96 OUR WINTER BIRDS 



feeds on the ground, but he may rob nests or take 

 frozen apples from the trees, and his bill-of-fare 

 varies as widely as the difference between eggs and 

 apples indicates. 



Generalized species are called adaptive, because 

 they can adapt themselves to life almost anywhere. 

 As a rule they are the successful species and are far 

 more abundant than those which require a particular 

 kind of haunt, nesting-site and food. Just as a man 

 who can "get on well" anywhere is much more apt to 

 succeed than one who is unhappy and uncomfortable 

 unless he can have things exactly as he wants them. 



The secret of the English Sparrow's success is 

 his generalized habits. He seems equally at home 

 in the city or country, on cobble streets, or in the 

 barnyard; he eats almost anything and appears to 

 relish it, and any place that will hold his nesting 

 material suits him for a home. 



In attempting to classify birds by their haunts we 

 have no difficulty with the specialized species, but it 

 is not so easy to place the generalized species where 

 they belong. Of the birds which we Include in this 

 section, the Crow, Goldfinch, Siskin, Redpoll and 

 Bob-white may be found at times in the woods as 

 well as in the fields, but since we will doubtless see 

 them more frequently in the open, we may class them 

 as Field Birds. 



