52 BIRDS ON THE WING. 



eye cannot always follow, threading the foliage 

 with black and gold like shuttles gone wild ! And 

 yet they will soon emerge without the loss of a 

 feather, and alighting on perches not far apart, 

 hurl their scorn at each other in loud, explosive 

 trills. 



Have you noticed that our native spari-ows, al- 

 though some of them are quite expert on the wing 

 for short distances, seldom indulge in long flights ? 

 There is quite a difference between the short, zig- 

 zag plunges and starts of the song sparrow and the 

 long, swift passages of the English sparrows from 

 the house to the woods and back again. The fox 

 sparrow, the grass-finch, the bush sparrow and the 

 grasshopper sparrow only fly far enough, as a rule, 

 to find refuge from a real or imaginary enemy. 

 One would suppose that birds which are not more 

 inured to long-continued efforts would become 

 greatly wearied during their semi-annual migra- 

 tions. It is probable, however, that they do not at 

 any time make long journeys, but flit at easy stages 

 from one feeding place to another until their des- 

 tination is reached. 



Much as most people despise the English spar- 

 row, all of us must concede that he is agile on the 

 wing. (Why might not one coin a word and say 



