SHARP-TAILED SPARROW. 91 



DESCRIPTION: Sexes, alike. "Upper parts, light yellowish-red, streaked with brownish-black; the margins 

 of the feathers and scapulars, pale yellowish-white. Tail-feathers, dusky, margined with light 

 yellowish. Lower parts, with the cheeks and a broad band over the eyes, fine buff. Medial line, 

 yellowish anteriorly, nearly white behind. The buff extending to the femorals and along the sides, 

 streaked with brownish-black. Throat, neck, and upper parts of the breast, without any streaks, 

 and plain buff." (B. B. & R.) 



Length, 4.85 inches; wing, 1.96; tail, 2.01 inches. 



SHARP-TAILED SPARROW, 



Ammodramus caadacutas Swainson. 



I^HE salt marshes which border the coast of Massachusetts are usually compara- 

 tively solid or at least firm enough to bear the weight of a man, but some spots 

 are very peculiar, being composed of soft mud overlaid -with sod. Thus these sloughs, 

 as they are termed, are very deceptive, as the surface which looks solid to the eye, 

 proves very yielding to the feet, and the unwary pedestrian finds himself submerged to 

 the armpits in soft, slimy ooze, the odor of which is only exceeded by its pertinacity in 

 adhering to the clothing. These singular places are doubtless the remains of lagoons or 

 small bays, that have been surrounded by the slowly forming marshes which have 

 gradually encroached upon the space occupied by the w^ater. Indeed, this transforma- 

 tion of w^ater into earth may be plainly seen in progress, for some portions are not 

 even covered with vegetation, others merely support the sod; while small peninsulas 

 have made out which are firm enough to walk upon. These are covered with a species 

 of short, wiry grass that grows very thickly, and, as it is never cut, the dead growth 

 of previous seasons accumulates, forming a mat. The insecurity of the footing prevents 

 cattle or other mammals from wandering on such places, thus the localities are com- 

 paratively lonely and just suited for the home of some retiring species of bird. The 

 Sharp-tailed Finches are aware of this fact, for here they find excellent breeding 

 grounds, as they are almost entirely free from invasion. The thick matting of dead grass 

 is admirably adapted to nest building, and their neat domiciles are almost always 

 placed in it, while the overhanging grass serves to hide them. I know of but few birds 

 which take so much pains to conceal their eggs as the Sharp-tailed Finches. They will 

 frequently form a path for nearly a yard under the grass, by which they enter the nest 

 that is placed in a thicket at the end. The female, w^hen sitting, is extremely difficult 

 to start, and then I have nearly placed my foot on her before she would fly. As will 

 readily be perceived by the foregoing description, the nests are not easy to discover, 

 and it is only by carefiiUy examining every foot of the ground that I ever found one. 

 They breed in communities in the localities which I have described, and I have found as 

 many as eight nests in a space not larger than a half acre." (Maynard.) 



The Sharp-tailed Sparrow is practically confined to the salt and brackish marshes 

 of the coast from Prince Edward's Island and Nova Scotia south to North Carolina, 



