Erown, Oliye or Grayish Brown, and Brow j and Gray Sparrowy Birds 



mons to investigate the character of the alleged pest has yet to 

 learn whether the sparrow's services as an insect-destroyer do 

 not outweigh the injury it does to fruit and grain. 



Field Sparrow 



(Spi^etta pusilla) Finch family 



Calltd also: FIELD BUNTING; WOOD SPARROW; BUSH 



SPARROW 



Length — 5.5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the English 

 sparrow. 



Male — Chestnut crown. Upper back bright chestnut, finely 

 streaked with black and ashy brown. Lower back more 

 grayish. Whitish wing-bars. Cheeks, line over the eye, 

 throat, pale brownish drab. Tail long. Underneath grayish 

 white, tinged with palest buff on breast and sides. Bill 

 reddish. 



Female — Paler; the crown edged with grayish. 



Range — North America, from British provinces to the Gulf, and 

 westward to the plains. Winters from Illinois and Virginia 

 southward. 



Migrations — April. November. Common summer resident 



Simply because both birds have chestnut crowns, the field 

 sparrow is often mistaken for the dapper, sociable chippy; and, 

 no doubt because it loves such heathery, grassy pastures as are 

 dear to the vesper sparrow, and has bay wings and a sweet 

 song, these two cousins also are often confused. The field spar- 

 row has a more reddish-brown upper back than any of its small 

 relatives; the absence of streaks on its breast and of the white 

 tail quills so conspicuous in the vesper sparrow's flight, sufficiently 

 differentiate the two birds, while the red bill of the field sparrow 

 is a positive mark of identification. 



This bird of humble nature, that makes the scrubby pastures 

 and uplands tuneful from early morning until after sunset, flies 

 away with exasperating shyness as you approach. Alighting on 

 a convenient branch, he lures you on with his clear, sweet song. 

 Follow him, and he only hops about from bush to bush, farther 

 and farther away, singing as he goes a variety of strains, which 

 «S one of the bird's peculiarities. The song not only varies in 

 individuals, but in different localilies, which may be one reason 



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