A SECOND SPARROW STUDY. 



THIS time it is a little company of sparrows on 

 the ground. Here we have all the ages and 

 varieties. We call them brown birds; but see the 

 gray, slate, tan, and other browns almost to black. 



Trace the colors in wing and tail feathers; note 

 the shapes and sizes of patches. Did you know that 

 the wing feathers were bird finger nails numbered in 

 different species according to their need ? Pairs of 

 tail feathers, too, have their convenient length, differ- 

 ent in sparrows, swallows, and other species. Watch 

 the sparrows as they rise into the air; some birds 

 which fly well could not do it so easily. The tail 

 helps to tell the story of rising and falling. 



Get the wing of a fowl and see from what bones the 

 quills grow out — primary, secondary, and coverts ; 

 that is, quills of the hand, quills of the middle joint, 

 and quills of the upper joint. 



The cut of the wings and tail would make a bird- 

 study all by itself ; we can begin it while we are 

 learning to know the birds. 



The size of the bird is another point for study; we 

 begin it when two or more birds are compared. 



By this time you have gained more than you can 



