A PUZZLE IN BIRDS 



meet. Do you suppose now you can go out and 

 identify them? Remember there are the confusing 

 plumages of the young, which help to make the muddle 

 all the worse. No, you must study hard on them, be 

 patient, and get to know them one at a time. With a 

 little intelligent care, and referring to the descriptive 

 books, you will be surprised how quickly the common 

 birds can be tolerably well learned. So there is no 

 need of being discouraged. If we could learn every- 

 thing easily at once, there would be far less fun in 

 studying birds. We need some difficulties to arouse 

 the spirit of true sport. 



When it comes nesting time the nests of most of the 

 sparrows are to be sought and found on the ground, 

 and usually in grass. The Chippy, however, builds in 

 a tree or bush near the house, though once I found its 

 nest on the ground in an orchard. The Song Sparrow 

 sometimes gets lofty ideas and builds in a bush even as 

 high as one's head, but the vast majority of nests are on 

 the ground in grass or beside a bush. This is the nest 

 with four or five darkly blotched eggs which one so 

 often finds in the pasture or by the roadside by almost 

 stepping on it and having the sitting bird pop off at 

 one's very feet. 



In wading the meadow, I expect to start the Swamp 

 Sparrow from its nest in the tussock. The Field Spar- 

 row likes the clump of weeds in pasture or orchard for 

 the temporary home, and it will be either on the ground 

 or within a foot of it among the stems of the weeds or 



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