Sparrows SONG-BIRDS. 



four o'clock the most melodious hour of the day. T-r-r-r-r-r- 

 r-r-r-r-r-r-r he trills from the ground, before even a Robin 

 wakes, and then, as the music swells, he is lost in the har- 

 mony. 



Who can fail to know the Chippy, whose mite of a gray- 

 brown body is set off by a chestnut-coloured velvet cap, 

 whose chirp, as he hops about the door craving crumbs, is as 

 familiar as his pretty air of sociability. He has many little 

 points of identity that separate him from the mazes of the 

 Sparrow tribe. He seldom, if ever, nests upon the ground, 

 and his nest, well built and carefully lined, is distinctive. 

 Here in the garden he shows a preference for high trees ; 

 out of eight nests built last season within the garden limits, 

 one was in a Deutzia shrub about three feet from the 

 ground; four were in tufts of needles on the horizontal 

 boughs of spruces, varying from eight to twenty feet high ; 

 and three were in white pines at distances of from twenty to 

 forty feet from the ground. 



I am inclined to think that the nesting-habits of birds are 

 adapted by circumstances and their desire to locate in certain 

 places. The Chippies like the protection and society of the 

 house and build near it. Low bushes and undergrowth in 

 this vicinity are limited, and the Catbirds usurp the most 

 desirable shrubs. Not finding room below the Chippy 

 ascends, as his fellow-men adact themselves to the apart- 

 ment house, so that from being ground- walkers they become 

 "cliff-dwellers." 



Field Sparrow : Spizella pusilla. 



Length: 5.25-5.75 inches. 



Male and Female : Pale red beak. Bright bay on the back between 

 wings. Crown dull chestnut, no black or white. Whitish wing 

 bars, tail longer than wings, below grayish white ; very light- 

 coloured feet. 



Song : Very pleasing and melodious, " Whee-whee-whee-iddle, iddle, 

 iddle, ee ! " 



Season : Common summer resident. 



Breeds: From Virginia northward. 

 164 



