ii6 HOW TO STUDY BIRDS 



hard to distinguish the nervous little dodgers. No 

 doubt there Is many a rarity among them which we 

 let go unrecognized. If only each sparrow species 

 were distinct in color, we should find many a good 

 thing. Even as it is, we are always liable to see some 

 bird of special interest in these motley companies. 

 One day, as I drove along a country road, a flock of 

 chippies flew up and alighted on the fence, and among 

 them was a pure white one, a complete albino, a rare 

 freak. Two weeks later I was driving about a mile 

 from that place, when, lo and behold, there was my 

 white chippy again! 



Even more noticeable than the flocking of sparrows 

 is that of the swallows and of the various blackbirds. 

 The former will be seen in long rows on the wires, or 

 flying over water, swamps, or marshes. The various 

 species flock together. They begin to gather in July, 

 but more noticeably In August, which is also true of 

 the blackbirds. Crow blackbirds and red-wings 

 swarm on the marshes in united armies. The former 

 by themselves gather in compact flocks in towns and 

 perform varied evolutions in the air, dashing over 

 houses with a roar of wings like thunder. The bob- 

 olinks had reared their young by early July, and be- 

 gan flocking forthwith. By the latter part of July 

 the black and white males are In a mottled plumage, 

 changing to the yellowish-striped garb of the female 

 and young, — " reed-birds," or " rice-birds," they are 

 now called, thoroughly changed in character. In 

 some sections the European starling has entered the 



