Sparrows SONG-BIRDS. 



body, peabody " ; words from wliicli it received the name 

 of Peabody Bird. 



Wilson Flagg says that the Maine folk interpret the 

 notes as, "All-day, whittling, whittling, whittling." And 

 then there is the evidence of Farmer Peverly, whom Ham- 

 ilton Gibson interviewed, who, upon being perplexed and 

 undecided as to the crop that he ought to sow in a particular 

 field, understood the Sparrow to say, " Sow ivheat, Peverly, 

 Peverly." 



You may take your choice as to the ivords, but pray notice 

 that all these interpretations have the same accented value, 

 and so equally imitate the song. This Sparrow also some- 

 times sings softly in the night, — 



" * * * * 

 Nestling in his tree 

 The sleeping Sparrow 

 Dreams a melody." 



Tree Sparrow : Spizella mouticola. 



Winter Chip-bird. 



Plate V. Fig. 6. 



Length : 5.75-6.25 inches. 



Male and Female : Bright bay crown. Gray stripe over eye, cheeks, 

 throat, and breast. Dark brown back with feathers pheasant- 

 like, edged with orange and brown. Wings dark brown with 

 paler edgings and two white bars. Bill black above, lower 

 mandible yellowish, feet brownish black. 



Song : In winter a twittering trill. 



Season : Winter resident ; October to April. 



Breeds : North of the United States, east of the Eocky Monntains. 



N^est .■ Of grass, bark, and feathers ; on ground, in a bush, or occa- 

 sionally in a tree. 



Eqqs : 4-7, light green, finely sprinkled with reddish brown. 



llange : Eastern North America westward to the Plains, and from the 

 Arctic Ocean south, in winter, to the Carolinas, Kentucky, and 

 eastern Kansas. 



Like the Junco, the Tree Sparrow is a winter resident, 

 though not so constant and abundant as the former. It is 

 much larger than the ( 'hipping Sparrow, which it so closely 



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