19101 The Ottawa Naturalist. 135 



NOTES ON THE WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 



By L. McI. Terrill, Westmount, Qve. 



Even after fifteen years' acquaintanceship, 1 still look 

 forward to the arrival of the White-throated Sparrow as a chief 

 event in the spring migration. 



Birds confine themselves chiefly to the open country at this 

 time; in fact few wood-dwellers have begun to arrive. Hard- 

 wood groves carpeted with Hepaticas and other blossoms hold 

 some attraction for bird life, but in the gloom of the evergreen 

 swamp few notes are heard. Here, the hardy Skunk-cabbage, 

 is alone strong enough to force its way through snow and ice- 

 water; a Winter Wren occasionally bubbles forth its overflow 

 of spirits, and possibly at twilight you may hear the Hermit 

 Thrush, yet it requires the frequency of the White-throat's 

 cheery whistle to make one feel entirely at home. 



Immediately on their arrival ion the average about the^ 

 27th of April) one may find these sparrows paired and settled, 

 in their breeding haunts. After the first of May it is usual to 

 hear individuals in city gardens (in one instance a lumber yard 

 in the heart of the city was chosen by a bird which sang nearly, 

 every morning from the 14th to the 20th of May), but these birds 

 are more likely northern than local residents. During the three 

 or four weeks following their arrival the White-throats sing a 

 great deal ; even at night one will often hear a sudden burst of 

 song. Usually the same number of notes are uttered, though 

 the variation in pitch and inflection is considerable. Later, when 

 the breeding season is far advanced, notes are frequently: 

 omitted; often the first two alone are uttered, the second being 

 much shortened and abruptly terminated. One feels, on hearing 

 this late summer song, that the bird has not finished what it 

 started to say; as if the impulsive singer were denied the right 

 to sing yet could hardly repress the song. The abrupt full-stop 

 suggests sadness, oblivious for the moment, the White-throat 

 is suddenly reminded of the dying summer. Still later, in late 

 August and September, though individuals will sometimes sing 

 the spring song in its entirety, it is more usual to hear the first 

 note only and that much shortened, an utterance that would 

 readily escape detection. 



Comparatively few birds commence nesting in May, though 

 I have found several complete sets in that month. On May 1 5th, 

 1910, my earliest record, I located two partially completed nests; 

 a week later found these nests abandoned, and two others with 

 one and four eggs respectively. This habit of abandoning nests 

 when disturbed, in common with such birds as the Ovenbird, 



