A Book on Birds 



who can light on a tall weed with him 

 in the center of a field and not bend it 

 much more than he does; and whose 

 eggs — silver-white with a wreath of brown 

 and gold and hlac spots, circling the larger 

 end, are about the daintiest things in 

 ornithology); the Field Sparrow (whose 

 evening hymn — a series of exquisite minor- 

 thirds beginning very slowly and running 

 together at the end, like sparkling dew- 

 drops on a blade of grass — is so plaintive 

 and tender that once clearly heard it 

 will never be forgotten); — these five — 

 and then, less easily found, the Fox, the 

 Tree, the White-throated, the Swamp, 

 the Savannah sparrows, and several others 

 — not to include our town bird, the 

 English Sparrow, who cannot sing, has 

 bad manners, and really doesn't belong 

 in the group at all. 



Taking these to begin with, you will 

 have plenty to do for many a day. Try 

 it and see — not neglecting the others 

 altogether (for you cannot do that), but 

 making these the chief subjects of study. 



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