Sparrow WESTERN BIRDS 



the grass, then flew up the hill. She was gone twenty- 

 nine minutes and when she came back she perched on 

 a weed stalk and with twitching tail called dear, dear, at 

 me until I stepped about ten feet back, when she took 

 the nest. Once she was safely settled under that leafy 

 canopy she minded not if I sat within four feet of her. 



On the 15th the eggs hatched and three orange- 

 skinned nestlings which were partially covered with 

 black down, took their places. 



Then busy days began for both birds. I was inter- 

 ested to note that from the first they brought visible 

 food to the nestlings, inch-long green worms and dark 

 insects forming part of the diet. 



By placing my camera a few feet from the nest and 

 covering it with a green cloth and sprays of sage, I was 

 able to crawl under it and get a bulb exposure of the 

 male and young, the old bird raising his eyes at the click 

 of the camera but remaining motionless. 



When the young were about a week old they were 

 taken, probably by a prowling cat of the neighborhood. 

 I sometimes wonder that any of our birds succeed in 

 raising their young, so many enemies have they. For 

 the ground-nesters the snakes and cats do their share 

 of mischief. 



In Arizona is found another form of this Sparrow 

 known as Scott's (A. r. scotti), which has paler under 

 parts, and the back with grayer margins. In Texas a 

 third form is called the Rock Sparrow (A. r. eremseca), 

 and has the crown darker, more chestnut than in Scott's 

 Sparrow, and the bill still grayer. These birds are 

 enough alike to be confusing, but since they occupy dif- 

 ferent parts of the country one may be quite sure about 

 them, at least during the nesting season. 



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