10 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



of i\\vsc Mrcls, the reiiuile, tVuiu c(»iiiiiig down to the ground to be fed with 

 crunilis, soon li'aiiii-d to take them on the thil branch of the fir near her nest, 

 and at hist to feed from niv hand, ami alterwards from that of otlier niemhers 

 of tlie family. Her mate, all the while, was comparatively shy and distrust- 

 ful, and could not be induced to receive his food from us or to eat in our 

 presence. 



This Sparrow is also quite social, i^eeping on good terms and delighting 

 to associate with other 8]>ecies. Since the introdiution of the European 

 House Sparrow into Boston, I have repeatedly noticed it associating with 

 them in tlie most friendly relations, feeding with them, Hying up with them 

 when disturbed, and imitating all their movements. 



The Chi]>i)ing Sparrow has very slight claims to be regarded as one of our 

 song-birds. Its note of complaint or uneasiness is a simple chijt, and its 

 song, at its best, is but a monotonous repetition of a single note, sounding 

 like the rapid striking together of two small pebbles. In the l)right days of 

 June this inipretending ditty is kept uj) incessantly, hours at a time, with 

 onlv rare intermissions. 



The nest of this bird is always in trees or bushes. I have in no instance 

 known of its being built on the ground. Even at the Arctic regions, wdiere 

 so many of our tree-builders vary from this custom to nest on the ground, 

 no exceptional cases are reported in regard to it, all its nests being upon 

 trees or in l)ushes. These are somewhat rudely built, often so loosely that 

 they may readily be seen through. Externally they are made of coarse 

 stems of grasses and vegetable branches, and lined with the hair of the 

 larger animals. 



These birds are de^'oted parents, and express great solicitude whenever 

 their nests are ap})roached or meddled with. They feed their young almost 

 exclusively with the larvie of insects, especially with young caterpillars. 

 When in neighborhoods infested with the destructive canker-worm, the v will 

 feed their young with this pest in incredible numbers, and seek them from a 

 consideralde distance. Living in a district exempt from this scourge, yet but 

 shortly removed from them, in the summer of 1869, I noticed one of these 

 Sparrows with its mouth filled with something which inconvenienced it to 

 carry. It alighted on the gravel walk to adjust its load, and passed on to its 

 nest, leaving two canker-worms behind it, which, if not thus detected, would 

 have introduced this nuisance into an orchard that had previously escaped, 

 showing that though friends to those afflicted they are dangerous to their 

 neighbors. This Sparrow is also the frequent nurse of the Cow Blackbird, 

 rearing its young to the destruction of its own, and tending them with 

 exemplary fidelity. 



Their eggs, five in number, are of an oblong-oval shape, and vary greatly 

 in size. They are of a bluish-green color, and are sparingly spotted about 

 the lai-ger end with markings of umber, purple, and dark l)lackish-brown, 

 intermingled with lighter shadings of faint purple. The largest specimen 



3?B 



