864 



Rural School Leaflet. 



evening we hear the melody and then we reaHze how truly is he called 



the " Vesper* Sparrow." 



Where to look. — The Vesper Sparrow is a typical bird of the open 



country. He does not appear until the forests have been cleared away. 



Then he becomes one of the most common birds of the open fields, 



the garden, and the roadside. 



What to look for. — The surest way to recognize the Vesper Sparrow^ 



is to see the white outer tail feathers. The Meadow Lark • also dis- 

 plays white patches in its tail 

 but it is a much larger bird, 

 being the size of a Robin. 

 The Junco, about which we 

 talked last winter also, has 

 the white outer tail feathers 

 but you will recall that it is 

 an even slaty black above. 

 The Vesper Sparrow is gray- 

 ish brown and streaked. 

 When you cannot see the 

 white tail feathers, the Vesper 

 Sparrow quite closely re- 

 sembles the Song Sparrow, 

 both being of about the 

 same size and having streaked 

 breasts. The Vesper Spar- 

 row, however, is much grayer 

 and lacks the large spot in 

 the middle of the breast 

 which is so characteristic of 

 Nest and eggs of the Vesper :iparrow ^-^^ Song Sparrow. 



Observations. — ■ 



1. Try to learn the song of the Vesper Sparrow. It is a much clearer 

 and purer whistle than that of the Song Sparrow and begins with two 

 short notes of the same pitch instead of three. 



2. What would you say of the importance of this bird to the farmer? 

 Its food varies considerably with the seasons. In the winter it is 

 principally vegetable, consisting of the seeds of ragweed, pigeon 

 grass, crab grass, and the like. During the remainder of the year, a 

 preference is shown for insects. In the spring, many weevils and 

 click beetles are eaten and later an abundance of crickets and grass- 

 hoppers. 



