Be» 
The Birds’ Calendar 
ging behind somewhere in South Carolina) a 
suspicious rustle in the low bushes betrayed a 
larger bird, which took flight as I approached ; 
its size, a little smaller than the robin, black 
body, chestnut sides, and the ‘‘ white feather ’’ 
it shows in the tail as it flies, proved it to be the 
chewink or towhee bunting. It is not yet in 
song, and allusion will be made to it again. 
A most humble specimen of a humble group 
is the field sparrow, considerably like the 
‘‘chipper,’’ but its markings even less dis- 
tinctive, the most significant feature being the 
reddish tinge of the bill. Its note, too, is 
quite different from the familiar sound of the 
chipping sparrow. While not an uncommon 
bird, its shyness and resemblance to its bolder 
and more noisy congener make it a compara- 
tively unfamiliar species. 
Close upon the field sparrow I stumbled 
upon an unusually beautiful warbler, which one 
may well be enthusiastic about, for it is one of 
the daintiest of the family, bound literally in 
blue and gold and white, and in form and col- 
oring one could hardly imagine anything more 
exquisite. A light ashy-blue spreads over the 
upper part of the body and wings, finely sprin- 
kled with gold in the centre of the back, 
128 
