90 Handbook of Nature-Study 



cheeks, throat, breast, wings and tail. Note if the wings have whitish 

 bars and how many. 



8. Describe the shape of the beak as compared with that of the robin. 

 What is this shaped bill meant for? 



9. What is the food of the chippy? Why has it been called the 

 doorstep-sparrow ? 



10. Note if the chippy catches flies or moths on the wing like the 

 phoebe-bird. 



11. Why should we protect the chippy and try to induce it to live 

 near our gardens ? 



12. Does it run or hop when seeking food on the ground? 



13. How early in the season does the chippy appear and where does it 

 spend the winter? 



14. Can you describe the chippy's song? How do you think it won 

 the name of chipping sparrow? 



15. If you have the luck to find a pair of chippies nesting, keep a 

 diary of your observations in your note-book covering the following 

 points: Do both parents build the nest? How is the frame-work laid? 

 How is the finishing done ? The number and color of the eggs ? Do both 

 parents feed the yovmg? How do young chippies act when they first 

 leave the nest? How large are the young birds before the parents stop 

 feeding them ? What are the differences in color and markings between 

 parents and young? 



THE FIELD-SPARROW 



A bubble of music floats, the slope of the hillside over; 



A little wandering, sparrow' s notes; and the bloom of yarrow and clover. 



And the smell of sweet-fern and the bayberry leaf, on his ripple of song are stealing, 



For he is a cheerfid thief, the ivealth of the fields revealing. 



One syllable, clear and soft as a raindrop's silvery patter, 

 Or a tinkling fairy-bell; heard aloft, in the midst of the merry chatter 

 Of robin and linnet and wren and jay, one syllable, oft repeated; 

 He has but a ivord to say, and of that he ivill not be cheated. 



The singer I have not seen; but the song I arise and follow 



The brown hills over, the pastures green, and into the sunlit hollow. 



With a joy that his life unto mine has lent, I can feel my glad eyes glisten, 



Though he hides in his happy tent, ivhile I stand outside, and listen. 



This way would I also sing, my dear little hillside neighbor! 



A tender carol of peace to bring to the sunburnt fields of labor 



Is better than making a loud ado; trill on, amid clover and yarrow! 



There's a heart-beat echoing you, and blessing you, blithe little sparrow! 



— Lucy Larcom 



