1893
April 8
(No 2)
Concord, Mass.
superb music. In fact they were seldom silent
for more than a few minutes at a time. Sometimes
a bird would perch in the oak directly in front
of the door and send its rich notes pulsating through
the cabin. A dozen or more birds were constantly 
engaged eating the hemp seed rolling it between
their bills to disengage the husk in the manner
of most Finches. Others were scratching among the
leaves within a yard or two of my window through
which I watched them closely and for the first
time satisfied myself as to exactly how this is
done. The bird invariably jumps forward from one
to two inches and the moment it strikes the ground 
springs back to the spot from which it started.
The feet sometimes strike side by side, sometimes one
a little in advance of the other. At the backward
spring the bird kicks behind it the leaves, small
twigs etc on which it has just alighted thus exposing
a small patch of bare earth within convenient reach
of its bill. After examining this for an instant &
picking up whatever food has been exposed it turns
slightly and rakes the leaves from another area
by another forward & backward spring. Where the
fallen leaves form a thick mat the bird often
repeats its jumps over the same spot several times
in quick succession.
[margin]Fox Sparrows[/margin]
  There were many Song Sparrows and a few
Juncos with the Fox Sparrows at Ball's Hill.
At the Buttricks' there were also Tree Sparrows
in some numbers and here I heard the finest
singing. The wild, ringing chant of the Tree Sparrow