THE INVITATION. 273 



perch upon the stones a few rods off. They 

 sing much after sundown, hence the aptness 

 of the name vesper-sparrow, which a recent 

 writer, Wilson Flagg, has bestowed upon 

 them. 



In the meadows and low, wet lands, the 

 Savannah sparrow is met with, and may be 

 known by its fine, insect-like song. In the 

 swamp, the swamp-sparrow. 



The fox-sparrow, the largest and hand- 

 somest species of this family, comes to us in 

 the fall, from the North, where it breeds. 

 Likewise the tree, or Canada sparrow, and 

 the white-crowned and white-throated spar- 

 rows. 



The social - sparrow, alias "hair -bird," 

 alias "red -headed chipping -bird," is the 

 smallest of the sparrows, and, I believe, the 

 only one that builds in trees. 



The finches, as a class, all have short, coni- 

 cal bills, with tails more or less forked. The 

 purple finch heads the list in varied musical 

 ability. 



Beside the groups of our more familiar 

 birds which I have thus hastily outlined, 

 there are numerous other groups, more lim- 

 ited in specimens, but comprising some of 

 our best known songsters. The bobolink, 



