74 A SPARROW QUARTETTE. 



open his mandibles, and distending his throat 

 almost to bursting, he salutes you with his most 

 elaborate lyrical effort. 



He is commonly known as the grass-finch or 

 vesper-sparrow, though called by Mr. Burroughs 

 and Maurice Thompson the field-sparrow. He is 

 larger than his little relatives just described, and if 

 you are in doubt as to his identity, step close to 

 him, and as he darts in a zigzag course down into 

 the grass or to a more distant stake, notice the 

 white lateral feathers of his tail, which he opens 

 and closes like a fan. But you must learn to rec- 

 ognize him without driving him from his song- 

 perch. By the aid of an opera glass you may 

 obtain a good view of his breast, which is white, 

 slightly tinged with buff, and thickly marked with 

 dusky streaks, gathering quite profusely at the 

 center, though not into a blotch, as in the case of 

 another sparrow soon to be described. Then, too, 

 there is often an arch or curve about the throat 

 and neck, and a flatness about the head, that will 

 enable one at once to identify him, just as one 

 knows a familiar horse at a distance by some pecu- 

 liarity of contour or mien. 



This bird is also called tlie bay-winged bunting, 

 on account of the reddish stripe that tips his wing- 



