6 1 8 
A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
zinnias, or other composites about your lunch counter and you 
will have Goldy for a winter companion, even though he may 
not wear his best clothes. 
Vesper Sparrow : Poocaetes gramineus. S. R. 
Bay-zvinged Bunting 
Length: 5.75-6.25 inches. 
Male and Female: Above brown, varied with dusky. Lesser wing 
coverts bright bay. Below soiled white, striped everywhere ex- 
cept on the belly with brown. No yellow anyzvhere. Outer tail 
feathers partly white, appearing conspicuously like two white 
quills when the bird flies. Upper mandible brown; lower and 
feet yellowish flesh-colored. 
Song: Sweet and clear, less loud than the Song Sparrow’s — “ Che- 
wee-chewee-chewee, tira-lira-lira-lee ! ” 
Season: Common summer resident; April to October. 
Nest: Sunk to the rim in the grass or ground, quite deep; of grasses; 
as carefully made as if it were a tree nest. 
Eggs: 4-6, thickly mottled and spotted with brown. 
This is the Sparrow which is identified by the red-brown 
shoulders and the two white tail quills, and who, though liv- 
ing near the ground, often soars singing into the air. Its 
song, though less constantly heard, is as familiar as the Song 
Sparrow’s, and its habit of singing from late afternoon until 
twilight has given it the name of Vesper Sparrow. 
THE VESPER SPARROW 
It comes from childhood land, 
Where summer days are long 
And summer eves are bland — 
A lulling good-night song. 
Upon a pasture stone, 
Against the fading west, 
A small bird sings alone, 
Then dives and finds its nest. 
The evening star has heard 
And flutters into sight. 
Oh, childhood’s vesper bird, 
My heart calls back Good night. 
— Edith Thomas 
