Ipswich, Mass. [Ipswich, Massachusetts]
1874
Nov. 20 [November 20, 1874] but a trifle more mellow. They were
very tame when feeding alone but
accompanied by the wary snow bunting
the case was quite different. The latter
species was not nearly so abundant.
They lit and fed with the shore larks
but did not fly about much with
them. Saw but few of either species on
the sand hills. About noon happening
to strike into a little circular meadow
among the sand hills I flushed a
bird within a few yards of me which
I instantly recognized as Pas. princeps [Passerculus princeps].
I fired at it on wing and secured a
fine specimen. At the report two others
rose and lit near me. These I followed
and killed the first on wing but
missed a hard shot at the other.
I afterwards heard it chirping loudly
but was unable to start it again
though we both hunted for it a long
time. As the bird rises it looks very
large and nearly as white as an
albino. It flies irregularly exactly like
P. savanna [Passerculus savanna] but its size will at
once serve to distinguish it. I did
not see any of them on the
ground, though they permitted in
every case a near approach before
rising. I heard two notes both exactly
like the corresponding ones of savanna
namely the short faint lisp and
a low chuck. While in search of 
the last bird I started a Brachyotus
cassinii within ten yards of me, and