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Range (Eastern North America breeds) (XXVII)

Eastern North America; breeds from northern Illinois and Pennsylvania northward to Labrador; winters from southern Illinois and Massachusetts to the Gulf. Washington, very common T. V., Apl. to May 15; Sept. 25 to Oct. 30; a few winter. Sing Sing, tolerably common S. R., Apl. 4 to Dec. 2; a few winter. Cambridge, abundant S. R., Apl. 12 to Nov. 10; a few winter. Nest, generally similar to that of M. fasciata, on the ground. Eggs, four to five, similar in color to those of M. fasciata, but the markings are generally more confluent, 76 × 57.

While wintering in the south, Swamp Sparrows frequently belie their name, and I have often found numbers of them in dry "old fields" of broom sedge; but at the north they are more consistent, and one rarely sees them beyond the confines of a wet meadow, or, more preferably, a large grassy marsh with reed-bordered streams. Swamp Sparrows may be distinguished from their cousins, the Song Sparrows, by their unstreaked breasts and totally different notes. Their FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. usual call-note is a sharp cheep, not unlike that of the White-throated Sparrow, and quite different from the rather nasal chimp of the Song