FOX SPARROW, 
with burnt umber brown. The range of this species extends 
from Alaska to Labrador and the islands of the Gulf of the 
St. Lawrence; it winters from Long Island, southern New 
York, and New Jersey to the Gulf coast. 
The song of the Fox Sparrow is one of the most appealing 
in all the Finch family. Like that of the Field Sparrow 
it is softly persuasive, but in addition possesses a fullness 
and depth of tone unknown to the other bird. Not even 
the Song Sparrow with his great variety of motives can 
compare with his fox-colored relative in quality of voice. 
The song is far from remarkable in melody, one is not 
impressed by any similarity to an operatic aria, or any- 
thing reminiscent of Chopin or Beethoven, but one must 
listen long to the singing of birds to hear music as simple 
and as spontaneously joyful as the unassuming perform- 
ance of the Fox Sparrow. I think its appealing nature is 
entirely due to vocal purity combined with a subtle Porta- 
mento and Rallentando which always make the voice of 
a great artist—great! That essentially spiritual quality 
cannot be written into music, it can only be sung, and the 
manner noted, thus: 
err ae Ay tine SRE, Vor EN. bgt ns 
Cantabile rroderato, 
RET SE Sl ed ee ~ = ep, Ee ey 
AUNT Wl ie Ce eee Bh | Ps pe, WO Ras Sa LT 
H}-_4-6 | gf fie 7 og 33] 
wat e 
mf rallent. = 
The Italian words are not music, but they exactly express 
the attractive method of the singer. It is plain this spar- 
row does not trill, or warble, or dash off a dozen reiterated 
notes in a careless rapture; on the contrary, he has plenty 
of time and proceeds deliberately with his little group of 
sweetly ringing, swinging tones as much as to say ‘“‘ This 
is what I think of life, it is too beautiful to celebrate in 
crazy rag-time!”’ 
An Cantabile x Thrice 8 va ais Voyin in fen biavia has ae idy ahah etal tome 6 
Sees eae. ee aed ee a. 
eco a es ee en oe i a 
(emer ae a gree | Cam Li 
Ee 1G ee OT A AT A 
mf Pe 
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