300 USEFUL BIRDS. 
consists of small fruit, mostly wild, four per cent. of grain, 
mostly waste, picked up in the fields, while fifty per cent. 
of the entire food of the year is composed of the seeds of 
weeds. Dr. Judd remarks that the chief value of this bird 
as a seed-eater lies in its habit of eating the seeds of polyg- 
onum; these seeds are not so much eaten by other birds. 
But the Song Sparrow eats the seed of chickweed, purslane, 
sorrel, dandelion, and dock, all of which are common in 
Massachusetts gardens. More than half the grass seed eaten 
belongs to such troublesome species as crab grass and pigeon 
grass. Witch grass and barnyard grass are among the seeds 
that are often freely eaten by this useful bird. 
The Song Sparrow sometimes learns to come about the 
door for crumbs. A pair built a nest on the ground in our 
garden ; buta cat found it. Then a nest was built in a bush ; 
this suffered a fate like the first. Then the birds went up 
high among the thick sprouts on the trunk of an elm, built 
another nest, and reared their young in safety. They were 
wiser in their way than men, who, in spite of their superior 
intelligence, continue to build their homes on the shores of 
rivers which periodically overflow their banks, or on the 
slopes of volcanoes that occasionally burn or bury cities. 
The Song Sparrow is a bird to cultivate. Friendly, 
cheery, musical, harmless, gentle, useful, — what more can 
be desired ? 
Slate-colored Junco. Black Snowbird. 
Junco hyemalis. 
Length. — About six and one-fourth inches. 
Adult Male.—In winter, all upper parts, and lower parts from chin to breast, 
dark slaty-gray ; lower breast and belly white; two outer tail feathers and 
part of third white; bill pinkish-white, blackish at tip. 
Adult Female.— Similar, but lighter, and usually more rusty. 
Young. — Browner, and slightly streaked ; throat and breast paler. 
Nest.— On ground. 
Egys.— White, spotted with brown. 
Season. — Resident, but most common in spring and fall. 
The Snowbird does not often breed in Massachusetts, ex- 
cepting on the higher lands of the north-central and western 
parts of the State. Pairs are said to nest occasionally in 
ice houses, which are certainly cool, if not suitable situa- 
tions. It is a bird of the Canadian fauna, and it winters 
in Massachusetts wherever conditions are favorable. In the 
