. 
Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and Gray Sparrowy Birds — f cts 
This bird delights in the company of the dull-colored seaside — 
sparrow, whose haunts in the salt marshes it frequents, especially 
the drier parts; but its pointed tail-quills and more distinct mark- 
ings are sufficient to prevent confusion. Mr. J. Dwight, Jr., who 
has made a special study of maritime birds, says of it: ‘‘It runs 
about among the reeds and grasses with the celerity of a mouse, 
and it is not apt to take wing unless closely pressed.” (Wilson 
credited it with the nimbleness of a sandpiper.) ‘‘It builds its 
nest in the tussocks on the bank of a ditch, or in the drift left by 
the tide, rather than in the grassier sites chosen by its neighbors, 
the seaside sparrows.” 
Only rarely does one get a glimpse of this shy little bird, 
that darts out of sight like a flash at the first approach. Balancing 
on a Ccat-tail stalk or perched upon a bit of driftwood, it makes a 
feeble, husky attempt to sing a few notes; and during the brief 
performance the opera-glasses may search it out successfully. 
While it feeds upon the bits of sea-food washed ashore to the 
edge of the marshes, it gives us perhaps the best chance we ever 
get, outside of a museum, to study the bird’s characteristics of 
plumage. 
‘‘Both the sharp-tailed and the seaside finches are crepus- 
cular,” says Dr. Abbott, in ‘‘The Birds About Us.” They run 
up and down the reeds and on the water’s edge long after most 
birds have gone to sleep. 
Song Sparrow 
(Melospiza fasciata) Finch family 
Length—6 to 6.5 inches. About the same size as the English 
sparrow. 
Male and Female—Brown head, with three longitudinal gray bands. 
Brown stripe on sides of throat. Brownish-gray back, 
streaked with rufous. Underneath gray, shading to white, 
heavily streaked with darkest brown. A black spot on 
breast. Wings without bars. Tail plain grayish brown. 
Range—North America, from Fur Countries to the Gulf States. 
Winters from southern Illinois and Massachusetts to the Gulf. 
Migrations—March. November. A few birds remain at the 
north all the year. 
Here is a veritable bird neighbor, if ever there was one ; at 
home in our gardens and hedges, not often farther away than the 
158 
