52 DECEMBER OUT-OF-DOORS. 
degrees above zero, and a strong wind blow- 
ing. Such weather would drive the birds 
under shelter. The next forenoon, there- 
fore, I betook myself toa hill covered thickly 
with pines and cedars. Here I soon ran 
upon several robins, feeding upon the savin 
berries, and in a moment more was surprised 
by a tseep so loud and emphatic that I thought 
at once of a fox sparrow. Then I looked 
for a song sparrow, — badly startled, per- 
haps, — but found to my delight a white- 
throat. He was on the ground, but at my 
approach flew into a cedar. Here he drew 
in his head and sat perfectly still, the pic- 
ture of discouragement. I could not blame 
him, but was glad, an hour later, to find 
him again on the ground, picking up his 
dinner. I leveled my glass at him and 
whistled his Peabody song (the simplest of 
all bird songs to imitate), but he moved not 
a feather. Apparently he had never heard 
it before! He was still there in the after- 
noon, and I had hopes of his remaining 
through the winter; but I never could find 
him afterwards. Ten days prior to this I 
had gone to Longwood on a special hunt for 
this same sparrow, remembering a certain 
