Fill N(! 1 1,1,1 1). K TIIK h'lNCUKS. 551) 



Till' llii,'lit of tliis spceicH is (|iiitc dill'iiriMit rnmi Uiiit, of aiiy otlior bir(l,iui(l 

 by it llu^y iiiiiy ii( diicc In- iccdj^'iiizt'd. In llyiii^', tlicy ulso ilidp tlii'ir tiiils 

 very low. 



Mr. Audubon states lliat diiiinj,' tlii^ winter tlie Sliarp-tailnd Finrli is 

 rurni.shud with an o.Ktra (inantity oi' Icatlusrs on tlic rMmp, for which hv. tinds 

 it dillicult to account. 



Thii.si- birds are essentially niariliuie, are found only in the vicinity of the 

 soa, an<l alway.s kee|) iiumediately about the water, exeept wlu'ii the inclcni- 

 oncy of the weather drives them to the hijj;h ^'ra.ss of the uphual.s for .shelter. 

 They walk and ru.i, or remain feedini^ on the lloatin<; wee(ls and other siili- 

 stunces raised by the tide, with all tlie ea.se and fearle.s9nes,s with which they 

 move on the land. They are jj;reyariou.s in the winter, and in the Southern 

 marshes are found feeding in comiianies. During the breoding-.season they 

 keep more in pairs, and are found more isolated. At this time they are also 

 shy, and dillicult to delect. Their usual call-note is only a single /nrrt, and 

 in the love-season their series of twitters Mr. Audubon thiidvs hardly wor- 

 thy to be called a .song. They feed indi.scriminutely on .seeds, in.sects, small 

 crustaceans, and various forms of refuse matter floated or thrown u^i by the 

 tides. 



On the coast of New Jersey, where these birds are found in the greate,st 

 abundance, they have at least two broods in a season. Their nest is on the 

 ground, in a smidl tu.ssoek of grass or sedges, l)ut little removed from the, 

 reach of the tide, and is placed in a depression apparently e.xcavated for the 

 [)urpose. They are loosely made of soft and slender grasses, arranged in a 

 circular form. The nest is laige for the bird, sfjacious and deep, and is softly 

 lined with finer and similar materials. 



Their eggs, five or six in nund)er, are of a somewhat rounded oval .shape, 

 having an average breadth of ..'>9 of an inch, and vary in length from .7H to 

 .70. Their ground-color is a light green, occasionally a dull white, with 

 hardly a jierceptible ting(! of greeni.sh, thickly sprinkled CMpially over the en- 

 tire egg, with tine rusty-brown d(jts. These are of various sizes, but all lino. 

 In a few the larger dots arc conHuent in a iir.g an and the larger end; in 

 others, the finer dots are so small as to Ijc only tli.stin:;uisliable under a glass, 

 concealing the grouu<l-color, and giving to the egg ai) almost uniform rusty 

 color. These eggs vary but little in shape, and are nearly equally rounded 

 at either end, though never entirely so. 



