IDYLLS OF BIRD LIFE 
size of the English sparrow. The crown is of bright chestnut.- 
A gray line passes over the cheek, and the throat and breast are "\ 
gray. The back is brown, the feathers have edges of black and 
buff; the wings are dusky, with two whitish bars across them. 
The tail feathers are brown, bordered wpth grayish white. 
Under some unburied weed patch, in a field piled high with 
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snowdrifts, a flock of these cold-defying, hardy little birds will 
keep up a constant twittering, as if trying to dissipate the cold 
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Winter’s weariness. 
The tree sparrow is one of the most numerous I 
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found during the Winter season;/ flocks of them of from a dozen 
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to two or three hundred, are common in localities where weed 
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fields are abundant. 
Bv his name one might imply that the bird lives in trees, 
but op the contrary, he is seldom seen there, preferring the 
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small, low bushes and usually wood patches, for his home. His 
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song is sweet, melodious, “Swee-ho, tweet, tweet,” that may be 
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heard on any mild Winter’s day. 
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The cardinal is not a permanent Winter resident of the 
north, but he is a frequent visitor. He is a trifle smaller than 
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the robin. Brilliant cardinal m color, gives the bird his name. 
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