slope. Meanwhile the savanna sparrows had arrived and were en¬ 
livening the muddy places, running in and out among the dead grasses 
in playful pursuit of one another. At the first alarm they would 
dive into the nearest cover of grass and weeds, only to reappear 
quickly on the far side. As the season advanced the males mounted a 
wood-pile or other conspicuous elevation, and uttered their weak, un¬ 
musical songs. 
By the 15th or 20th of May the white-crowned sparrow made its 
appearance, and, capturing the top of the wood-pile from its smaller 
relative, favored us with its sweetly modulated song. About the 
same time the common barn swallows were seen circl'ng about, bub¬ 
bling over with happy chuckling notes, as if rejoicing to be l)ack again 
after a winter in a far southern clime. By the middle of May the fox 
sparrows were back, their first arrival being usually announced some 
fine evening l)y their clear thrush-like wh'stle, usually from the top 
of the cross on the old Russian church. 
As June arrived we caught glimpses of an occasional l)lack- 
cap, or a yellow warbler, as one or l)oth species paid brief visits 
to a little garden l)y the kitchen. The barn swallows were now hard 
at work building nests about the eaves, struggling with unwieldy 
feathers or trying to carry ofif straws. This work was commonly 
varied by fierce battles between the pugnacious males, which often 
rolled about on the ground and pummeled one another with surpris¬ 
ing tenacity and vigor. All obstacles were finally overcome, and in 
various snug nooks under the eaves the birds guarded their treasure- 
filled nests. At the same time a pair of savanna sparrows kept ward 
over their egg-laden nest behind the ice-house. 
Spring passed into summer, and from the middle of July until 
well into August small birds made the vicinity of the houses a gen¬ 
eral resort. The redpolls came in family parties all clad in dull colors, 
for the rosy flush of youth had been worn from the parental breast 
by the cares of family life. These little plebeians stuff themselves 
with the good things they find in the garden and weed-patches, chirp¬ 
ing and frolicking merrily. They infested the place, flitting about, 
one moment see-sawing on a tall weed and the next hopping careless¬ 
ly along the walk before one, or peering down from the eaves with 
liliputian gravity. In return for this friendliness they were prime 
favorites with all. The redpolls do not come alone, for in the yard, 
and outside it, the bare ground is now the gathering place for young 
Lapland longspurs, nearly as heedless of our presence as the redpolls, 
They are, however, more sedate and business-like, and appear intent 
on the search for food, running from place to place, their bills pointing 
35 
