40 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AN D PARK 



chaps as they follow their very hard-working 

 mother about. She keeps up a constant quest 

 for bugs, for the seed crop is not yet ready, and 

 as soon as one is found she calls the nearest 

 youngster to her and hurriedly places the bug 

 in his opened bill. Then at once the search goes 

 on and the performance is repeated. Truly the 

 number of bugs these hungry creatures consume 

 is nothing short of appalling, for the hunt is 

 kept up from morn till night. This is the smallest 

 of our common Sparrows. They range in sum- 

 mer to northern Canada, wintering in the Gulf 

 States and Mexico. 



Vesper Sparrow. This is a bird of the broad, 

 open fields and roadsides where the thick, tall 

 grass hides its ground-built nest. It never 

 comes close about our house as do the Chippy 

 and Song Sparrow, but it is as much a ground 

 dweller as the latter, with which it is often con- 

 fused both in its song and dress. Its clear, 

 plaintive notes are not, however, so loud as the 

 Song Sparrow's and are heard more often toward 

 night when other birds have ceased to sing; 

 hence its name. But during the day its song is 

 also heard in the intervals between the bird's 

 feedings, when it sings for several minutes at a 

 time, repeating over and over its melodious 

 strain. It is not easy to distinguish by words 

 between the two songs, but a little study in the 

 field where both birds dwell will make the dif- 

 ference clear to you; and one should associate 

 the song with the singer to most enjoy it. 



The dress of the Vesper is quite distinctive. 

 The back is dusky brown, rather lighter than 



