44 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



characteristic call, even exhausting the limited patience 

 of the interested bird-gazer who wishes the bird would do 

 something besides sitting there and uttering that monoto- 

 nous grasshopper trill, yet who is aware that any move- 

 ment on his part may drive the diminutive performer 

 immediately into the grass beyond recall. 



The grasshopper sparrow further evinces its disposition 

 for privacy by the concealment it seeks for its home, and , 

 by guarding its secrecy afier the home has been estab- 

 lished. It chooses a depression at the base of a tuft of 

 grass, or a nook beside the roots of adjacent tufts. In its 

 general plan the nest is a miniature of the home of the 

 meadow lark, except that the roof of the grassy cot is a 

 continuation of the bottom and sides, and hence it can be 

 removed as a whole from its recess among the bases of 

 the grassy stems. 



The eggs are clear white, having a perceptible polish, 

 and are spotted irregularly with reddish brown. Their 

 breadth is large in comparison with their length, and in 

 all respects they are quite ditferent from the eggs of our 

 common sparrows. They vary greatly in size, averaging 

 about .75 by .58 of an inch in length and breadth. 



I chanced upon my last nest of this sparrow in crossing 

 -a small hayfield. The female darted out of the grass at 

 my very feet; in fact, I had stepped over the nest with 

 one foot, and was standing directly over the site thus 

 revealed by the startled owner. The entrance of the 

 grass-thatched hut was in the sloping side, in what might 

 correspond to the upper story of the nest, and was barely 

 large enough to admit the body of the bird into the cozy 

 retreat. Above the roof of the sunless home the rootlets 

 and stems of the grass had spread, so that the nest ap- 

 peared to be sunk among the dark fibers, and was pro- 

 tected on every side except at the entrance. Marking 

 the place by setting up the dried stem of a weed, I re- 

 turned to the nest several hours afterward, approaching 

 it on the side of the entrance to observe the owner at 

 home. As I stealthily drew near the ne«^t and peered 

 over the heads of surrounding timothy, I found the little 

 creature nestling on her treasures, the opening of the nest 

 being large enough for me to note the lines of yellow ra- 



