174 Bird -Lore 



killed and eaten. Audubon describes at length the method employed by people 

 in Louisiana to secure the birds in the early part of the last century. They 

 were killed by blowing sharp sticks tipped with squirrel fur through a hollow 

 reed; in short, these hunters used blow-guns much like those employed today 

 by Indians in the jungles of South America and elsewhere. Today the laws 

 of all the eastern states protect the Whitethroat, and its enemies now con- 

 sist mainly of the Screech Owl, to a limited extent the Sparrow Hawk and 

 Sharp-shinned Hawk, but most of all the prowling, vagrant house-cat. 



By the middle of November the majority of these Sparrows have departed 

 from the latitude of New York and will not be seen there again until March 

 or early April. From then until the dogwoods are in full flower these birds 

 are about, and may be seen if one will only take the time to tramp about the 

 country until they are found. They begin to arrive in Canada early in May, 

 and soon all over the eastern part of the Dominion where forests or woodland 

 abound the Whitethroats are to be seen. In the summer they occur as far 

 west as Alberta, and are common in the central part of that province. 



Of all the numerous members of the Sparrow Family found in North 

 America no species is better known for its song than this one. In the ever- 

 green forests of the North its clear, beautiful whistle is one of the most char- 

 acteristic sounds of the region, and it strikes the ear with a freshness that is 

 truly delightful. There are many who have tried to interpret its song and 

 tell us in English what the bird is saying when it sits upon the pine-top and 

 whistles away for half an hour at a time. Mr. Stansell, of Alberta, for example, 

 tells us that the call to his mind strongly suggests the words "Oh see me me 

 me me me." A very common rendering of its song is given as "Old Sam Pea- 

 body, Peabody, Peabody." There are many variations of this last transla- 

 tion, in all of which the word "Peabody" is prominent. It seems to the ears 

 of some of our Canadian friends that the bird is always shouting "Peabody," 

 and hence long ago the custom arose of calling it the Peabody Bird. 



On the other hand, probably, just as many people know it as the Sweet 

 Canada Bird, for they are thoroughly convinced that when the Sparrow sings 

 it says "Swe-e-et Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da." William Hamilton Gibson 

 relates the incident of a perplexed farmer named Peverly, who did not know 

 what to plant until he heard a Whitethroat sing, "Sow wheat, Pev-er-ly, Pev- 

 er-ly, Pev-er-ly." 



THE SING-AWAY BIRD 



Have you ever heard of the Sing-away Bird, 



That sings where the Runaway river 

 Runs down with its rills from the bald-headed hills 



That stand in the sunshine and shiver? 

 "Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!" 

 How the pines and the birches are stirred 

 By the trill of the Sing-away bird! 



