WINTER filRDS IN A CITY PARK. 369 



The first birds I saw were the rugged and noisy English spar- 

 rows, written down in most bird books as " pests," but I confess I 

 could not resist giving them a crumb or two, for they appeal to 

 my sympathies much as the plucky little gamin newsboys of the 

 streets do, and then, too, I have learned that their loud chatter and 

 rush for food attract more desirable acquaintances. I soon heard 

 the sharp, shrill peep of the white-throated sparrows, and listened 

 to their scratching " with both feet " under the bushes. jSTow and 

 then one would try his throat with his full song, two sweet whistles 

 followed by very plain calls for " Peabody, peabody, peabody." 

 They are called the peabody bird by many. There is no mistaking 

 this beautiful sparrow. Among a bunch of his noisy English neigh- 

 bors the rich brown of his feathers is easily seen, and the three white 

 stripes on his head and the white patch on the throat attract your 

 eye at once. In a group of thirty or forty whitethroats that were 

 feeding on my bird seed I noticed also two plump song sparrows. 

 They are brovm, too, but smaller than the whitethroats, and their 

 breasts are streaked with dark-brown stripes, with a spot right in 

 the center. This is the sparrow that makes music for us from very 

 early spring until late in the autumn. I have heard them in Feb- 

 ruary, with the snow yet on the ground, perched on the tip of some 

 bush and singing away with a joyfulness that made everything take 

 on a more cheerful look. While I was watching the whitethroats 

 I heard the jolly little song that I especially hoped for, and very 

 soon had a near view of wee Mr. Chickadee himself, with his jet- 

 black head, throat, and chin, and gray cheeks. He, in company 

 with several of his friends, came down to feed at once, and hopped 

 about my feet and a near-by bench to pick up the bits of pea- 

 nut I had dropped for his benefit. The chickadees are always 

 " chummy " little birds, and seem to have found their human ac- 

 quaintances in general pretty good sort of people. After a time 

 I put some peanut crumbs in my hand and held it out invitingly. 

 The chickadees would alight on the tree over my head, sing their 

 song, look down inquiringly, and then fly off, apparently inter- 

 ested in searching for some important business they had overlooked 

 on the bark of another tree. Gradually, however, one became 

 more familiar and finally lighted on my hand with entire confi- 

 dence, selected the largest piece of peanut to be had, and flew away 

 to eat it. He held the bit between both feet on a bench, and leaned 

 forward and pecked away until it disappeared. Occasionally he 

 would hold a small piece in one foot only. One little fellow stopped 

 to sing me his Chick-a-dee-dee-dee, as he perched on my little fin- 

 ger, before selecting his morsel. They followed me about the 

 paths, and wherever I stopped there were sure to be several chicka- 

 vot LVi— 29 



