46 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1898. 



very abundant. I found it in very suprising numbers in the city 

 in the fall, scratching about under shrubbery, where it finds its 

 food. 



The Junco birds come to us in the fall and stay through into 

 the spring. They are often called the Black Snow bird or 

 Slate-colored Snow bird, but they are not Snow birds properly, 

 that is, they are not the Snow Flakes or Buntings that come to 

 us from Greenland in the winter. These go farther north into 

 the Provinces and Maine to nest, but not so far north as the 

 Snow Bunting. Junco is a very good name because the}'^ feed 

 upon seeds and weeds and grass. As they fly they show white 

 lateral tail feathers and are easily distinguished by those. They 

 are usually in flocks and fly up as anyone approaches, showing 

 these tail feathers. 



The Fox Sparrow is the largest of the Sparrow family, and 

 comes very early in March, and then again very late in October, 

 November, and sometimes in December. It goes far north to 

 Labrador and west into the Middle States to nest. It has a fine 

 song, fuller and more ringing than that of the Song Sparrow, 

 and is quite differently colored. The Fox Sparrow has the 

 reddish color of the fox as no other Sparrow has. 



The Chewink is another Sparrow that is a very common sum- 

 mer resident. It comes about the time the Catbird does, and is 

 very common along stone walls wherever there is thick shrub- 

 bery to go under. It is a ground bird, having strong feet, and 

 is often called the " Ground Robin." It has three colors, black, 

 red and white. It has a very pleasant song, and the common 

 note gives it the name of *' Towhee," and it is often called the 

 " Towhee Bunting." Its note is heard very often in huckleberry 

 pastures. It is also called "Chewink," a name corresponding 

 to the trill. 



The Indigo bird is still another sparrow that last spring I 

 found very common indeed over near Stone Hill. The female 

 is colored very differently from the male in this case. They are 

 ground birds in the sense that they keep very close to the 

 ground, as really so many birds do. Naturally they feed and 

 nest within a few feet of the ground. 



