176 



food that was brought, although^ occasionally a caterpillar 

 or a hard-shelled beetle would be brought in. Nearly all 

 their food was gathered from the ground, in fact many 

 times they would have pieces of grass also in their beaks, 

 that they had accidentally pulled up while seizing the in- 

 sects. 



Fig. 152. YOUNG FIELD SPARROWS. 



On the twelfth day after the eggs hatched, the nest was 

 empty; the young were near by for the parents were anx- 

 iously calling, but we were able to find but two of them. 



Grasshopper Sparrow. 



This is one of the most inconspicuous of all sparrows. 

 The bird itself is of a rather shy nature and seldom allows 

 one to approach sufficiently near to study it in detail with- 

 out the aid of a good field glass. Its song is just a weak 

 insect-like chirping or rather buzzing, a sound that would es- 



