Page:How to Have Bird Neighbors.pdf/71

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us by his various shrieks and somersaults that he wished we would not go near enough to disturb her.

On the farm that day I saw the golden-throated meadowlark. He is another yodeler. His favorite tune is:

            lee-
"Le- o-
    o- loo"

His songs ring so clear and flute-like that I can hear him away over at our place. He is a brown bob-*tailed bird. Over a beautiful yellow front he has a black band, pointing down in the middle, V-shaped. A large company of these birds were in the meadow, happy as larks; so they are well named meadowlarks.

But think of a dear little bird and such a sweet singer as the song sparrow, bearing the same name as the odious English sparrow! It seems unjust, and in this the boy agreed with me. We got to talking about the song sparrow because one was on a fence post near by, singing over and over this lively ditty:

                 twe-e
                / \ je
               / \twe-e je je je
"Twee twee twee \ je je je jay."
                            je je

The bluebirds' home that the boy had mentioned at the beginning of my visit was in a hole of an apple