He was taken in, and found to be
tame, but sullen. He refused raw meat, but tore and devoured little birds
very readily. As I said before, it is fortunate he is rare, though why he
is so I scarcely know. He may have enemies in the North, where he breeds;
for I am glad to say that he is only a winter resident.
"It gives one a genuine sense of relief to turn from this Apache, this
treacherous scalper of birds, to those genuinely useful little songsters,
the tree and the song sparrow. The former is essentially a Northern bird,
and breeds in the high arctic regions. He has a fine song, which we hear
in early April as his parting souvenir. The song sparrow will be a great
favorite with you, Miss Amy, for he is one of our finest singers, whose
song resembles the opening notes of a canary, but has more sweetness and
expression. Those that remain with us depart for the North at the first
tokens of spring, and are replaced by myriads of other migrants that
usually arrive early in March. You will hear them some mild morning soon.
They are very useful in destroying the worst kinds of insects. A fit
associate for the song sparrow is the American goldfinch, or yellow-bird,
which is as destructive of the seeds of weeds as the former is of the
smaller insect pests. In summer it is of a bright gamboge yellow, with
black crown, wings, and tail. At this time he is a little olive-brown
bird, and mingles with his fellows in small flocks.
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