104 OUR WINTER BIRDS 



he wears a small, dusky badge, while the Chipping 

 Sparrow is unmarked below. 



In voice and character, the cousins are quite unlike. 

 Chippy's call is an insignificant little "chip" which 

 would attract the attention of no one but a bird stu- 

 dent; but the Tree Sparrow's winter notes are a 

 crisp, merry tinkle. The birds are usually in com- 

 panies and when hunting for seeds in old weed-stalks 

 which stick up above the snow, their happy, conver- 

 sational chatter makes one think of a lot of children 

 gathering nuts. A short time before they leave us 

 to return to their summer home in Canada, we may 

 hear their canary-like song. 



We have already seen (p. 5) how much these 

 care-free little seed-eaters do for a farmer. 



