each other some of
the various species are when they emerge from the shell.

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APRIL

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SPRING SONGSTERS

Early April sees the last contest which winter wages for supremacy, and
often it is a half-hearted attempt; but after the army of the North has
retreated, with its icicles and snowdrifts, spring seems dazed for a
while. Victory has been dearly bought, and April is the season when, for a
time, the trees and insects hang fire--paralysed--while the chill is
thawing from their marrow. Our northern visitors of the bird world slip
quietly away. There is no great gathering of clans like that of the tree
swallows in the fall, but silently, one by one, they depart, following the
last moan of the north wind, covering winter's disordered retreat with
warbles and songs.

One evening we notice the juncos and tree sparrows in the tangled,
frost-burned stubble, and the next day, although our eye catches glints of
white from sparrow tails, it is from vesper finches, not from juncos, and
the weed spray which a few hours before bent beneath a white-throat's
weight, now vibrates with the energy which a field sparrow puts into his
song. Field and chipping sparrows, which now come in numbers, are somewhat
alike, but by their beaks and songs you may know them. The mandibles of
the former are flesh-coloured, those of the latter black. The sharp
_chip!_ _chip!_ is characteristic of the "chippy," but the sweet, dripping
song of the field sparrow is charming. No elaborate performance this, but
a succession of sweet, high notes, accelerating toward the end, like a
coin of silver settling to rest on a marble table--a simple, chaste
vespers which rises to the setting sun and endears the little brown singer
to us.

We may learn much by studying these homely little frequenters of our
orchards and pastures; each has a hundred secrets which await patient and
careful watching by their human lovers. In the chipping sparrow we may
notice a hint of the spring change of dress which warblers and tanagers
carry to such an extreme. When he left us in the fall he wore a
dull-streaked cap, but now he comes from the South attired in a smart
head-covering of bright chestnut. Poor little fellow, this is the very
best he can do in the way of especial ornament to bewitch his lady love,
but it suffices. Ca