Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2003 23:42:42 +0000 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Hawk Bill Subject: Sharp-tailed Sparrows Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed This summer I visited Scarborough Marsh in Maine where both Nelson's and Salt-Marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows breed. They gave me the following to help distinguish the two species. I thought you might find this interesting. I am quoting and the capital letters are as shown by them: Nelson's Shorter. BLUE beak Slight rounding of head toward beak Gray back Dull orange face patch Malar stripe wider & less distinct Washed-out breast streaking Louder song Nests in Spartina patens Flight more of a parabola (not always true) Salt-Marsh Longer, YELLOW beak Head flatter toward beak Brown streaky back Bright orange face patch Malar stripe thin & crisp Clear breast streaking Whisper song Nests in Spartina patens - Found more often in Juncus gerardi than Nelsons"s Flight parallel to ground (not always true) Dan Eberly Bethesda, MD _________________________________________________________________ Get MSN 8 and enjoy automatic e-mail virus protection. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================