chondestes (from chondros, grain, and edestes, eater) grammacus (lined)
Thursday, May 1, 1980 — 4:45 pm
Deerfield, Illinois
I was walking around a college campus, back by the baseball diamond. There was a weed-covered dirt hill in the corner near the woods. As I walked up the slope, a sparrow flew out of the weeds and landed facing me about 40 feet away in a row of brush and trees. It was a beautiful bird with a striking head pattern and a white-edged tail that fanned out in flight.