178 Bird - Lore 
and Flickers were Tree Swallows and Bluebirds. The Swallows were here in 
great numbers, preferring a row of boxes along the lake. 
The English Sparrows have, in a most extraordinary way, been recruiting 
their numbers. By late fall, they will again constitute a flock of from three 
hundred to five hundred birds. I shall not attempt any more shooting, believ- 
ing that here, at least, it is best to keep them tame, and “dose” them at appro- 
priate intervals. 
Taken as a whole, the results are not entirely satisfactory. One thing is 
certain, the person who places in position a number of these nest-boxes de- — 
volves upon himself a certain and never-ending responsibility, whenever 
English Sparrows are present. A safe place to put them out is on dead trees 
and stumps surrounded by water. In the thick woods, also, the boxes are left 
alone by the Sparrows; but, unfortunately, in such places they have also been 
disregarded by other species. If one wishes to increase his crop of bees, the 
boxes will help him out, for they are favorite resorts for these sects. 
Wing-Bars as Field-Marks 
By EDMUND J. SAWYER 
Illustrated by the author 
HE white wing-bars of certain of 
the Sparrows and Finches are com- 
monly mentioned as good field- 
marks, while similar marks in cer- 
tain other members of the same 
family are as commonly disre- 
garded, or declared to be value- 
less in that connection. 
The reproduction in Brrp- 
Lore of a Redpoll drawing by the 
writer was criticised because the 
figures of the birds, each and all, 
distinctly showed two white wing- 
bars. Yet this species certainly 
an has these two wing-bars, and 
TREE SPARROW WITH BAR ON LESSER they are, in reality, of the same 
COVERT SECON CHAD kind as those of a Tree Sparrow, 
or of even a so-called White-winged Crossbill. To be exact, these bars are 
formed by the white tips of the greater and middle wing coverts. 
The fact is, such bars may or may not serve as field-marks, not according 
to the species, but according to the mood, so to speak, of the individual bird, 
of whichever of these white-wing-barred species it may be. The bars may or 
