APRIL BIRDS. 23 



pasture-grounds will you look for him. 

 His song is most noticeable after sun- 

 down, when other birds are silent, for 

 which reason he has been aptly called the 

 vesper-sparrow. Two or three long silver 

 notes of rest and peace, ending in some 

 subdued thrills or quavers, constitute each 

 separate song. Such unambitious, uncon- 

 scious melody ! It is one of the most 

 characteristic sounds in nature. The 

 grass, the stones, the stubble, the furrow, 

 the quiet herds and the warm twilight 

 among the hills, are all subtilely expressed 

 in this song ; this is what they are at least 

 capable of.' 1 



All along the ridge of hills on Burncoat 

 Street, from Adams Square to the Summit, 

 these birds are unusually abundant all 

 through the season. 



The field-sparrow, or bush-sparrow 

 (spizella pusilla), though closely allied to 

 the familiar chipping-sparrow, whom he 

 strongly resembles in size and general ap- 

 pearance, is usually found remote from 

 the abodes of man, either on the edge of 



