324 Trees, Stars, and Birds 



of lining its nest with horse hairs. The chippy is smaller 

 than the sparrows previously mentioned. In summer 

 the top of its head is chestnut colored, a white line sepa- 

 rating this from a black line through the eye. Its breast 

 is without streaks. It is one of the most familiar of the 

 sparrows, often making its home in a yard where there are 

 bushes and trees, in either of which it may nest. Its eggs 

 are blue or bluish green, with brown spots. In place of a 

 varied song the chipping sparrow has a monotonous trill. 



The field sparrow. The field sparrow resembles the 

 chippy, but has the upper parts somewhat lighter colored 

 and the beak reddish instead of black. It is common, not 

 in open fields, as one might expect from the name, but 

 in peach orchards and scrubby growth. The song re- 

 sembles that of the vesper sparrow, but ends with a trill, 

 Creo, creo, creo, cree, cree, ere, e-e-e-e-e. The boys 

 call it the " locomotive bird." Why? 



The tree sparrow. The tree sparrow resembles a 

 chippy, but is larger and has more conspicuous white 

 wing bars. On its breast is a dark spot. In some of the 

 Northern states this is the most common native bird in 

 winter, but its summer is spent farther north. When with 

 us they are in flocks, and like other Northern birds they 

 are easy to approach. They feed on the seeds of weeds 

 that project through the snow. 



White-throated and white-crowned sparrows. The 

 white- throated and the white-crowned sparrows are much 

 alike. Both are large and have the crown white, bor- 

 dered with black, but the white center is broader in the 

 white-crowned sparrow. The male white- throated spar- 

 row, or Peabody bird, has the white of the throat con- 



