OF NEW ENGLAND. 213 



85-X *63 of an inch." "Their ground-color is a light green," 

 " freckled \^th minute markings of a foxy brown." 



(c). With the exception of the Snow-birds, the Tree Spar- 

 rows are the most regular in appearance of all the finches who 

 visit us in winter, but who pass the summer in a colder climate. 

 They are, moreover, more or less common during their spring 

 (and fall) migrations. They first make their appearance in 

 Eastern Massachusetts in the last week of October, or the 

 first of November, but many are then on their way to the 

 South. In the last part of the latter month they become. com- 

 mon, and continue to reside here throughout the winter. They 

 usually go about in small flocks, sometimes, however, in pairs 

 or singly, but, when such is the case, several may usually be 

 found in the same immediate neighborhood. They feed en- 

 tirely (?) upon various seeds, and consequently spend their 

 time mostly in fields where the weeds are not entirely covered 

 by the snow, in vegetable-gardens where the stubble of the 

 summer's crop, or the withered asparagus-stalks, furnish them 

 with food, or in the roads and on the roadsides. When on 

 the ground, the Tree Sparrows are quite nimble, which is highly 

 consistent with their mode of life, since they generally feed 

 when on the ground itself, though they sometimes perch upon 

 the tops of weeds, and still more often may be seen in trees, 

 frequently collecting in apple-trees. They prefer open grounds, 

 and rather avoid the neighborhood of houses, though I have 

 known one to join Snow-birds who were feeding on a piazza. 

 They are not usually shy, and, indeed, I have seen them in 

 village- streets, and have at other times approached within five 

 yards of them, when occupied in picking up their food. When 

 frightened, they do not dive into thickets or bushes as some 

 other sparrows do. Their flight when short is low, when long 

 is high, but at all times is rapid. The Tree Sparrows do not 

 mingle much with other species, but seem to prefer one anoth- 

 er's society, generally living in peace, though occasionally an 

 unpleasantness takes place, when a brief combat ensues. In 

 April they return to the North, but those who have passed the 

 winter further to the southward than Massachusetts return at 



