l/uOGKtST. 
55 
Nesting of the Swamp Sparrow. 
» 
BY ISAAC S.'REIFF, PHILADELPHIA, PENN. 
The Swamp Sparrow ( Melospiza palustris) is 
S the most plentiful species of the family found 
in the eastern part of Philadelphia and Dela- 
ware Counties, if we exclude the least useful 
representative Passer domestieus. It arrives in 
this neighborhood about the last week in April, 
and is found in great numbers on the low 
meadow lands that border on the Delaware and 
Schuylkill River, where it makes its summer 
)•» r> yrj g . 
ist building begins about the twentieth of 
May, and in some cases as early as the fifteenth 
of that month. The number of eggs found in a 
nest varies from four to five, and more often the 
former than the latter number is found. The 
collector who is not weil acquainted with the 
habits of this species would be somewhat sur- 
; prised, on entering a meadow during the breed- 
ing season, to see a number of these birds, and 
| after tramping several hours through tall tan- 
gled grass, mud, water and bunches of tus- 
socks, upon counting up the result of his tire- 
| some hunt to find that the nests discovered will 
j, not average more than one to every ten pairs of 
! birds seen. 
Some years ago before the lower portion of 
Philadelphia was so thickly settled, and the 
relentless small boy became so numerous, the 
favored site for a nest was the centre of a large 
j tussock of grass, but now the greater number 
! of nests found are placed on the ground, or in a 
bunch of sedge grass. When it is placed in 
the latter, or in a tussock, it is composed en- 
tirely of fine yellow grass stems, and is neat 
and compactly built. When placed on the 
ground, however, the outside is composed of 
coarse plant stems, and the inside is thickly 
lined with fine yellow grass, and it is much 
larger than when in the former position. 
his is the jolliest little sparrow that I have 
ever met, and while the breeding season lasts it 
seems as if he could not express his joy forci- 
bly enough to his partner. 
While the female is performing her laborious 
duties, the male, (when not hunting for food) 
will take his position on a weed stalk, or small 
bush, and pour forth his song ; and in his ecstacy 
he will rise in the air to the height of fifteen or 
twenty feet, and then let himself slowly de- 
scend to the ground, all the while keeping up 
his song. I have counted as many as twelve 
birds singing in the air at one time within a 
radius of one hundred and fifty yards. 
