SPARROWS 319 



as I am crossing a pasture I hear a happy, oricl<et-like, 

 shrill little lay from a sparrow, either in the grass or 

 else on that distant tree, as if it were the vibrations of 

 a watch-spring; its vespers. 



Sept. 28, 1851. Flocks of small birds — apparently 

 sparrows, bobolinks (or some bird of equal size with a 

 pencilled breast which makes a musical clucking), and 

 piping goldfinches — are flitting about like leaves and 

 hopping up on to the bent grass stems in the garden, 

 letting themselves down to the heavy heads, either shak- 

 ing or picking out a seed or two, then alighting to pick 

 it up. I am amused to see them hop up on to the slen- 

 der, drooping grass stems; then slide down, or let them- 

 selves down, as it were foot over foot, with great flut- 

 tering, till they can pick at the head and release a few 

 seeds; then alight to pick them up. They seem to pre- 

 fer a coarse grass which grows like a weed in the gar- 

 den between the potato-hills, also the amaranth. 



March 20, 1852. As to the winter birds, — those 

 which came here in the winter, — I saw first that rusty 

 sparrow-like bird flying in flocks with the smaller spar- 

 rows early in the winter and sliding down the grass 

 stems to their seeds, which clucked like a hen, and F. 

 Brown thought to be the young of the purple finch ; 

 then I saw, about Thanksgiving time and later in the 

 winter, the pine grosbeaks, large and carmine, a noble 

 bird ; then, in midwinter, the snow bunting, the white 

 snowbird, sweeping low like snowflakes from field to 

 field over the walls and fences. And now, within a day 

 or two, I have noticed the chubby slate-colored snow- 

 bird (^Fringilla hyemalisf), and I drive the flocks be- 



