THE TREE SPARROW. 



{Spizella monticola.) 



" I like to see them feasting on the seed stalks above the crust, and hear their choius 

 of merry tinkling- notes, like sparkling- frost crystals turned to music." — Chapman. 



One who loves birds cannot fail to be 

 attracted by the sparrows and especially 

 by the Tree Sparrow, whose pert form 

 is the subject of our picture. This little 

 bird comes to us in the Eastern United 

 States in September or October and re- 

 mains throughout the winter. It is at 

 this time common or even abundant as 

 far to the westward as the great plains, 

 and is rare farther west. It is a winter 

 bird and breeds in the colder latitudes 

 north of the United States, where it 

 builds its home of grasses, shreds of bark 

 and small roots interlaced with hair, not 

 high up in trees, as its name might in- 

 dicate, but upon or near the ground. 



Gentle and of a retiring disposition, 

 they prefer the cultivated fields, the 

 meadows, the woods with their borders of 

 shrubs or the trees of the orchard. Such 

 is their confidence, however, that they 

 will even visit the dooryards and prettily 

 pick up the scattered crumbs or grain. 



While tramping through a meadow in 

 the early winter and before the snow has 

 disappeared or the frost has hardened and 

 c/ianged the surface of the earth, the 

 tramper may frequently disturb num- 

 bers of the sparrows. Flying from the 

 dried grass they will seem to come out of 

 the ground. Speaking of such an inci- 

 dent, Mr. Keyser says : "This unex- 

 pected behavior led me to investigate, and 

 I soon found that in many places there 

 were cozy apartments hollowed out under 

 the long thick tufts of grass, with neat 

 entrances at one side like the door of an 

 Eskimo hut. These hollows gave ample 

 evidence of having been occupied by the 

 birds, so there could be no doubt about 

 their being bird bed-rooms." 



These little birds seem almost a part of 

 one's animal family, and a companion in 

 those regions where the snow covers the 



ground a part of the year. They chirp 

 and often sing quite gaily in the spring. 

 They may often be seen when the ther- 

 mometer indicates a temperature below 

 zero and the snow is a foot or more in 

 depth. Seemingly all that is required to 

 saitsfy them is a plenty of weeds from 

 which they may gather the seeds. They 

 are driven southerly only by a lack of a 

 suitable food supply. Often they may 

 be found resting under clumps of tall 

 grass or vines on which the snow has 

 gathered, forming a sort of roof over the 

 snug retreat. "Whether rendered care- 

 less by the cold or through a natural 

 heedlessness, they are very tame at such 

 times ; they sit unconcernedly on the 

 twigs, it may be but a few feet distant, 

 chirping cheerfully, with the plumage all 

 loosened and puffy, making very pretty 

 roly-poly looking objects." 



A very pretty sight, and one that may 

 frequently be seen, is a flock of Tree 

 Sparrows around some tall weed. Some 

 of the birds will be actively gathering 

 seeds from the branches of the weed, 

 while others will stand upon the ground 

 or snow and pick up those seeds that are 

 dropped or shaken off by their relatives 

 above. While thus feeding there seems 

 to be a constant conversation. If we 

 could but translate this sweet-voiced 

 chirping perhaps we should find that they 

 are expressing to each other the pleasure 

 that the repast is giving them. 



Their song is sweet and pleasing. They 

 are not constant songsters, but seem to be 

 moved by some unseen spirit, for a flock- 

 will suddenly burst out in a melody of 

 song that is entrancing. He who has been 

 favored with such a concert is indeed 

 fortunate. Their whole being seems to 

 be brought into action in the production 

 of this song, which is "somewhat crude 



no 



