Bird Study 



89 



The chippy comes to us 

 in April and usually raises 

 two broods of from three to 

 five "piggish" youngsters, 

 which even after they are fully 

 grown follow pertinaciously 

 their tired and "frazzled out" 

 parents and beg to be fed; 

 the chippy parents evidently 

 have no idea of discipline 

 but indulge their teasing 

 progeny until our patience, at 

 least, is exhausted. The 



The chipping sparrow. 



young differ from the parents in having streaked breasts and lacking the 

 reddish crown. In the fall the chippy parents lose their red-brown 

 caps and have streaked ones instead; and then they fare forth in flocks 

 for a seed-harvest in the fields. Thereafter our chippy is a stranger to 

 us; we do not know it in its new garb, and it dodges into the bushes as 

 we pass, as if it had not tested our harmlessness on our own door-stone. 

 Reference — Wild Life, Ingersol, p. 132. 



LESSON XX 



Leading thought — The chipping sparrow is a cheerful and useftil little 

 neighbor. It builds a nest, lined with horsehair, in the shrubbery and 

 vines about our homes and works hard in ridding our gardens of insect 

 pests and seeds of weeds. 



Methods — Begin this lesson with a nest of the chippy, which is so 

 unmistakable that it may be identified when found in the winter. Make 

 the study of this nest so interesting that the pupils will wait anxiously 

 to watch for the birds which made it. As soon as the chippies appear, 

 the questions should be asked, a few at a time, giving the children several 

 weeks for the stud v. 



The Xcst 



Observations — i. AVhcre was this nest found? How high from the 

 ground ? 



2. Was it under shelter? How was it supported? 



3. Of what material is the outside of the nest? How is it fastened 

 together? How do you suppose the bird wove this material together? 



4. Of what material is the lining? Why is the bird that built this 

 nest called the "hair bird?" From what animal do 3'ou think the lining 

 of the nest came? How do you suppose the bird got it? 



5 . Do you think the nest was well hidden when the leaves were about 

 it? Measure the nest across and also its depth; do you think the l)ird 

 that made it is as large as the English sparrow? 



The Bird 



6. How can vou tell the chippy from the English sparrow? 



7. Describe m 3'our note-book or orally the colors of the chippy as 

 follows: beak, forehead, crown, marks above and through the eyes. 



