BIRD PARADISE 115 



notice that the song sparrow is busy shaping a 

 mansion which is really a work of art. On the 

 swinging branch of one of my evergreens the 

 foundation of the house is laid. What a marvel- 

 ous cup it is ! But the adorning of the inner walls 

 is the marvel of this bird palace. The long fine 

 hairs are woven in until it seems like a fairy 

 home, born some way out of the very heart of na- 

 ture. It is not at all strange that the author of it 

 all should secure thereby the name of hair bird. 

 Among the songs of our early birds I fancy there 

 is no other that ranks quite as high as that of our 

 chippy friend. I am quite apt to regard it as 

 No. 1 among the sparrow melodies. 



My neighbor tells me that a pair of hen-hawks 

 have put their nest in a large tree in the Birming- 

 ham swamp. Just how they keep their incubator 

 warm enough in this cool weather to hatch the 

 hawk chickens is a problem with the parson. 

 The nest is loosely constructed and even though 

 the old birds alternate in keeping the house warm 

 it would seem as though the venture would be a 

 failure. In my boyhood the swamp covered many 

 acres of land east of the village. Several of the 

 hawks' nests were built there every season. Part 



