328 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 



gives me the biography of a little ground 

 sparrow — or chipping bird, as it is sometimes 

 called — that his son caught and tamed. The 

 boy took the young bird, put it into a cage, 

 and set the cage in the window, so that the old 

 bird might come and feed it. Very soon the 

 mother bird discovered his whereabouts, and 

 brought him his food regularly for some time. 

 If crumbs were put on the top of the cage, ifr 

 was amusing to see the old bird go and pick 

 them up, and take them ni her mouth to little 

 Dicky — the name given to the .young one — 

 and to see him open his little bill to receive 

 them from his mother's. After Dicky got old 

 enough to pick up crumbs for himself, his 

 mother ceased to pay him her daily visits. 

 Dicky soon became so familiar with the family, 

 that he would sit upon the finger of any of 

 them. When he was let out of the cage, he 

 would fly about the room without fear, and 

 amuse himself by catching flies. Finally he 

 was so tame, that he would follow a member of 

 the family from room to room. Several times, 

 the window being open, he took it into his 

 head to take exercise in the open air. Once or 

 twice he was out all night, but glad to come 

 home for his breakfast in the morning. He 

 became the pet of all the family. The family 



