314 POULTRY AND WILD BIRDS 
also eat a great many insects. They have short, conical bills adapted 
to crushing seeds. Some of the larger species have very heavy, stout 
bills and are called Grosbeaks; two of them, the Crossbills, have the 
mandibles crossed in a peculiar way. Several have a very long nail on 
the hind toe and are called Longspurs. Many of them have plain colors 
(browns and grays) arranged in a streaky pattern, and these are called 
Sparrows; others have brighter colors. A good portion of the plainer 
birds are found on prairies and in open fields; the brighter colored 
species more generally stay among trees. Musical ability is quite 
common in this group, and some of our favorite cage birds, as the Canary, 
belong to the family; others, however, hardly sing at all. 
English Sparrow. Length 6} inches. 
If we wish to know the birds, it is well to begin our course of study 
with the English Sparrows. They are our commonest birds and are found 
in abundance in all our towns and villages and around many farm 
buildings. Every student must know 
them so thoroughly that he will never 
confuse them with other birds, for we 
have many other sparrows that are quite 
similar in general appearance. They 
are not migratory and live in the same 
locality the year round. They are a 
great nuisance for several reasons, not 
the least of which is that they occupy 
Encusu SPARROW our premises to the exclusion of other 
birds. 
Their plumage shows the color scheme that is typical of the sparrows. 
They are brownish above, streaked and mottled with gray, and the males 
have a conspicuous black patch on the throat and breast. The bill is 
conical in shape and rather stout, being fitted for seed eating. The birds 
pick up grain in the street and in the barnyard, eat kitchen scraps, 
and everything else that birds can eat. They are noisy and pugnacious; 
their notes are harsh chirps and it is by these notes that they are most 
easily distinguished from other sparrows. They do not sing. They 
build their nests in all convenient places about buildings and also in 
trees. The nest is bulky and poorly constructed out of all kinds of 
material, 
