1 12 Birds Every Child Should Know 
FIELD SPARROW 
While the neighbourly song sparrow and the 
swamp sparrow delight to be near water, the 
field sparrow chooses to live in dry uplands 
where stunted bushes and cedars cover the hills 
and overgrown old fields, and towhees and 
brown thrashers keep him company. He is 
not fond of human society, however, and usually 
flies away with wavering, uncertain flight from 
bush to bush rather than submit to a close 
scrutiny of his bright chestnut brown back and 
crown, flesh-coloured bill, gray eyebrow, grayish 
throat, buffy breast and light feet. Because 
his tail is a trifle longer than the chippy’s he is 
slightly larger than the smallest of our sparrows. 
Unless you notice that his bill is not black and 
his head not marked with black and gray 
streaks like the chippy^s, you might easily 
mistake him for his sociable, confiding little 
cousin who comes hopping to the door. 
How differently he sings! Listen for him 
some evening after sunset when his simple ves- 
per hymn, clear, plaintive, sweet, rings from the 
bush where he perches especially for the perform- 
ance. Scarcely any two field sparrows sing pre- 
cisely alike. Most of them, however, begin with 
three clear, smooth, leisurely whistles--"C/^^f- 
wee, cher-wee, cher-wee—then hurry through 
the other notes— cheo, cheo-dee~dee~eee, e, e — 
