The Vesper Sparrows 



Taken in Idaho 



as dearly as an old hen, and the daily dust-bath is a familiar sight to 

 every traveler. While seeking its food of weed-seeds and insects, it runs 

 busily about upon the ground, skulking and running oftener than flitting 

 for safety. Although not especially timid, it seems to take a sort of 

 professional pride in being able to slip about among the weed-stems 

 unseen. 



It is, of course, at the nesting time that the sneak-ability of the bird 



is most severely tested. 

 The nest, a simple affair 

 of coiled grasses, is usu- 

 ally sunk, or chambered, 

 in the ground, so that its 

 brim comes flush with 

 the surface. For the 

 rest, the brooding bird 

 seldom seeks any other 

 protection than that of 

 "luck," and her own 

 ability to elude observa- 

 tion when obliged to quit 

 the nest. Her behavior 

 at this time depends 

 largely upon the amount 

 of disturbance to which 

 she is subjected. At 

 first approach of danger 

 she is inclined to stick 

 to her post till the last 

 possible moment, and 

 then she falls lame as she 

 flutters off . But if often 

 frightened, she shrewdly 

 learns to rise at a con- 

 siderable distance. 



In the northern states 

 the Vesper Sparrow 

 raises two or even three 

 broods in a season, but 

 inasmuch as the ranges 

 affected by the birds in 

 this State are rather ele- 

 vated ones, it is doubtful 



Photo by H. J. Rust 



NEST AND EGGS OF WESTERN VESPER SPARROW 



244 



