A First Glance at the Birds, 



while in the southern part of the state 

 the Arizona hooded oriole is likewise 

 common. The red-winged blackbirds 

 also belong to the starling family. A 

 flock of these coal-black fellows, with 

 their scarlet shoulder patches, is a beauti- 

 ful sight indeed, and their sweet twiddle 

 diddle diddle from the swamp of tules is 

 one of the delights of early spring. 



The great finch family is represented 

 in North America by some thirty-four 

 genera, nearly all of which are present 

 in California. It includes the sparrows, 

 linnets, goldfinches, crossbills, grosbeaks 

 — in fact all the thick-billed seed eaters, 

 among them being many of our best- 

 known birds. The song-sparrow is per- 

 haps the most generally distributed 

 North American member of the group 

 and one of the most popular of our song 

 birds. Its song is a humble lay, sweet and 

 confiding in spirit, which seems to accord 

 well with the simple singer. The song- 

 sparrows are subdivided into a number of 

 race forms, Samuel's being the variety 



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