Chip

 

Not all of the agate hunters are experts. Chip is new to the hunt and sometimes is unsure if what he’s found is really an agate. This one is a dark red rock and may be an agate. He’s going to take it to Rocky and see what he thinks.

You might think Chip is named after a piece or rock or wood, a chip, but no, he’s named after the small sparrows that have rusty red caps just like his. They’re called chipping sparrows, so his name is a shortened version of that. Those birds are also called “hair birds” for their habit of collecting hair to line their nests. Chip is glad he was named Chip rather than “Hairy.”