28 Bird Comrades 



seen in every ramble until they took flight for their 

 breeding haunts in the North. One spring some of them 

 were still loitering in Kansas on the eleventh of May, 

 and were singing blithely, no doubt waiting for the win- 

 ter cold of their summer homes to be well past before 

 they ventured farther toward the arctic lands. 



In general, the habits of these birds are much like 

 those of the white-throated sparrows, which are much 

 more common in the East than in the West. The Harris 

 sparrows are fond of copses and hedges, and especially 

 of brush heaps in new grounds. So marked, indeed, is 

 their penchant for brush heaps that I almost wish one 

 might re-christen them " brush-heap sparrows." Many 

 a time I have played a little trick on the unsuspecting 

 birds by stealing up to a brush pile and giving it a sudden 

 blow with my cane; then a whole covey of them would 

 dash pellmell from their covert with loud chirps of pro- 

 test against such wantonness. 



Sometimes they are found in the depths of the woods, 

 providing there is thick underbrush in which they can 

 conceal themselves. I seldom found them in open places 

 either in the woods or fields. Yet, shy as they are, they 

 have a fondness for the dense hedges along the highways, 

 flitting and chirping as the traveler passes by. 



Being wary birds, they do not wander far from their 

 hiding places, into which they precipitate themselves at 

 the approach of a supposed danger. It was quite a while 

 before I could get a clear view of their breasts, for, with 

 provoking persistence, they kept their tails turned 



