I soon learned to distinguish them without the 

 need of gun or snare. 



This Sparrow is eminently terrestrial, confining itself almost entirely to 

 the ground, and rarely alighting on anything e\en so high as a fence. 

 Though frecpienting low moist grounds, its nest is always in a dry spot and 

 usually somewhat elevated. The nest is almost always sunk into tlie ground, 

 is maile very simply and loosely of dry grasses, with a lining of softer mate- 

 rials of the same. I have never found any other material than this in the 

 many nests I have examined, although nests of var. idaiKUnns, in the vicin- 

 ity of Fort Anderson, are frequently lined with feathers or deers' hair, 

 according to MacFarlane. 



The eggs, five or six in number, vary considerably in their appearance. In 

 shape they are a rounded oval, one end being nmcli more pointed than the 

 other. They measure .68 by .55 of an inch. In some the ffround-color, 

 which is of a greenish-white, is plainly visible, being only })artially covered 

 by blotches of brown, shaded with red and purple. These blotches are more 

 numerous al>out the larger end, becoming confiuent and forming a corona. 

 In others, the ground-color is entirely concealed by confluent ferruginous 

 fine dots, over whicdi are darker markings of brown and purple and a still 

 darker ring of the same about the larger end. 



