86 Spring Songsters [FIRST WEEK 



tails, it is from vesper finches, not from j uncos, and the 

 weed spray which a few hours before bent beneath a 

 white-throat's weight, now vibrates with the energy which 

 a field sparrow puts into his song. Field and chipping 

 sparrows, which now come in numbers, are somewhat alike, 

 but by their beaks and songs you may know them. The 

 mandibles of the former are flesh-coloured, those of the 

 latter black. The sharp chip! chip! is characteristic of 

 the " chippy," but the sweet, dripping song of the field 

 sparrow is charming. No elaborate performance this, but 

 a succession of sweet, high notes, accelerating toward the 

 end, like a coin of silver settling to rest on a marble table 

 a simple, chaste vespers which rises to the setting suri 

 and endears the little brown singer to us. 



We may learn much by studying these homely little 

 frequenters of our orchards and pastures; each has a 

 hundred secrets which await patient and careful watching 

 by their human lovers. In the chipping sparrow we may 

 notice a hint of the spring change of dress which war- 

 blers and tanagers carry to such an extreme. When he 

 left us in the fall he wore a dull-streaked cap, but now 

 he comes from the South attired in a smart head-covering 

 of bright chestnut. Poor little fellow, this is the very best 

 he can do in the way of especial ornament to bewitch his 

 lady love, but it suffices. Can the peacock's train do 

 more? 



This is the time to watch for the lines of ducks crossing 

 the sky, and be ready to find black ducks in the oddest 

 places even in insignificant rain pools deep in the woods. 

 In the early spring the great flocks of grackles and red- 



