220 



CITIZEN BIRD 



THE A'ESPER SPAKROW 

 (Thk Grass Finch) 



^' Please, uncle, before 

 this Sparrow, 

 sort of a 



' you tell us about 

 will you look at a 

 striped, dull-brown bird 

 that has been fidgeting 

 over there under the 

 bushes ever since we have 

 been here ? " 



" I have been 

 watching him 

 too," said Rap ; 

 "a minute ago, 

 when he flew 

 over the stone 

 fence, I saw he 

 had white feath- 

 ers outside on 

 ;iil — now he is back 



" How v^ery kind that bird is 

 to come when lie is wanted, 

 and save my time — it is the 

 Yesper Sparrow himself. I sus- 

 pect that we are nearer to his 

 nest than he cares to have us, he is so uneasy." 



" Where would the nest most likely be ? " asked 

 Nat ; " in a tree or a bush ? " 



" Most Sparrow nests are near the ground," said Rap. 



" A little lower yet. Rap ; the Yesper Sparrow sinks 



his deep nest either in thick grass or in the ground 



Vesper Spakrow. 



