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Nesting Habits of the Henslow's Sparrow 



By E. SEYMOUR WOODRUFF 



HENSLOW'S SPARROW (Ammodramus henslowi), though generally 

 considered a rare bird in New England, is a regular and not uncom- 

 mon summer resident in the vicinity of Litchfield, Conn. Because 

 of their extremely shy and retiring habits, these birds are easily overlooked, 

 even in a locality where they are not uncommon; but, if their song be once identi- 

 fied, it is surprising to find how often and in how many different places it is 

 heard, — places where their presence had never been previously suspected. The 

 song is unique, and, once known, can never be mistaken for that of any other 

 bird. To my ear it sounds exactly like the syllables cheer-r-r-up, with an upward 

 inflection on the last syllable. 



Their favorite haunts are marshy hillside meadows covered with a fairly 

 thick growth of spirea, shrubby cinquefoil and other shrubs, though, occa- 

 sionally, they will be found in bog swamps in the river bottoms. They are very 

 difficult to flush, preferring to skulk along the ground through the low growth, 

 where it is almost impossible to see them. If one should be flushed, it will take, 

 as a rule, but a very short flight, keeping close to the ground with a somewhat 

 undulating and rapid flight, and then, dropping suddenly behind a tussock or 

 plant, disappear completely. 



Though I have located many pairs of breeding birds during the past fifteen 

 years, and have searched for their nests most patiently, my search had always 

 been unrewarded until one day in the latter part of June, 1906. The way in 

 which I found this nest taught me an interesting habit of this bird, and, at the 

 same time, afforded me a probable explanation of why my previous searches 

 had always been in vain. 



Again and again I have flushed a Henslow's Sparrow from under my feet, 

 and, each time, thought that at last I had found its nest; but, careful search 

 would reveal nothing. So I would give it up for the time being, but on return- 

 ing several times in the same day, or even on several different days, I would 

 almost invariably flush the bird again from either the same spot or from one 

 within a few feet of it. The fact that the bird would not always flush up from 

 exactly the same spot made me believe that it ran a few feet from its nest each 

 time before flushing; but a most careful search of every square inch of the ground 

 within a circle of twenty or thirty feet in diameter would always result in failure 

 to find it. 



In June, 1906, I located a pair of Henslow's Sparrows in a narrow marsh 

 in a pasture near the top of a high ridge. The marsh was covered with a growth 

 of sphagnum moss, fine sedge grasses, and clumps of fern, spirea and sheep- 

 laurel in the drier spots. For two days in succession (June 21 and 22, 1906), 

 I had the same experience in regard to flushing the bird as that described above, 

 but I finally came to the conclusion that it was the male that I was continually 



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