NOTES ON THE IPSWICH SPARROW 
(.Passerculus princeps Mayri) 
CHARLES JOHNSON MAYNARD 
In response to an invitation of the editors of the Bulletin 
of the Essex County Ornithological Club to give an account 
of my experiences with the Ipswich Sparrow, I have written 
the following notes: 
On December 4, 1868, I was walking over the Ipswich 
sand-dunes in search of birds. At that date this section was 
even more desolate than it is at the present time for the 
depressions among the sand-hills, now largely covered with 
low bushes and other trees, were without vegetation of any 
kind. I had been looking especially for Lapland Longspurs, 
but my search was unsuccessful, and as it was getting near 
sundown I was making my way back to the Woodbury house 
(which stood near the southwest corner of the sandy area) 
where I had been staying for a few days. I had come to some 
low dunes near the Essex River, where beach-grass was growing 
in abundance, when a sparrow started out of it quite near me. 
It darted rapidly away, but alighted in the grass a few rods 
from where I stood. Somewhat surprised to see a sparrow 
at this late date, so far north and in such a bleak place, I 
approached the grass patch in which it was hiding. After 
some trouble I again started it. It rose wildly as before, 
but this time, being ready, I took a snap shot and secured it. 
As soon as I saw that I had a species that was new to 
me I instantly went in search of more. After a time I suc¬ 
ceeded in starting another, but this one rose too far for a 
successful shot and I did not get it. It continued to fly until 
I lost sight of it in the distance. 
Although I was fairly familiar with our native sparrows 
at that time, I was, of course, unable to identify my new 
capture. When I took it to Cambridge and showed it to 
Mr. J. A. Allen, then in charge of the birds of the Museum of 
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