ar, except in the storms of February and
March--not always the varied spring song, but still a sweet little tune.

"The Song Sparrow is humble and retiring about the location of his nest,
usually putting it on or near the ground; though of course some pairs
may have ideas of their own about nest-building, and choose a bird-box
or even a hole in a tree. One thing you must remember about birds and
their ways: Nature has fixed a few important laws that must not be
changed, but has given birds and other animals liberty to follow their
own tastes in all other matters.

"Wherever the thick nest is placed, it is cleverly hidden. If in a low
shrub, it is in the crotch where the branches spread above the root. If
on the ground, it is against an old stump with a tuft of grass on each
side, or in a little hollow between bushes. Our Sparrow likes to live in
the garden hedges and about the orchard, and to cultivate the
acquaintance of House People in a shy sort of way.

"He never flies directly to and from his home like the Chippy, Wren, and
Robin, but slips off the nest and runs along the ground as nimbly as a
Thrush, till he reaches a bush, well away from his house, when he hops
into it and flies away.

"'Chek! chek! chek!' is the call-note of the Song Sparrows, who also
have a short, sweet song, which every bird varies and lengthens to
please himself or his mate. 'Maids, maids, maids, hang on your
tea-kettle-ettle-ettle,' some people fancy the bird says, and the short
song fits these words very well. But when this Sparrow sings his best
music, all trembling with love and joy, he forgets about such a simple
thing as the tea-kettle! Now it is a grand banquet he tells you of, with
flowers and music; then he stops suddenly, remembering that he is only a
little brown bird, and sings to his favorite alder bush by the brook a
soft apology for having forgotten himself. This Sparrow even dreams
music in the spring, when you will often hear his notes in the darkest
hours of the night.

"The eggs are as varied as the songs, being light blue or whitish, with
every imaginable sort of brown marking--no two sets are exactly alike.
Birds' eggs often vary in color, like their plumage, and the different
hues seem fitted to hide the eggs; for those of birds that nest in holes
and need no concealing are usually plain white.

"If you ever make a bird calendar at Orchard Farm, you may be able to
write this Sparrow's name in every month of the ye