30 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
come and feed the young while I was standing on a 
limb but a few feet below them. The two alternated 
in excavating the place for the nest, and both assisted 
in clearing it out each spring. All chips and refuse 
were carried away, that they might not betray the 
neighborhood of the nest. The male often brought 
food to his mate, although he took his place on the 
nest when she was away. The whole family, old and 
young, remained in the neighborhood and in company, 
and at the fall migration went south together. The 
fourth summer, just before the young birds were able 
to fly, a boy in the neighborhood shot one of the old 
ones, and the other continued the care of the brood. 
The tree was never again occupied as a nesting place. 
I have long been satisfied that several species of our 
song birds not only mated for the season, but for life. 
Such was certainly the case with this pair. Dr. C. C. 
Abbott, in a late charming book, “ Waste Land 
Wanderings,” devotes several pages to this interesting 
subject, being convinced from long and careful observa- 
tion that many birds remain mated as long as both 
live. 
Another interesting summer resident in this region 
is the Savanna sparrow (Passerculus Savanna). They 
make their appearance in this latitude about the middle 
of April and remain until October. These sparrows 
are not so plentiful nor so generally distributed as the 
song or vesper sparrows, but, like certain plants, they 
seem to have their favorite localities to which they are 
much attached. There are whole townships in which 
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