THE SPARROW TRIBE AND ITS KIN 113 



sings its full love-song, as it does in the Northern states 

 and British provinces, along the Atlantic coast; but during 

 the migrations it favors us only with selections from its 

 repertoire. Like the latter half of the white-throat's 

 familiar refrain, repeated a number of times with a pe- 

 culiar, plaintive cadence and in a clear, soft whistle it be- 

 gins with a, fe-u-^e-u-feu; and, again like the white-throat's 

 song, it is frequently heard at night. 



The English Sparrow 



Is there any one who does not already know this saucy, 

 keen-witted little gamin who thrives where other birds 

 would starve; who insists upon thrusting himself where he 

 is not wanted, not only in other birds' houses, but about 

 the cornices, pillars, and shutters of our own, where his 

 noise and dirt drive good housekeepers frantic; who, with- 

 out any weapons but his boldness and impudence to fight 

 with, fears neither man nor beast, and who multiplies as 

 fast as the rabbit, so that he is rapidly inheriting the earth? 

 Even children who have never been out of the slums of 

 great cities know at least this one bird, this ever-present 

 nuisance, for he chirps and chatters as cheerfully in the 

 reeking gutters as in the prettiest gardens; he hops with 

 equal calm about the horse's feet and trolley cars in 

 crowded city thoroughfares, as he does about flowery fields 

 and quiet country lanes; he will pick at the overflow from 

 garbage pails on the sidewalk in front of teeming tene- 

 ments, and manure on the city pavements, with quite as 

 much relish as he will eat the fresh, clean seed spilled by a 

 canary, or cake-crumbs from my lady's hand. Intense 

 cold he endures with cheerful fortitude and as intense mid- 



