EARLY SPRING BIRDS 



ON a mild day late in February or early in March, 

 before winter is really over and snow has entirely 

 disappeared, one may hear the cheerful voice of the song 

 sparrow, the welcome chirp of the robin, or the sweet note 

 of the bluebird. Even though ice and snow return, cour- 

 age is renewed with the advent of winged messengers who 

 presage the ever fresh miracle of spring, and who hold 

 home-love in their hearts so strong that they brave cold 

 and distance to return to the "Land of Their Hearts' De- 

 sire. 



As the season advances, other birds arrive. A "dusky 

 line" of wild geese "honk" noisily; flocks of grackles 

 "creak" from the pines; red-winged blackbirds join the 

 hylas in awakening the marshes; phoebes call disconso- 

 lately for their mates; fox sparrows, chewinks, and white- 

 throats sing melodiously from thickets; cowbirds appear 

 in fields, which ring with the clear songs of meadowlarks 

 and the tender notes of field and vesper sparrows. 

 Mourning doves coo gently to each other; chipping spar- 

 rows make their homes in our gardens; kingfishers sound 

 their rattles; flickers and red-headed woodpeckers raise 

 their loud voices. The hills "clap their hands with joy"; 

 the earth shows a flush of green and gold ; trees and shrubs 

 are touched with colors more exquisite than in autumn; 

 wild-flowers carpet the woods and fields, and brooks join 

 in the chorus of bird-song. 



As the birds appear, it is not difficult to distinguish 



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