Birds Breeding Within the Limits of the City of New York 



{Continued from No. 2) 



By John Lewis Childs 

 The Chipping Sparrow 



(Spizella socialis) 



HIS well known little Sparrow is of an extremely social nature 

 and loves to dwell near the habitation of man. It breeds abun- 

 dantly in all the suburbs of the city of New York, and to some 

 extent in Central Park. I am inclined to think that fully as 

 many Chipping Sparrows nest within the city limits as do Robins. They 

 arrive quite early from the South and their long-drawn trill is first heard on 

 some warm sunny day in April. The song is pleasant but not particularly 

 musical. They do not begin to build their nests until the foliage is fairly 

 well out to afford concealment and protection from the elements. Apple 

 and pear trees are favorites for nesting sites, though almost any tree includ- 

 ing evergreens may be used, also shrubbery, hedges, arbors, vines, etc. A 

 thick hawthorn hedge affords an ideal site for them, as does also the bar- 

 berry iberberis). I have known Chipping Sparrows on several occasions to 

 build in a barberry bush not over two feet high, the nest carefully concealed 

 down in the center of the bush and not over a foot from the gronnd. For 

 years a pair have nested in a honeysuckle which is trained up one of the 

 piazza posts of my residence close to the steps where people pass all hours 

 of the day within touching distance of the nest, yet they managed to con- 

 struct the nest and hatch out a brood before being discovered by anyone but 

 myself. The work of feeding the young, however, generally reveals their 

 presence to all members of the family. 



The nest is usually made of small twigs, bits of bark, etc., and invari- 

 ably lined with an abundance of horse hair. It is to me a mystery how 

 these little Sparrows find so much of this material, particularly here at 



