FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 319 



With the change of cHmate, liowever, came a change in 

 their taste for insects. They made their home in the coun- 

 try, as well as in the cities, and became seed and vegetable 

 eaters, devouring the young buds on vines and trees, grass- 

 seed, oats, rye, and other grains. 



Their services in insect-killing are still not to be 

 despised. A single pair of these sparrows, under obsen'a- 

 tion an entire day, were seen to convey to their young no 

 less than forty grubs an hour, an average exceeding three 

 thousand in the course of a week. IMoreover, even in the 

 autumn he does not confine himself to grain, but feeds on 

 various seeds, such as the dandelion, the sow-thistle, and 

 the groundsel, all of which plants are classed as weeds. It 

 has been known, also, to chase and devour the common 

 white butterfly, whose caterpillars make havoc among the 

 garden plants. 



The good he may accomplish in this direction, however, 

 is nullified to the lovers of the beautiful by the war he con- 

 stantly wages upon our song birds, destroying their young 

 and substituting his unattractive looks and inharmonious 

 chirps for their beautiful plumage and soul-inspiring songs. 



VESPER SPARROW 



The true form of the Vesper Sparrow, Bay-winged 

 Bunting, or Grass Finch ranges from the plains eastward 

 across the United States to southern Canada. The terri- 

 tory known as the Great Plains northward into Canada is 

 inhabited by a sub-species known as the western vesper 

 sparrow. In the Northwest, through Oregon, Washington, 



