256 



XoRTH American Birds Eggs. 



548. Leconte Sparrow. Ammodramiis lecoKtii. 



Range. — Great Plains, breeding from northern United 

 winters south to Texas and the Gulf States 



w 



IW'hixe. 



'tates to Assiniboia; 



A bird of more slender form than the preceding, and with a 

 long, graduated tail, the feathers of which are very narrow and 

 'lointed. They nest on the ground in damp meadows, hut the 

 ggs are difficult to find because the bird is flushed from the nest 



with brown 



pointed. 



eggs are ,_.iiii.. l^h i^j iii^^ u^,.i»lio^ lu^ .j-nvi i.^ nt...-iiv . 



with great difficulty. The eggs are white and are freely specked 

 .._ „. ?ize .70 X .52. Data. — Crescent Lake. X. W. Can- 

 ada. June 10. 1901. Nest built in a tuft of prairie grass 4 inches 



above the ground; made of grass, lined with finer and a few hairs. Collector, 



Walter Raine. 



White.] 



?> 



549. Sharp-tailed Sparrow. A inmndramii-'t roAiihiriitu-^. 



Range. — Breeds in mars-hes along the Atlantic coast from Maine to South 

 Carolina and winters farther south. 



These birds are very common in nearly all the salt marshes of 

 the coast, nesting in the marsh grass. I have nearly always 

 found their nests attached to the coarse marsh grass a tew inches 

 above water at high tide, and generally under a piece of drifted 

 seaweed. The nests are made of grasses, and the four or five 

 eggs are whitish, thickly specked with reddish brown. Size 

 .7.5 X .5-5. The birds are liard to fiush and then fly but a few feet 

 and cjuickly drop into the grass again. 



549.1. Nelson Sparrow. A in iiKirlratnii-^ ncl''Oi(i. 



Range.— Breeds in the fresh water marshes of the Mississippi valley from 

 Illinois to Manitoba. 



This species is similar to the Sharp-tailed Finch but more buffy on the breast 

 and generally without streaks. The nesting habits are the same and the eggs 

 indistinguishable. 



549. a. Acadian Sharp-tailed Sparrow. A inmndramus nrlsoiu subrirgatin. 



Range. — Breeds in the marshes on the coast of Xew England and Xew Bruns- 

 wick: winters south to the South Atlantic States. 



This paler variety of Xelson Sparrow nests like the Sharp-tailed spiecies and 

 the eggs are the same as those of that bird. 



550. Seaside Sparrow, ^l niinodrcnnus maiiiitnus. 



Range.— Atlantic coast, breeding from southern New England to Carolina and 

 wintering farther south. 



This sharp-tailed Finch is uniform grayish above and light 

 streaked with dusky, below. They are very abundant in the 

 breeding range, where they nest in marshes in company with 

 (■((iidacutuj:. Their nests are the same as those of that species 

 and the eggs similar but slightlv larger. Size .80 x .60. Data. — 

 Smith Ishuid. Va., May 20. 1900. Xest situated in tall grass 

 near shore: made of dried grass and seaweed. Collector. 

 H. W. Bailey. 



All the members of this genus have a habit of fluttering out over the water, 

 and then gliding back to their perch on the grass, on set wings, meanwhile 

 uttering a strange rasping song. The nesting habits and eggs of all the sub- 

 species are precisely like those of this variety, and they all occasionally arch 

 their nests over, leaving an entrance on the side. 



[ Wbite.l 



