to take a breath between notes. We have seen him sing, sprawled Hat on a log 

 in a hot day, with wings outspread, and taking a stin bath. The song is always 

 very brief, as if he would not tire his listeners, though he gives them an encore 

 with hearty grace. Individual birds dilter in song, no two singing their dozen 

 notes exactly alike. 



While his mate is patiently waiting to get the best results from her four 

 or five party-colored eggs, the song-sparrow sings constantly, never far from the 

 nest in the bush or the low tree, or even on the ground, where cats are debarred 

 from the vicinity. One never can depend on the exact color of the eggs, for 

 they vary in tint from greenish white to browns and lavender, speckled or clouded, 

 "just as it happens." 



y\nd tiie feathers of the l^rds ha\e all these colors mingled and dotted and 

 striped, and dashed off, as you may see for yourself, by looking out of the window 

 or taking a still stroll down along the creek. 



The song-sparrow has a pert little way of sticking its tail straight up like a 

 wren when it runs — and it is always running about. In our grounds they follow 

 us like kittens, keeping up their happy chirp as if glad they ever lived and were 

 blessed with feet and a beak. 



The nest of the song-sparrow is compact and snug, with little loose material 

 about the base of it. We have had a long hunt many a time to find it. If we 

 are in the vicinity of it the two birds follow us, chirping, never going straight 

 to the nest, but wandering as we wander, picking up food in the way, and appear- 

 ing to hold a chatty conversation. It is not evident that they are trying to conceal 

 the fact that they have a nest and that we are near it ; for if we sit down and 

 wait, the mother goes straight to it without a sign of fear. But we must wait a 

 long while sometimes, until dinner is over, for these birds seem to remain away 

 from the nest longer at a time than most birds do. They feed their young on 

 larvae, pecked out of the loose earth, and tiny seeds from under the bu.shes, or 

 soft buds that have fallen. They pick up a whole beakful, never being satisfied 

 with the amount collected. So it drips from the corners of their mouths in an 

 odd fashion, and some of it escapes, especially if it have feet of its own. 



We have not seen a nest of any other than a dark color. Horsehairs make 

 almost half of it, and the outside is of grass closely woven around. The young 

 birds are not "scared out of their wits," as are some birdlings. if a stranger 

 appears, but will snuggle down and look one in the face. Once off and out they 

 are always hungry, following the parent birds with a merry chirp, with the usual 

 upward inflection. They come early to our garden table, where crumbs of cake 

 and other things tcm])t them to eat too much, .\fter thev are filled they hop a 

 few feet away, and sit ruffled all up, and blinking with satisfaction. 



Once we played a j^retty trick on the sparrows. Knowing their preference 

 for sweets, we placed a saucer of black New Orleans molasses on the table, with 

 a few crumbs sprinkled on the top. Of course the birds took the crumbs, and 

 of course, again, they took a taste of the molasses. It wasn't a day before they 



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