The Lincoln County herald., 1871-04-13
8 oChilLdren's Department.
BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS,
BY MIS-. pARizADE v. HATHAWAY.

80 ,..s stFt N Wy
The last days Of March brings The song
sparrow. From the point Of bis bill 70
tbv zip Of bis tail he is six and . half
inches long. His head 10 brovnish red
aud gray; his back rufous, with dark
brown and gray stripes; his breast is
white, streaked with brown, and has q
brown spot in the center. He loves the
willows and vines along the creeks aud
iivers. .s...
l hear him sing At nearly oil hours Of
tho day in spring and early summer.
When thus employed. bis throat swells
and puts out like the bellows Of . mu.
sical instrument. "Ese, ese, ki-i.i kiss.
kiss her I" sings sweet clear voice.
"Kiss, kiss, HI i iswillr' responds an
otkcr little farther off. "Chee chez,
qui.se.se.se.se eweet!" MARBLES . third,
while fourth gives vent to his rapture in
"Spik, spik, Q chi obi a.sweet skip skip" I"
These are some Of the love songs Of the
song sparrow. The lady song sparrows
open their feather capped ears, aud
fitting from bush to bush, clipper over
the merits Of their suitors, and by the
middle Of April each one has chosen her.
self . mate that she thinks the tiptop
singer, and housekeeping begins.
''Chipl chip! whcrc shall we put the
nestT" "Chipl chip! iu tuft of grass,
~ in the branches Of . meadow sweet
Sosh. There the blue jays aud haws
will not zee rs, and tho cat will have
hard work 10 end us.' Both birds 60 to
work. and . nest is soon made Of grass
and weeds, and lined With 6ne grass and
sonsGmss horsehairs. In this nest Mrs.
song Sparrow lays four or Eve eggs.
They are blueish or grsyish white. spotted
with brown, quite thickly At the large
end.
l have heard the song sparrow sing At
midnight in May, when the female is
sitting. A good many birds which sing
in the daytime, make music At night, also,
in the season Of mating and sitting.
rheir hearts are SO full Of joy then, that
even the midnight hour and the rising
AOon must be saluted with song.
I have heard the song sparrow singing
less boldly, but very sweetly, on sunny
days among the falling leaves Of October.
This bird rears two broods in . season.
BE lives upon seeds and insects. He
helps us BY eating the seeds Of noxious
weeds. His young, like the young Of all
ether small birds, while iu the nest, are
fed entirely upon worms and soft, perfect
insects. A single pair Of sparrows, when
they have a nestful Of little ones, will
destroy four or Eve hundred insects in
day.
The second week of April, welcome
the field sparrow. He hsunts the more
spsn woodlands and the hazel bruth.
He rs smaller than the song sparrow.
his crown is rich rufous red back,
rufous, striped with black breast yel-
lowish white, and his bill and feet ore
beautifully tinted with I'd. His tail is
long and brown, and there are two white
bands across each wing
He sings at intervals, from the earliest
dawn until the last fading twilight.
"E er, e'er, e.er, tiv-chiv-chiv-i j."
inkles out Of some oak, and walking up
hyly, l see that his bill is wide open,
snd his head upturned. His whole body
vibrates with the vibrations Of his song.
Toward the close Of the strain, the vol.
ums Of tono decreases, dying away like
the sound Of machine that is running
down. In May aud June, in the hush of
night I often hear "E.er, e.er, te.de.d
hip-chip-dear- dear" chanted so
softly and plaintively that I think my
little friend is singing in his dreams. 1t
10 sweet sound to hear in tho still
night.
The mates are very loving to each
other, and are hardly seen out of each
others company. If, when they are
hopping on the ground, the male finds q
sheico morssl, with gentle note he calls
and invites her to partako. In the sea.
son Of nestiug, he brings her worms,
which she accepts with great apparent
delight. The nest is constructed of sti8,
dry grass, and lined with horsehairs. In
II will be found three or four small, gray.
sh white eggs spotted with brown aud
hvender. l often approach Mrs. Field
Ansv,n- m o1o.ol., ul~- L. 4. - -.