OF VIRGINIA 22 
[550]. Passerherbulus maritimus maritimus (Wilson). 
Seaside Sparrow. 
Ranex.—Salt marshes of the Atlantic Coast. Breeds 
chiefly in the Upper Austral zone from southern Massa- 
chusetts to Virginia; winters from Virginia to Georgia. 
On the chain of islands stretching northward from Cape 
Charles, this is the most common sparrow. They prefer 
the inner or landward side of the islands, and, like 
hundreds of rats, they glide in and out among the drift, 
low bushes, and grass, in search of food. Even when 
incubating her eggs, the female is hard to make fly any 
great distance, generally slipping from the nest and 
running off amongst the grass or drift. The male has 
a pretty habit of flying from a bush, skyward, all 
the while uttering his song, at the end of which he 
turns and sails back to his perch again. The nests are 
either placed under banked-up seaweed caused by the 
equinoctial storms, or in the tall grass, or in, or at the 
foot of, a bush, the latter cases sometimes being six inches 
above ground. The nest is composed of dry marsh and 
eel grass, lined with finer grasses. The eggs, three to five 
in number, a greenish-white, blotched and spotted with 
reddish-brown, and some little lilac. Size, .77x.56. A 
series shows a marked difference as to ground color, mark- 
ings, size; and material used in the nest construction. 
Fresh eggs May 20th to June 7th; their breeding date 
depending much on the weather conditions, and late high 
tides. Many birds of this species remain throughout the 
entire year. Only one brood a season. Their food is 
similar to the Sharp-tailed Sparrow, also their manner and 
places for procuring same. They also breed on the main- 
land from Cape Henry southward, and on the western 
side of Chesapeake Bay. 
