APRIL BIRDS. 29 



Some writers have compared the song 

 of this sparrow to the cHcking sound pro- 

 duced by the rapid and repeated striking 

 together of two pebbles. This Httle bird, 

 according to Wilson Flagg, is always the 

 first performer in the early morning con- 

 cert, trilling his humble song while it is 

 still dark, even before the robins are yet 

 awake; and though I am unable to cor- 

 roborate this by personal experience, I do 

 remember hearing its song last June from 

 a cherry-tree in our garden at ten o'clock 

 at night. 



In the first flush of my ornithological 

 studies I remember how long it took me 

 to associate this simple little song, which I 

 heard everywhere, in city and country 

 alike, with the chipping-sparrow. At 

 that time I had never seen it mentioned 

 in the books, and I was long convinced 

 that it must belong to some rare warbler 

 which had suddenly become abundant in 

 this vicinity. My experience in regard to 

 this bird, and many others as well, would 

 lead me to advise all other students of 



