BIRDS OF NEW YORK 3O9 



New York about the farmyard, the garden, the orchard and in the groves 

 and parks, but more particularly near the habitations of men, frequently 

 placing its nest on the ampelopsis or honeysuckle which climbs on the 

 porch, and in the shrubbery or young evergreens on the lawn or in the 

 garden. It feeds both on the ground and among the trees and foliage, 

 in the fall and spring mostly on the ground, subsisting on the weed and grass 

 seeds which are scattered about, and during the summer taking its food 

 largely from the insects of the garden, apple and shade trees. Green 

 caterpillars and beetles are the favorite food for its young. I have counted 

 as many as 70 green caterpillars brought by a Chipping sparrow in an hour 

 and a quarter to feed 4 young that were being reared in a grape vine which 

 screened our porch. 



Two broods are usually hatched in a season. The first sets of eggs 

 will be found between the 2d and the 20th of May in the warmer portions 

 of the State, and eggs for the second brood may be found from the 20th 

 of June to the 30th of July. The nest is composed mostly of rootlets 

 with a few grass stalks, and lined with horse hair, which has given this, 

 sparrow in many parts of the country the name of Hair bird. The eggs 

 are 4 or 5 in number, a beautiful greenish blue, almost always wreathed 

 near the larger end with blackish and reddish brown blotches and pen 

 lines. They average .72 by .51 inches in dimensions. 



The song of the Chipping sparrow is a thin, monotonous trill like the 

 syllables " chip, chip, chip, chip, chip," often uttered incessantly or with 

 little intermission for hours during the day. It can not be called an agree- 

 able song. Besides this, it has a call note, a slight " tsip." The song, to 

 my ear, is more harsh and insectlike than the trill of the Savannah sparrow, 

 which is comparatively musical, and much higher and thinner in quality 

 than the trill of the Junco. 



