a lower branch of a shade tree by the street. Often, the birds choose cedar 

 bushes or other thick shrubs, and in such cases the nest may be only three or 

 four feet from the ground. 



I recall one pair that built their home in a clematis vine, which grew 

 on the veranda-trellis. Here, day by day, we used to watch the parent-birds 

 bring food to their little ones, and it is astonishing how much labor it requires 

 to keep four baby chipping sparrows supplied with all the food they will 

 eat. Every two or three minutes one of the parents would flit into the clematis 

 vine with food for the young. So far as we could tell, it appeared that the 

 male attended to the duties of caring for the young fully as much as did his 

 mate. This, truly, is the correct way to do; but not all father-birds follow 

 this custom. 



One of the little chipping sparrows seemed to be stronger than the others, 

 and usually raised his head a little higher than his brothers and sisters, and 

 opened his mouth a little wider in an attempt to get all the good things which 

 his parents brought to eat. I fear much of the time he received more than 

 his share. When a little later, however, the young had left the nest, and were 

 learning to fly, this selfish youngster received no more than the others — in 

 fact, on more than one occasion we saw the mother pass him by to give 

 food to a brother or sister that sat farther along on the same limb. 



It would be pleasant to say that all four of these young chipping sparrows 

 grew up and lived happily ever after, but this, alas! would not be telling the 

 truth. Our neighbor had a cat, and the cat knew of the nest in the clematis 

 vine, and no doubt would have torn it down some dark night had we not ar- 

 ranged some boards and a piece of tin in such a way that it could not climb 

 up the vine. But as soon as the young scattered about the lawn, and before 

 they were able to fly more than a few yards at a time, the cat was ready for 

 them, and before noon of the day they left the nest one of the baby birds had 

 disappeared. It was just after luncheon when I heard the angry chipping 

 of our friends, the sparrows, and, dashing out on the veranda, I saw the cat 

 marching away with a bird child in its mouth. That cat was well fed and well 

 cared for, and had all the good food that any reasonable cat could mew for, 

 yet its love for hunting was so strong, that, like almost every other cat that 

 you or I have ever seen, it would catch birds if it had the chance. 



Some of us like cats, but we love birds. Do you wonder that I had dark 

 thoughts when I saw the cat stealing away with one of the innocent little baby 

 birds? For a little while I think I wished that I were a Hon so that I could 

 show the cat how it is to be grabbed up in a big mouth and carried off. The 

 next day only one of the youthful chipping sparrows was to be found, and I 

 am not ;quite sure that it ever grew up to fly away to the south when cold 

 weather came. 



Chipping sparrows are very useful birds, for they destroy "worms" (the 

 caterpillars, or larvae, of moths and butterflies) which eat holes in the vegetables 

 in the graden, and consume grass-blades and the leaves of trees. 



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