Seaside Finch

No other songbird in North America is so closely tied to salt marsh as the Seaside Sparrow. Except for a few populations in Florida, it is almost never found away from tidal marshes along the immediate coast. With a patchy and disjunct habitat, this species has evolved a number of well-marked local races. One of these, the 'Cape Sable' Seaside Sparrow, was not discovered until 1918; another, the 'Dusky' Seaside Sparrow, recently became extinct despite major efforts by conservationists.