33^ BIRDS 



sparrow. Some years ago I had the unusual experience of 

 finding four nests of the chipping sparrow within a radius 

 of 150 yards, all of which were placed on the ground, an 

 unusual occurrence, especially as three of the nests were 

 practically in the shade of orchard trees. 



Four blue eggs, dotted at the larger end with black, are 

 laid in May. A second brood is often reared in July. 



FIELD SPARROW 



The range of the Field Sparrow is eastern North Amer- 

 ica, breeding from North Carolina to Quebec and Manitoba 

 and wintering from southern lUinois and Virginia south- 

 ward. 



In appearance this bird reminds us of the chipping spar- 

 row, but is slightly smaller. Gardens, brushy pastures, and 

 second-growth timber are favorite resorts of this bird, which 

 is very common east of the plains in temperate North Amer- 

 ica. Their song, like that of the indigo bunting and dick- 

 cissel, is not uttered at any particular time of day, but we 

 are apt to hear the little fellow singing when the sun is 

 shining the hottest. The rather wierd notes are in the form 

 of a prolonged musical trill, though subject to great indi- 

 vidual variation. 



Though comparatively unsuspicious, the field sparrow is 

 not so familiar about the haunts of man as some other vari- 

 eties. It prefers a little patch of berry bushes or growth of 

 haw where the grass and weeds are long and thick. 



The nests are often placed in tussocks of grass at the 

 base of a bush or among the twigs of a shrub at low eleva- 



