Making New Friends 31 



they are common, almost abundant, during both the 

 vernal and autumnal migrations, and after you have 

 once cultivated their acquaintance they are likable, if not 

 quite companionable, birds. But familiar as they are in 

 the regions named, they are still something of a mystery 

 to the naturalists of our country, for Mr. Ridgway says 

 that their " breeding range is unknown," save that there 

 is a doubtful record of one nest at Fort Custer, Montana; 

 while Mrs. Bailey says: "The breeding range of the 

 Harris sparrow is unknown except for Mr. Preble's Fort 

 Churchill record. The last of July, among the dwarf 

 spruces of Fort Churchill, he found an adult male and 

 female with young just from the nest." It will be remem- 

 bered that Fort Churchill is away up on the coast of the 

 Hudson Bay. It is probable, therefore, that the nest of 

 the Harris sparrow has never been found by any of the 

 naturalists of America. Who would suppose that these 

 birds, so numerous and so well known in Kansas, would, 

 in the breeding season, surround themselves with such 

 an air of mystery? 



It was in Kansas, too, that I really came to know the 

 Lincoln sparrow and hear his song, although I had 

 caught a few fleeting glimpses of him in the East, and also 

 in the neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota. In the Sun- 

 flower state his conduct was just about as inconsistent 

 as it could have been without being downright absurd. 

 What do I mean by that? Why, while he was as wild as 

 a deer, he still came to town, flitting about in the bushes 

 of a vacant lot near my house, and even visiting the fence 



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