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erally take a hint to move on before yon know of their presence. 

 They do not stay long with ns on their migration, and seeing them 

 one day is no indication that you can find them the next. 



■X- ^ -x- 



Althougli tlie white throated sparrows spend the winter in our 

 southern counties, they do not start their northward journey as 

 early as we might expect, and it is not until the first part of April 

 that we may be sure of finding them. I have one list, indeed, that 

 shows their first appearance on May first ! 



They are to be found in similar places to those which the fox- 

 sparrows choose, and are very similar to them in habits, but the 

 boldly striped head and gray breast are very distinctive marks. 

 Almost all of our native sparrows have a call 

 note, the " tseep " note, which is hard to dis- 

 tinguish in the different species without much 

 patient listening — and I doubt if any person 

 is infallible in this distinction. The white- 

 throat has this note as well as the song-sparrow, 

 tree-sparrow (a winter bird), fox-sparrow, white- 

 crown, chippy, field-sparrow, grass-finch, in fact 

 all our brown-backed sparrows. But the song 

 of the white-throat is his own, and may be heard 75.— White-t7iroat- 

 frequently during his very leisurely journey ^ spariow. 



through our State. His Canadian name, " Peabody bird " is 



descriptive of his notes, " , , ." When a 



number get together and whistle, as if they were singing a round, 



it makes a very sweet concert. 



^ -jf ^ 



One of the foremost birds in the spring movement is the grass- 

 finch (vesper-sparrow or bay-winged bunting). It is to be found in 

 open fields and along roadside fences, in companj^ with meadow 

 larks, and its sweet song may be heard almost any warm evening 

 after the middle of April. Unlike most of our birds, this sparrow 

 sings at its best late in the afternoon and during twilight, which per- 

 haps makes its song seem the sweeter. It is rather a gentle song, 

 though to be heard at some distance, carrying quite as far as that of 

 the song-sparrow. Although the quality of voice is somewhat simi- 



505 



