GRASS FINCH. 171 



as unlike them as the humming-bird. All four 

 birds have strong wings, however, and so, as a 

 group, contrast with the sparrows in No. 4, and 

 the wrens and thrashers in No. 10. 



LIV. 



GRASS FINCH ; VESPER SPARROW ; BAY-WINGED 

 BUNTING. 



WHEN riding in the country it is well to carry 

 your opera-glass and examine the birds you find 

 on the fences along the road. Sparrows are very 

 common, and if you see one running along the 

 fence ahead of you, whose streaked back seems 

 too light for a song sparrow, you will do well to 

 watch him closely. When he flies up, if you see 

 white tail feathers, you know who your friend is 

 at once ; the meadow-lark and the grass finch are 

 two of the commonest of the few white tail-feath- 

 ered birds. His white breast and sides are streak- 

 ed, and the markings on his back almost give the 

 effect of stripes. But the chestnut-brown on his 

 wings and his white tail feathers are enough to 

 distinguish him among the sparrows. His song 

 resembles that of the song sparrow, but while it 

 wants the cheery brightness we love in that, its 

 plaintive element gives it a richness which the 

 other lacks. 



The grass finch is a timorous little bird, and his 



