FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 331 



as they move rapidly about devouring on an average each 

 one-quarter ounce of noxious seeds per day. 



The eggs of the tree sparrow are pea-green, spotted and 

 speckled with reddish-brown. Three to five eggs are laid in 

 the warm little nest constructed of grass, rootlets, and hair. 

 The nests are placed in mossy situations on the ground or in 

 a little shrub at a low elevation. 



The western tree sparrow, very similar in plumage and 

 habits, is the form occurring from the great plains north- 

 ward to Great Slave Lake, and even to Alaska. 



CHIPPING SPARROW 



The Chipping Sparrow ranges throughout eastern North 

 America, breeding from the Gulf to Newfoundland and 

 Great Slave Lake, wintering in the Gulf States and Mex- 

 ico. 



The " chippy " is the dooryard sparrow, or was until the 

 unwelcome English sparrow put in an appearance. The 

 monotonous little trill may be heard about our porches, in 

 the vines, lilac bushes, and hedges. Fond of little conifer- 

 ous trees, three or four pair often sj^end the summer about a 

 single farmhouse. 



The nests are composed almost entirely of horse hair, 

 with outer covering of rootlets. By some the little fellow 

 is known as the hair bird. These nests are usually placed in 

 a little cluster of branches not to exceed twenty feet above 

 the ground, often as low as four feet. Orchard trees are 

 favorite nesting sites, and the birds also are to be found in 

 the berry patches occupied by the indigo bunting and field 



