54 HOW TO STUDY BIRDS 



for the birds to come to us. There are many other 

 sorts of localities to explore. Out in the grassy field 

 or meadow we may hear and see the bobolink and 

 the meadowlark. A very excellent and prolific sort 

 of place is the scrub pasture. Here we shall meet 

 the chewink and the brown thrasher. The field and 

 song sparrows doubtless are abundant. The dark 

 blue male indigo-bird mated to a dull brown little 

 female is another kind to be looked for, and with 

 about as much assurance the chestnut-sided warbler; 

 also, in some localities, the prairie warbler. There 

 the parasite, the cowbird, is about, the female ready 

 for mischief, to deposit her egg in the nest of some 

 smaller bird. 



Especially if there are cedar trees, the purple finch 

 may be found. This is another species where the 

 different appearance of the sexes may puzzle the be- 

 ginner. From the female the rich crimson " wash " 

 of the male is omitted, leaving a streaked bird, a 

 good deal like the song sparrow, whose thick bill and 

 forked tail will betray it to those whose eyes are keen. 

 That singular bird, the yellow-breasted chat, loves 

 the scrub, briers, and thicket. 



One must always bear in mind that birds are sel- 

 dom wholly restricted to one sort of locality, and 

 also that it is impossible to divide a region into hard 

 and fast sections. Hence the best I can do, by way 

 of general suggestion, is to mention several leading 

 types of localities and a few of their most charac- 



