The Delightful Hobby oj Bird Watching 53 



If you glimpse a robin still dressed in "baby clothes" you will 

 notice that, unlike adults with their solid black-and-orange color- 

 ing, it has a spotted breast. Here you have a clue to the robin's 

 relationship to other birds. Many of us know that adult thrushes 

 have spotted breasts and we can correctly assume that robins and 

 thrushes belong to the same family. The bluebird is another 

 famous close relative. 



SPARROWS ARE PLEASANT NEIGHBORS 



The sparrow family has been discredited to some extent 

 in the United States and Canada by a species of weaver bird that 

 was imported a hundred years ago from England and became 

 generally known as the English, or house, sparrow. This "sparrow" 

 spread over the continent and in many places it drove away the 

 more attractive bluebirds and purple martins. 



"Only a sparrow," may be your child's attitude toward this 

 bird family it is easy for youngsters to acquire the general preju- 

 dice against these birds. As he becomes acquainted with sparrows, 

 however, he will find that some of them are surprisingly attractive 

 and that some sing sweet, melodious songs. The white-crowned 

 sparrow is probably the most handsome, with a striking black 

 and white crown, a gray breast with no throat markings, and an 

 erect posture. It is found all over North America but it is much 

 more common in the West than in the East. 



The song sparrow is noted more for its song than for its appear- 

 ance. Its cheerful Tea-tea-tea! Polly-put-the-kettle-on, heard 

 frequently in early spring, is most distinctive. The marking that 

 distinguishes it from other sparrows is a large brown spot centered 

 on a streaked breast. It has a long rounded tail which pumps up 

 and down as it flies. 



You are most likely to see little "chippy," the chipping sparrow, 

 in suburban areas. It seems to prefer lawns or pasture lands to 

 wilder country and it often nests in dooryards, hedges, and shrub- 

 bery. It is among the smallest of sparrows (about half as long as 

 a robin), and its reddish crown, black bill, and white line over 

 the eye and a black one through the eye are its distinguishing 

 marks. Though this sparrow spends most of its time on the ground, 



