■Rural School Leaflet. 945 



OBSERVATIONS 



1. How the Junco looks. 



a. The whole upper parts and back slaty blac^K, the belly white. 



b. White outer tail feathers. 



2. Where to look for the Junco. 



a. Weedy places and patches of shrubbery, along fences and the 

 edge of woods. 



3. The food of the Junco. 



Seeds almost entirely, some insects in the summertime. Note the 

 heavy conical bill for crushing seeds. The Junco is a sparrow 

 and all of the sparrows have this type of bill. 



4. Song. 



You will not hear the Junco during the winter but the first warm 

 days of spring will start him singing. When you hear one com- 

 pare the song with others you have heard and learn to put the 

 birds into groups having similar songs. This is one of the 

 easiest ways to learn bird songs. The Junco's song resembles 

 that of the chipping sparrow. 



5. Peculiar habits. 



a. Note how the Junco spreads its tail when it flies so as to show 

 the white tail feathers which are ordinarily concealed. 



5. Note also that you seldom see a Junco far from the ground. 

 All birds spend most of their time where they find their food 

 and the Junco finds its food on or near the ground. 



6. General. 



The Junco that flow into our window was migrating at night. 

 If you have never heard the birds when they are flying at 

 night, go out some cloudy night next spring during April or 

 May and you will hear their chirping as they fly over. They 

 call to one another in order to keep together. 



TREE STUDY 



Last month we studied the group of trees to which the chestnut, birches, 

 beeches, and oaks belong. Did you place the list of trees in this group 

 on the blackboard? If you have not already done so, do it now so that 

 you will associate the chestnuts, oaks, birches, beeches, and other trees 

 of this group together. 



During November and December let us take some other trees for 

 study. Gather specimens of every kind of evergreen in your vicinity. 



