24 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
Aprit 17.—Langille says: “Not many hours earlier 
or later than April 7th we hear the vesper sparrow 
(Poocetes gramineus), and almost at the same hour they 
are here in great numbers; and throughout our latitude 
the fields and pastures are everywhere enlivened by 
their appearance.” My experience is that April weather 
has much to do in determining the day of the arrival of 
this species, as well as of many others. This year none 
of them were here before the 11th, and then only in 
limited numbers. Some years you may not hear onein 
this vicinity before April 20th, while in other seasons 
the latter part of March may bring them. A record in 
my note-book for fifteen years gives the middle of April 
as the average date. As remarked in a former paper, 
the weather has much to do in hastening or delaying 
the arrival of the earlier migrants, just as it has on the 
opening of the first wild flowers. But early or late in 
coming, the presence in any considerable numbers of 
these delightful birds brings glad tidings and a promise, 
not often broken, of real spring weather. They are not 
like the song sparrows, cheerful amid snow and sleet, 
singing with the weather at zero, but delight rather in 
the genial days of spring and summer. In other char- 
acteristics these two bear a close resemblance. They 
are about the same size and shape, and much the same 
general color. The vespers are a little lighter gray, 
less rufus on the back, and not so strongly marked. 
They have the distinguishing feature of two or three 
white lateral tail quills, which show plainly when they 
fly. They are less city birds in summer than the melo- 
