A LOWLAND TRILLER. 91 



a " 2;reat nuisance." Of course I liad to cor- 

 rect his ornithology by telling him that the 

 sweet minstrels were American birds and quite 

 distinct from the English sparrows which he 

 was berating. 



His ignorance of the bird life around him 

 gave me food for reflection. He had been liv- 

 ing at this old homestead for at least half a 

 century. During all that time the song spar- 

 rows had been trilling merrily about the house 

 and in the meadows of his broad farm, and yet 

 he had never learned to distinguish them from 

 that ill-mannered foreigner, the English spar- 

 row. Verily, as the Scripture says, there are 

 persons who, "having eyes, see not." It is 

 time that we Americans were learning that we 

 have native sparrows and that they are very 

 charming birds. Among them none are more 

 captivating than our versatile song sparrow. 



Yes, it was th^ mottle-breasted little triller 

 of our lowlands that had as much to do with 

 making me a bird lover as anything else. I 

 am greatly in his debt. I make my bow to 

 the song sparrow, and never tire of his trills. 



You will find his dwellings in marshes, 

 along streams, and in low grounds. He seems 

 to be especially fond of damp places, and you 

 may often see him hopping along the margin 



