216 LAND BIRDS 



number hidden in the weed patches and nesting in the 

 wiry marsh grass. His song at best is so weak and low 

 as to seem like the note of an insect, to one who has 

 never heard it, and is not likely to attract attention 

 unless the listener is very near. 



In nesting habits the Savanna resembles the field 

 sparrow described elsewhere. 



542 c. BRYANT MARSH SPARROW. — Passerculus 

 sandrvichensis bryanti. 



Family : The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 



Length: 4.78-5.30. 



Adults: Similar to the Western savanna sparrow, but darker and 



browner, with sides and breast usually more heavily streaked ; the 



whole head often tinged with yellow. 

 Geographical Distribution : Salt marshes about San Francisco Bay, south 



in winter along the coast to the San Diegan district. 

 California Breeding Range : On marshes of San Francisco and Monterey 



Bays. 

 Breeding Season : May. 



Nest : Placed on the ground, usually in a slight depression. 

 Eggs : 4 or 5 ; grayish white, irregularly blotched with shades of brown 



and marked with light purple. Size 0.73 X 0.57. 



Among the thick rushes of the San Francisco Bay 

 marshes the Bryant Marsh Sparrow makes its home. 

 There you may find it swinging on a tule or warbling a 

 short sweet song, as it flies out over the tangled sedges. 

 Its nest is made on the ground among the coarse 

 meadow grass at a safe distance from the edge of the 

 marsh, to escape high tides. Here in the thickest tus- 

 sock, or perhaps in a hollow in the soil, a thin mat of 



