THE SONG-SPARROW. 175 



upon the blossoms of the red maple and other early-bloom- 

 ing forest-trees, green ginger-berries, and the seeds of veg- 

 etables, in search of which it frequents the kitchen-gardens, 

 and associates with the noble fox-sparrows and chattering 

 goldfinches. As warm weather advances, the song-spar- 

 row leaves the gardens, and seeks, in wilder spots, less of 

 vegetable and more of animal food eating strawberries, 

 wild cherries, raspberries, etc., now and then as a relish ; 

 but depending for regular fare upon the young of the in- 

 sect world just hatching out. It would be quite impossi- 

 ble to enumerate all the kinds eaten ; probably everything 

 palatable is welcome. I remember one June day watching 

 one little fellow industriously picking very minute lice-like 

 bugs from the under-side of the leaves of an apple-tree. 

 He seemed inordinately fond of them, and swallowed twen- 

 ty or thirty a minute, uttering the while a quick metallic 

 chirp. Many kinds of caterpillars he likewise devours, 

 among them clothes' moths and the loathsome tent-cater- 

 pillar, that stretches its canopied webs among the twigs of 

 our orchard and shade trees, and drops dow r n upon our 

 heads in all its ugly nastiness ; also ants, earthworms, and 

 young beetles. 



When the insects mature, and betake themselves beyond 

 his easy reach, small fruits still remain ; and, as these grad- 



