WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. 
‘<Breeds from the higher mountain ranges of the west= 
ern United States, . . . eastward, north of the Great 
Lakes, to Labrador; in winter over the whole of the 
United States, and south into Mexico.” 
The music of the White-crown has never been ade- 
quately described, nor has its melodic value been fully 
appreciated, probably because the bird sings casually 
during its migrations, and the opportunity for the study 
of the song is consequently iimited ; as a matter of fact 
it is far superior in its melodiousness to that of the 
better known White-throated Sparrow. Constructively 
considered the two songs are absolutely dissimilar ; in 
general character they bear only a family resemblance. 
Such an unequivocal statement, however, seems quite 
at variance with Mr, Ernest E. Thompson’s description. 
He says, ‘‘Its usual song is like the latter half of the 
White-throat’s familiar refrain, repeated a number of 
times with a peculiar sad cadence and in a clear, soft 
whistle that is characteristic of the group.” Now the 
latter half of the Peabody-bird’s (or White-throat’s) song 
is a succession of notes invariably in groups of three, 
and that kind of melodic structure does not characterize 
the White-crown’s music! I cannot too emphatically 
urge the importance of the governing rule in bird music, 
which is, that each species has formed and followed its 
own mechanical rhythm without relation to that of 
another ‘species. Here is the proof of the case in point ; 
the White-throat sings thus: .« .« eee eoo ev 
the White-crown sings thus: . «++.e. There are no 
pea-bo-dy syllables in this tune. At most, if the White- 
crown attempts a trisyllabic note, he does only this: 
e e + ee. . andone would scarcely detect the triple 
note because that particular one is almost sure to be 
double-tonea and not clear.* Again, as a rule, the song 
of the White-crown (and that of the White-throat as 
well) develops nothing which a musician would call a 
musical cadence ; in this respect, therefore, I must un- 
derstand Mr. Thompson to use the term in a general 
sense, and refer to the modulations of the bird’s voice. 
* There is absolutely no double-toned note in the Peabody-bird’c 
- Song. 
9! 
