BIRDS FOR EVERYBODY 83 
the most pleasing, or otherwise interesting, of all 
our birds are among those which may be called 
birds for everybody. Such are the robin, the 
bluebird, the Baltimore oriole, — or golden robin, 
—the blue jay, the crow, and the chickadee. Of 
all these we may say that they are common ; they 
come in every one’s way, and, what is still more 
to the point, they cannot be mistaken for any- 
thing else. Others are equally common, and are 
easily enough seen, but their identity is not so 
much a matter of course. 
The song sparrow, for example, is abundant in 
Massachusetts from the middle of March to the 
end of October. Outside of the forest itis almost 
ubiquitous; it sings beautifully and with the 
utmost freedom; it ought, one would say, to be 
universally known. But it is a@ sparrow, not the 
sparrow. In other words, it is only one of many, 
and so, common as it is, and freely as it sings (it 
is to be heard in every garden and by every road- 
side in the latter half of March, when few other 
birds are in tune), it passes unrecognized by the 
generality of people. They read in books of song 
sparrows, chipping sparrows, field sparrows, tree 
sparrows, swamp sparrows, vesper sparrows, white- 
throated sparrows, fox sparrows, yellow-winged 
sparrows, savanna sparrows, and the like, and 
when they see any little mottled brown bird, 
