25 



The thought of FIELD SPARROWS 

 always recalls to mind very hot, dry, 

 weedy and bush-covered hillsides or 

 thickets, for in just such places they 

 are always abundant during summer. 

 This species is easily known because of 

 small size, comparatively long tail and 

 rufous markings of head and sides of 

 breast. They are just as easily identi- 

 fied by their flfe-like songs, consisting 

 of five or six clear shrill notes of 

 which the first is lower pitched and the 

 last ends in a little descending trill. 

 This song is continued tlirough the hot- 

 test days of summer when nearly every 

 other species is silent except perhaps 

 Indigo Buntings and Wood Pewees 

 both of which, also like extreme 

 wa?-mth. 



Field Sparrows make their little fine- 

 grass nests either on the ground or 

 near it in bushes or weeds. — just such 

 places as Song Sparrows also choose. 

 The eggs of the present species are 

 slightly smaller and much, less coarsely 

 and profusely spotted, easily identified 

 even tliough tlie birds do not appear. 



e-# r,'jL 



are captivating^ but their songs are quite uninteresting — 

 just a rapid^ unmusical chippering^ which;, however, they 

 continue singing throughout the summer months. They are 

 very frequentl}^ imposed upon by Cowbirds, and we often 

 find a single egg of that species reposing among the pretty 

 black-specked blue ones of the ChipiDy. 



Handsomest of all the family are WHITE-THROATED 

 SPARROWS, whose pure white throat stands forth like a 

 new bib against the gray of the breast and sides of the 

 head. The crown is handsomely striped with black and 

 white and, to add a bit of color, a spot of yellow is on 

 either side of the forehead. We know this species chiefly 

 as migrants, but many of them remain in suitable localities 

 in the higher portions of our range. During the latter 

 part of April, we may find them on the ground or among 

 underbrush in open woods, in parks or even about shrubbery 

 in our gardens. White-throated Sparrows have very pleas- 

 ing and unusual songs — a series of five or six clear, piping, 

 high-pitched whistles, of which the first is the lowest. 



A common species that is often overlooked is the GRASS- 

 HOPPER SPARROW. He is a queer little chap with 

 short tail and plump, quail-like form, but the strangest 

 thing about him is his song, which is very insect-like in 



