LXTV 



CHIPPING SPARROW; CHIPPY; HAIR-BIRD 

 560. Spizella passerina passerina 



This, the smallest of the Sparrows, only five inches 

 long, is one of the best known and most easily recognized 

 birds. Its bright chestnut headdress, whitish, unmarked 

 breast and belly coat, black bill and pale feet are the 

 identification marks. 



The Chipping Sparrows are migratory, nesting all 

 over their range; they are abundant in the central part 

 of the United States, arriving in April and departing 

 for their southern home in October. They are partial 

 to pastures and cultivated farms bordered by dusty 

 roads; also to the vine-clad fences and porches of our 

 homes, where they may be seen picking up bread crumbs 

 and seeds near the kitchen doors and in the yards. (Fig. 

 99.) 



The nest of the Chipping Sparrow is usually built in 

 shrubbery and vines near the ground. These birds do not 

 build very substantially but the nests are well held to- 

 gether by the abundance of horse hair used in the lining. 

 The eggs in a nest number from three to five, and are of 

 a bluish-green with purplish spots. 



Chippies are friendly little fellows and their prof- 

 fered sociability should be met on half-way ground. 

 Their song is a mere little "chip, chip!" and is repeated 

 in a monotonous tone during the livelong day. 



Because of the frequency with which these Sparrows 

 build near man's habitation, they become the victims of 

 the prowling cats of their neighborhoods. I know of 

 many families that would rather give a cat a lysol bath 

 for its mangy and flea-infested hide than offer protec- 

 tion to some of man's greatest and most useful friends 

 the birds of the neighborhood. When I see a worm- 

 infested shade tree in a front yard and half a dozen cats 

 sunning themselves on the front porch, I feel that the 

 owners of the premises are, in a great measure, responsi- 

 ble for the loss of their shade trees, because of harboring 

 the destroyers of birds. 



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