The Birds' Calendar 



ging behind somcwlicre in Soutli Carohna) a 

 suspicious rustle in the low bushes betrayed a 

 larger bird, which took flight as I a[)proached ; 

 its size, a little smaller than the robin, black 

 body, chestnut sides, and the " white feather" 

 it shows in the tail as it flies, proved it to be the 

 chewink or towhee bunting. It is not yet in 

 song, and allusion will be made to it again. 



A most humble specimen of a humble group 

 is the field sparrow, considerably like the 

 ''chipper," but its markings even less dis- 

 tinctive, the most significant feature being the 

 reddish tinge of the bill. Its note, too, is 

 quite different from the familiar sound of the 

 chipping sparrow. While not an uncommon 

 bird, its shyness and resemblance to its bolder 

 and more noisy congener make it a compara- 

 tively unfamiliar species. 



Close upon the field sparrow I stumbled 

 ui)on an unusually beautiful warbler, which one 

 may well be enthusiastic about, for it is one of 

 the daintiest of the family, bound literally in 

 blue and gold and white, and in form and col- 

 oring one could hardly imagine anything more 

 exquisite. A light ashy-blue spreads over the 

 upper part of the body and wings, finely sprin- 

 kled with gold in the centre of the back, 



12S 



