Bird Study 93 



2. Where was this bird when you heard him singing? How high was 

 he perched above the ground? What other notes did you hear him utter? 



3. Describe the colors and markings of the song sparrow on head, 

 back, throat, breast, wings and tail. Is this bird as large as the English 

 sparrow? What makes it look more slim? 



4. How can you distinguish the song sparrow from the other spar- 

 rows? When disturbed does it fly up or down? How does it gesture 

 with its tail as it disappears in the bushes? 



5. Where and of what material does the song sparrow build its nest? 



6. What colors and markings are on the eggs? Do you think these 

 colors and markings are useful in concealing the eggs when the mother 

 bird leaves the nest? 



7. How late in the season do you see the song sparrows and hear their 

 songs? Does this bird, when disturbed, fly up or down? 



8. How can we protect these charming little birds and induce them to 

 build near our houses? 



9. What is the food of the song sparrows and how do they benefit our 

 fields and gardens? 



Supplementary reading Our Birds and Their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 

 43, 49, 50, 52; Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 80; Birds of Song and 

 Story, Grinnell, p. 73; The Song Sparrow, Van Dyke; Birds Through 

 an Opera Glass, Merriam, p. 66; Field Book of Wild Birds, Mathews, p. 

 109; Wild Life, Ingersoll, p. 144; Audubon Leaflet No. 31. 



THE SING-AWAY BIRD 



Have you ever heard of the Sing-away bird, 



That sings where the Runaway River 

 Runs down with its rills from the bald-headed hills 



That stand in the sunshine and shiver? 

 "Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!" 

 How the pines and the birches are stirred 

 By the trill of the Sing-away bird! 



And the bald-headed hills, with their rocks and their rills, 

 To the tune of his rapture are ringing; 



And their faces grow young, all the gray mists among, 

 While the forests break forth into singing. 



"Oh sing! sing-away! sing-away!" 



And the river runs singing along; 



And the flying winds catch up the song. 



'T was a white-throated sparrow, that sped a light arrow 



Of song from his musical quiver, 

 A nd it pierced with its spell every valley and dell 



On the banks of the Runaway River. 

 "Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!" 

 The song of the wild singer had 

 The sound of a soul that is glad. LUCY LARCOM. 



