Vesper Sparrow 113 



which run rapidly into a trili before they die 

 away. Others reverse the time and diminish 

 the measures toward the close. However sung, 

 the song, w^hich makes the uplands tuneful all 

 day and every day from April to August, does 

 not vary its quality, which is as fine as the 

 vesper sparrow's. 



Hatched in a bush, and almost never seen 

 apart from one, this humble little bird might 

 well be called the bush sparrow. 



VESPER SPARROW 



To name this little dingy sparrow that haunts 

 the open fields and dusty roadsides, you must 

 notice the white feather on each side of his tail 

 as he spreads it and flies before you to alight 

 upon a fence. Like the song sparrow, this 

 cousin has some fine dark streaks on his throat 

 and breast. If you get near enough you will 

 notice that his wing coverts, which are a bright 

 chestnut brown, make the rest of his sparrow 

 plumage look particularly pale and dull. Some 

 people call him the bay-winged bunting ; others, 

 the grass finch, because he nests, like the 

 meadow-lark and many other foolish birds, on 

 the ground where mice, snakes, mowing ma- 

 chines and cats often make sad havoc of his 

 young family. 



