Decline and disappearance of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow from Merritt Island, Florida

American Birds
By:

Links

Abstract

The Dusky Seaside Sparrow, Ammospiza maritima nigrescens, was first discovered by Charles J. Maynard near Salt Lake on the St. Johns River west of Titusville, Brevard County, Florida, on March 17, 1872. Later that spring, Maynard found the sparrow to be quite common in the salt marsh on the Canaveral Peninsula in what is now the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on the John F. Kennedy Space Center. The first Dusky nests were found 42 years later when Oscar E. Baynard and Henry Simpson located three on the peninsula along the edge of Indian River on May 21, 1914. The sparrow was abundant in the marsh on the east of the Indian River until the 1950s. By the early 1960s, the sparrow had disappeared from much of its former range and a decline occurred in an area under study on Merritt Island.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Decline and disappearance of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow from Merritt Island, Florida
Series title American Birds
Volume 34
Issue 5
Year Published 1980
Language English
Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description 728-737
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title American Birds
First page 728
Last page 737
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details