40 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



doubted in the destruction of grasshoppers and other in- 

 sects injurious to the interests of vegetation. They are 

 probably as faithful as the meadow larks in searching 

 among the roots of the grass for hidden insects and lurk- 

 ing larvae, though their services in this direction are not 

 so prolonged, since they come later and leave earlier. 

 They are said to feed also on small berries and the tender 

 buds of plants, and from the edge of the water to pick up 

 a small proportion of animal food. 



GKASSHOPPER SPARROW. 



"Surely," exclaims a reader, "you do not mean to in- 

 clude the grasshopper sparrow among your musicians! 

 Or at least you do not mean to characterize the faint, 

 shrilling performance of the grasshopper sparrow as 

 music!" And why not, pray tell? To the sympathetic 

 ear the voice of the humble grasshopper sparrow is as 

 necessary to the harmony of the meadow overture as the 

 clear piping of the meadow lark or the jingling triangle 

 of the bobolink. The leading instruments of the orches- 

 tra usually receive our attention, yet the accompanying 

 pieces are chiefly responsible for the resulting harmony. 

 Taken alone, the notes of the minor parts are harsh and 

 unmelodious; but sounded in time and concord with the 

 cornet, the first violin, and the double bass, they assist in 

 producing an effect delightful and harmonious. Thus it 

 is with the voice of our little accompanist in the mottled 

 brown coat. Heard alone at close station, it is seemingly 

 shrill and unmusical; but in the midst of expanded ver- 

 dure, following the lead of other meadow voices, its noon- 

 day crooning produces a dreamy harmony perfectly in 

 accord with the thoughts of the listener. And how fitting 

 is the bird's name! Who would ever think, on first hear- 

 ing the wheezy, burring trill of the hidden performer, 

 that it was not the stridulating call of a grasshopper or 

 other insect nestling in the grass? Of all the bird voices 

 of the meadow, for its interesting originality and its effect 

 in ensemble, we can least spare that of the little grass- 

 hopper sparrow. 



