1903 
AUGUST. 
August 16, 1903 — Sunday. 
Have been away for a week and this morning 
I went down in the fields. Saw some English 
Sparrows feeding in a patch of weeds in a meadow. 
They came up, hovered a minute, and then dove 
down for insects. They also caught them on the 
wing and continually changed their positions. I 
did not recognize them at first. 
Here in Fiske’s pasture I just realized that 
fall has "begun. The grain is cut and some of 
the leaves are turning already. The only tr#e 
bird songs to he heard are the song sparrow and 
the wood pewee with occasionally a few notes from 
the harn swallow and field sparrows. Indigo 
buntings are also singing and crows can be heard 
in the distance. The cliff swallows have left 
for some large marsh. Bobolinks fly over to 
feeding grounds in the fields. Some white¬ 
breasted nuthatches call in a queer harsh tone. 
Taking it all together, however, the birds are 
rather quiet. Those seen are usually in poor 
plumage and they skulk so that it is hard to find 
them. 
The old pasture v/as full of song sparrows. 
They chimped at me and occasionally one sang. 
The young ones called tseet and sang in a low 
tone an endless warbling twittering song with 
Occasional bursts of music in it. One flew out 
of some bushes and lit on a stump and stood there 
now standing up and now crouched down flirting 
its wings and tail with its crest raised to its 
highest extent, the very pictux-e of bold timidity 
Until it dove headlong into the bushes again. 
One female was still feeding her young and was 
very anxious. 
Blue jays called jay jay in a tone express¬ 
ing anxiety, entreaty and command or else chatter- 
