THE SPARROW TRIBE AND ITS KIN 111 



is buffy. The tree sparrow has a parti-colored bill, the 

 upper-half black, the lower yellow with a black tip, while 

 the chippy has an entirely black bill, and the field sparrow 

 a flesh-colored one. Only the tree sparrow, which is 

 larger than either of the others, although only as large as a 

 full-grown English sparrow, spends the winter in the 

 northern United States, and by that time his confusing 

 relatives are too far south for comparison. It is in spring 

 and autumn that their ranges over-lap and there is any 

 possibility of confusion. (See plate, page 99.) 



Professor Beal of the Department of Agriculture, 

 estimates that in a single state — ^lowa — the tree sparrows 

 alone destroy eight hundred and seventy-five tons of 

 noxious weed seeds every winter. Then how incalculably 

 great must be our debt to the entire sparrow tribe! 



Tree sparrows welcome other winter birds to their 

 friendly flocks that glean a comfortable living from the 

 weed stalks protruding from the snow. Their cheerful, 

 soft, jingling notes have been likened by Mr. Chapman to 

 "sparkling frost crystals turned to music." 



The White-throated Sparrow 



"What's in a name?" Our English cousins over the 

 border are quite sure they hear this Canada sparrow, as 

 they call it, sing the praises of Swee-ee-et Cdn-a-da, 

 Cdn-a-da, Cdn-a-da-a, while the New Englanders think the 

 bird distinctly says, I-I-PSa-body, PSa-bod-^, P6a-bod-y-I, 

 extolling the name of one of their first families. You may 

 amuse yourself by fitting whatever words you like to the 

 well-marked metre of the clear, high-pitched, plaintive, 

 sweet song of twelve notes with the accent on the first 



