The Birds' Calendar 



the European or the American favorites getting 

 their renown from " fine feathers," they are at 

 best only modestly attired, and the song spar- 

 row and lark are severely plain. A bird's per- 

 sonality for it has a personality very distinct, 

 however circumscribed is a complex matter, 

 compounded of many qualities, among which 

 plumage is one of the less important. 



The sparrows are the largest subdivision of 

 the largest family of birds the finch family. 

 This family includes, besides the more typical 

 finches, the sparrows, buntings, linnets, gros- 

 beaks, and crossbills. As a family they may be 

 called rather plain in appearance, although it is 

 a rule that has many exceptions, such as the 

 cardinal and rose-breasted grosbeaks and the 

 goldfinches. 



The humblest as well as most numerous sec- 

 tion of the family is that of the sparrows, of 

 which, according to the authorities, there are 

 about forty species to be found in the United 

 States, a part of them in the east, and a part 

 exclusively in the west. In the region of New 

 York about a dozen species may be counted, 

 but in the Ramble only about half that num- 

 ber. 



The sparrows are conspicuously ground-birds, 

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