VERMONT BIKD CLUB 



warbler. With the aid of Chapman's Hand Book and a power- 

 ful field glass, we identified the bird as the Caerulean Warbler, 

 deJidroha caerulea. Inhere was a pair of them. They seemed 

 weary from flight, and were pluming their feathers. We identi- 

 fied them beyond a doubt and verified our discovery by the 

 mounted specimens at the Fairbank's Museum. 



HARTLAND SPARROWS. 



BY MRS. MARY B. GATES. 



An extract of a paper read before the Hartland Nature Club, 



Someone has said that the sparrows were like the poor in that 

 we have them always with us. 7 he sparrow family is the 

 largest of our feathered friends containing 550 species, one sev- 

 enth of all our birds, and is represented in all parts of the v/orld, 

 except the Australian regions. Of these North America claims 

 no less than thirty-three genera and one hundred and eighty-nine 

 species and sub-species. What is the reason for this large num- 

 ber of sparrows? Our president recently gave us a very inter- 

 esting paper on Protective Coloration. Now, many members 

 of this prolific family are clothed in dull brown and gray-streaked 

 feathers which harmonize wonderfully in color with the grassy, 

 bushy roadsides which they frequent. It may be that protective 

 coloration causes them to be overlooked by their enemies. 1 often 

 counted in October twenty-five or thirty sparrows qu'etly feed- 

 ing on the lawn, and so quiet were they, if I had not been look- 

 ing for them, they would have escaped my notice. There are 

 members of this family however, which are noted for their ex- 

 ceptionally beautiful and striking plumage. 



The Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Blue Grosbeak, Cardinal, In- 

 digo, and Painted Bunting belong to this great family, and they 

 are very bright plumaged, but not nearly so numerous as the 

 more plainly clothed members. Others, the Juncos and Towhee^, 

 have their plumage unstreaked, but with masses of difi^erent colors 

 on different portions of the body. In size none of the sparrows 

 equal the robin, though a ^t^ come near it. The English Spar- 

 row is about the average, twenty species being smaller, twenty 

 larger, and about twenty like it in size. Their power of song is 

 quite varied, some sing but little while others are noted songsters. 

 The canary belongs to this family. 



