. Gray lady and the birds; stories of the bird year for home and school . that it is full of trills, runs,and grace notes, a tinkling, rippling roundelay. A few minutes later it was Sarahs turn to exclaim, asshe pointed to a small, sparrow-like bird, perched on agiant stalk of seeded ragweed at the side of the a Chippy or else a Song-sparrow, she said, hesitat-ingly. Its bigger than a Chippy, and its got a spot onits breast like the Song-sparrow, only it isnt as big. Odear me ! I dont think that I shall ever be sure of tellingSparrows apart, she sighed. To be sure a bird is a Sparrow
. Gray lady and the birds; stories of the bird year for home and school . that it is full of trills, runs,and grace notes, a tinkling, rippling roundelay. A few minutes later it was Sarahs turn to exclaim, asshe pointed to a small, sparrow-like bird, perched on agiant stalk of seeded ragweed at the side of the a Chippy or else a Song-sparrow, she said, hesitat-ingly. Its bigger than a Chippy, and its got a spot onits breast like the Song-sparrow, only it isnt as big. Odear me ! I dont think that I shall ever be sure of tellingSparrows apart, she sighed. To be sure a bird is a Sparrow is a step in the rightdirection, said Gray Lady. I have known some oneolder than you call me to see a big Sparrow which turnedout to be a Wood Thrush. If you will remember one thing,it will help you in placing the smaller birds. Look at abirds beak; if it is thick, short, and cone-shaped, thebird is most likely to be a Sparrow, for this family are allseed-eaters except in the nesting season, while insect-eatingbirds, of all families, have longer and more slender TREE SPARROW THE BIRDS CHRISTMAS TREE 249 As for this little fellow, it is another of our wintervisitors, the Tree-sparrow or Winter Chippy, and there isprobably quite a flock of his kin at this moment dis-tributed over the wild fields below, doing the work of seed-destroying that the farmers have neglected; for, aside fromthe cheerful companionship of all these winter birds, theSparrow tribe is working for us all winter as Weed War-riors,* just as the tree-trunk birds are Tree Trappers, thebirds who take insects while on the wing. Sky Sweepers,and the silent birds of prey, who sit in wait for the field-mice and other vermin. Wise Watchers. Ah, it is my turn now to make discoveries, saidGray Lady, as they turned into the orchard at the endopposite the lunch-counter tree. Keep very quiet, andlook at the mossy branch of that half-dead tree to whichsome frozen apples still hang; what do you see, Goldi-locks? Take m
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