White-throated Sparrow 121 



glanders think the bird distinctly says, I-I-Pea- 

 body, Pea-bod-y, Pea-bod-y-I, extolling the 

 name of one of their first families. You may 

 amuse yourself by fitting whatever words you 

 like to the well-marked metre of the clear, high- 

 pitched, plaintive, sweet song of twelve notes. 

 Learn to imitate it and you will be able to 

 whistle up any white-throat within reach of 

 your voice in the Adirondacks, the White 

 Mountains, or the deep, cool woods of Maine, 

 throughout the summer, although the majority 

 of these hardy sparrows nest on the northern 

 side of the Canadian border. Our hot weather 

 they cannot abide. When there is a keen 

 breath of frost in the air and the hedgerows and 

 thickets in the United States are taking on 

 glorious autumnal tints, listen for the white- 

 throated migrants conversing with sharp chink 

 call-notes that sound like the ring of a marble- 

 cutter's chisel. 



During the autumn and spring migrations, 

 when these birds are likely to give us the semi- 

 annual pleasure of coming closer about our 

 homes, with other members of their sociable 

 tribe, you will see that the white-throat is a 

 slightly larger and more distinguished bird 

 than the English sparrow, and that he wears a 

 white patch above his plain, gray breast. Ex- 

 cept the white-crowned sparrow, who wears a 

 black and white-striped soldier cap on his head. 



