GRASS FINCH. fly aa 
as unlike them as the humming-bird. All four 
birds have strong wings, however, and so, as a 
group, contrast with the sparrows in No. 4, and 
the wrens and thrashers in No. 10. 
LIV. 
-GRASS FINCH; VESPER SPARROW ; BAY-WINGED 
BUNTING. 
WHEN riding in the country it is well to carry 
your opera-glass and examine the birds you find 
on the fences along the road. Sparrows are very 
common, and if you see one running along the 
fence ahead of you, whose streaked back seems 
too light for a song sparrow, you will do well to 
watch him closely. When he flies up, if you see 
white tail feathers, you know who your friend is 
at once; the meadow-lark and the grass finch are 
two of the commonest of the few white tail-feath- 
ered birds. His white breast and sides are streak- 
ed, and the markings on his back almost give the 
effect of stripes. But the chestnut-brown on his 
wings and his white tail feathers are enough to 
distinguish him among the sparrows. His song 
resembles that of the song sparrow, but while it 
wants the cheery brightness we love in that, its 
plaintive element gives it a richness which the 
other lacks. 
The grass finch is a timorous little bird, and his 
