SONG SPARROW. 157 



nest, they usually betray it themselves. For this reason it is easily discovered, and every 

 country boy is well acquainted with the breeding habits of this bird. 



The first set of eggs usually numbers five, rarely four or six, and the second mostly 

 four. The eggs show a great diversity in coloration. The ground-color is greenish or 

 greenish-white, more or less thickly blotched and spotted with dark reddish-brown. 

 These markings vary greatly in size and color. In thirteen days, after the set is com- 

 plete, the eggs are hatched. During the first few days the young are fed with plant 

 lice, small green eater-pillars, and worms; later moths, butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, 

 and many other injurious insects ai^ brought home, and in about ten or twelve 

 days they are able to leave the nest. While the old male is caring for the young 

 until they are able to shift for themselves, the female prepares for a second or third 

 brood. The first set of eggs is usually complete by May 20, and by June 25 a second 

 brood is generally hatched. A third brood often follows in July. Nests found late in July 

 demonstrate the fact that some accident has befallen the preceding brood. 



Late in August or early in September the Song Sparrows have abandoned their 

 abode near man. They are now usually found in the shrubbery near roadsides, in 

 tangled thickets, and on the bushy edges of swamps and creeks, or in the bushy border 

 of woods and fields. Being very quiet and retired now, they are rarely seen except by 

 the attentive observer. The tide of fall emigration to the South begins early in October. 

 "Collecting in small loose flocks, probably all of each group members of the same family, 

 they slowly move towards the South. As one set passes on, another succeeds, until the 

 latter part of November, when we no longer meet with flocks, but solitary individuals 

 or groups of two or three. These are usually a larger and stouter race, and almost 

 suggest a different species. They are often in song even into December. They apparently 

 do not go far, and are the first to return. In early March they are in full song, and 

 their notes seem louder, clearer, and more vibratory than those that come to us and 

 remain to breed." (Brewer.) 



As its name implies, the' Song Sparrow is one of our most noted and conspicuous 

 singers, imparting even the dreary winter landscape in March with hope and beauty. 

 Early in the morning, shortly after day dawn, we hear its loud notes, and they do not 

 wane until the evening falls. Being one of our most constant musicians, its song is 

 heard from early spring until July and sometimes longer. It is repeated at short inter- 

 vals almost throughout the day. This song is very powerful, resonant, sweet, and sur- 

 passes that of all our northern Sparrows, with the exception of that of the Fox, Field, 

 and Vesper Sparrow, in beauty and melody. To my ear it sounds much like sh'nide- 

 sh'nide~sh'nide-sh'nide-ze ze ze ze ze ze, the first four syllables in a slow, the rest in a 

 quicker tempo. Bewick's Wren has a very similar song, though more hurried. This lay 

 is especially impressive when snow still lingers on the ground and few other birds are 

 heard. It is the sound of the opening spring. Plain and homely in its dress, its sweet 

 song and its gentle confiding manners render it a welcome visitor to every garden, and 

 around every rural home wherein such attractions can be appreciated. "Whenever these 

 birds are kindly treated they readily make friends, and are attracted to our door-steps 

 for the welcome crumbs that are thrown to them ; and they will return year after year 

 to the same locality, whenever thus encouraged." (Brewer.) 



