THE GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. a 
THOSE bird lovers who disclaim all interest in entomology will be slow 
in discovering the humble species, for its song is nearer like the chirring of 
some insect than the voice of a bird. There always comes a day in late April 
when the half-grown meadows and fields are suddenly found to contain from 
one to six pairs each of these buzzing Sparrows. But with the possible excep- 
tion of certain warblers, there is no other bird of anything like the abundance 
of this one, whose very outline is so nearly unknown to all but the experienced 
bird-watcher. Its coloration is the plainest possible, its station lowly, and 
its habits secretive. Perched upon some weed-top, or standing on a fence-rail, 
the male sends out at regular intervals a weak hissing trill which occupies 
a fraction over a second in delivery .The sound is not exactly like that of any 
known insect, but is comparable to the clicking of a locust—or better to the 
shrilling of the corydalis. Again, the opening and closing of a loud-ticking 
watch, especially if it be opened with a clatter and shut with a snap, is sug- 
gestive of the strange performance. Later in the season a longer effort is 
sometimes heard. First comes the full “chirr’, then slow notes, three or four 
in number, as tho the progress of the “wheels” were somewhat impeded; 
after which the burr proceeds with the original or accelerated rapidity—the 
whole occupying three seconds. ‘The song will carry a hundred yards for a 
sharp ear, or further if the ear be laid to the ground; but a fresh cold in the 
head will spoil the concert at thirty feet. 
Only once did I see a Grass- 
hopper Sparrow holding forth from 
the top of a tall sapling in a fence- 
row. Surely he must have atoned 
for his boldness by skulking among 
the grass roots for two days there- 
after. ‘The birds require to be nearly 
stepped upon — technically “kicked 
out” — before they will take wing. 
Some will move off in a flurried zig- 
zag, but others with a direct buzzing 
flight like a bee, —in both cases to 
plump down into the weeds at no 
great distance. 
The nest, a rather careless af- 
fair of curled grasses, is placed at 
the foot of a clover plant or grass 
tussock, and its discovery is usually 
due entirely to accident since the 
Photo by the Author. 
female is a close sitter. One might BED ESE NCIS 
y THERE IS A SPARROWS NEST SOMEWHERE IN THE 
find a needle in a haystack by remov- FOREGROUND BUT PRECISELY WHERE 
DEPONENT SAITH NOT. 
