162 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



elusive in their habits that only a few are generally known. 

 Their slender bills indicate that they live on insects; 

 the Yellow Warbler, often called Wild Canary, is one of the 

 most easily recognized warblers. The vireos resemble the 

 warblers in habits, size, and plumage, but are much their 

 superiors in musical ability. Nests of the four birds de- 

 scribed below must be shown, and the birds must have been 

 observed. 



12. The Chipping Sparrow. Spizella socialis. (Hairbird, 

 Chippie.) 



Here I have a nest, which is one of the prettiest I found 

 last fall. It was fastened to the branch of an evergreen by 

 means of a few cotton threads ; it is made of grass and 

 completely lined with horsehair, by which you can always 

 identify the bird. 



Who knows the little birds that built it ? They wore a 

 dark chestnut cap and had a gray stripe over the eyes. 

 Their back was dark brown and striped, the under parts 

 were gray, and they had a black bill and light feet. From 

 their call note, chip-chip, they are called Chipping Sparrows. 

 They seem to love the company of men, and often build in 

 bushes and in small and large trees near houses. The young 

 chippies are restless babies ; frequently they tumble out of 

 the nest before they can fly, and then the parents feed the 

 fluttering little ones on the ground. Last summer I saw a 

 parent deliberately lead a young bird, which could not yet 

 fly, from an open place to a corner, where some brush, tall 

 grass, and corn offered shelter against the sun and the cats. 



13. The American Goldfinch. Spinus tristis. 



To-day I have brought another pretty nest. You see at 

 once that a small bird built it. I took it late last fall from 

 a young box-elder crutch nea,r the sidewalk ; the young birds 

 had not left it before the last week in August. -Do you 



