The Inspiring Sparrows. 43 



more persistently before us, the impression would 

 follow of their actual greater abundance, whereas, in 

 fact, they are as numerous now, but, hidden among 

 shrubbery and weeds, although leafless, they are not 

 so conspicuous. And, too, at such times they asso- 

 ciate freely with tree-sparrows and white-throats, and 

 therefore are not so generally noticed, except by the 

 field naturalist on business bent. Whatever the pre- 

 cise state of the case relatively, in fact, they have not 

 become scarce, but remain still a feature of the winter 

 landscape. They do not, I regret to say, congregate 

 about our door-steps as I would like, but it remains 

 with us to effect an improvement in this respect. We 

 should scatter crumbs and seed when there is snow 

 upon the ground, and keep the cats away. I have 

 made them very tame after a deep snow, but they 

 never become reckless. No snare that I ever — as a 

 boy — set up was effective in capturing them, except 

 very rarely. The late Mr. Lockwood has described 

 their diving into snow-banks to reach food that had 

 been covered. This pretty sight I have seldom wit- 

 nessed ; but when they cluster among tall weeds that 

 stand well above the snow, and cling to them as they 

 bend beneath their weight, cheerily chirping the 

 while, we have a delightful winter-day exhibition 

 worth walking far to witness. One word more. An 

 excellent observer maintains that I am wrong. He 

 insists that there occurs, in accordance with the 

 weather, a "wave," as he calls it, of snow-birds from 

 the mountains to the meadows and back again, as 

 the storms and clearing weather alternately prevail. 



