THE SONG SPARROW. 135 



ing as in spring, indeed, but in a subdued and tender modu- 

 lation, peculiar to the time of year. One of our commonest 

 birds, found anywhere from the door-yard to the forest, 

 rather partial, however, to thickets, the Song Sparrow is 

 the useful ally of man against the insect-tribes, and a 

 happy minstrel to cheer him in his toils. 



Already in April this bird builds its first nest, a second 

 following as soon as possible, and perhaps a third. Thus 

 the breeding season continues to the end of summer. I 

 have seen the eggs fresh the last days of August, and the 

 young in the nest in September. The nest is usually on the 

 ground, and well sheltered by some projecting object — a 

 bush, a tussock of grass, a root, or a hummock of earth; 

 but it may be in a bush, or in a hedge, or even in a broken 

 dish. In the latter part of the season the nests are much more 

 frequently up from the ground — in a hedge or in a bush — 

 than in the early spring, perhaps because the birds thus 

 seek to escape the disturbances of cultivation — haying, 

 harvesting, and the grazing herds of the pasture. The 

 nest is composed for the most part of dried grasses, and is 

 often lined with horse-hair. The eggs, from .77 X. 55- 

 .85 X .60, vary greatly in color and in marking. The ground- 

 color is a greenish, or bluish, or grayish-white. The mark- 

 ing, generally very thick and heavy, is of some shade of 

 brown, traced with lilac. There is sometimes a single ^^^ 

 in a set, of a delicate green, and almost spotless. I know 

 of no eggs which vary so greatly in color. 



I do not so frequently find the Cow Blackbird's eggs in 

 this nest as in that of other small birds in general. 

 The Song Sparrow is quite excitable when its nest is dis- 

 turbed, and emits a peculiar chimps chimp, unlike the alarm 

 note of any other bird, yet it has sometimes the chip peculiar 

 to other Sparrows. 



