168 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OP SCIENCE 



ingly; and it took several years of attentive listening be- 

 fore I succeeded in hearing a meadowlark whose song 

 remotely suggested the words given. 



A bird whose song can be identified easily by words 

 which suggest its rhythm is the white-throated sparrow. In 

 Massachusetts it is called the Peabody bird because the 

 natives think the bird says, "I-I-Peabody, Peabody, Pea- 

 body;" while in Maine lumbermen declare it says, "All- 

 day-whittle-ing, whittle-ing." Just over the border in 

 Canada the same bird sings, "Swee-eet-Canada, Canada, 

 Canada." There is even a story to the effect that a New 

 England farmer by the name of Peverley was in doubt one 

 spring as to what grain to sow in a certain field. As he 

 stood there cogitating he heard a bird sing out loud and 

 clear, ''Sow-wheat-Peverley, Peverley, Peverley, Peverley." 

 So he sowed wheat. (Ex. 1). 



The poets have done much to make bird songs real to 

 us. I will cite but a few examples from a myriad of lovely 

 ones. What better description of the redwinged black- 

 bird's song than this line from Emerson: ''The blackbird 

 flutes his '0-ka-lee !' " Or who can fail to see and hear the 

 bluebird, spring's darling, whom Lowell describes as, 



"Shifting his light load of song 



From post to post along the cheerless fence." 



Or that "wise thrush" (the English counterpart of our 

 own brown thrasher) in Browning's "Home Thoughts 

 from Abroad" : 



"He sings each song twice over 



Lest you should think he never could recapture 



The first fine careless rapture !" 



What better name for the racket made by a flock of 

 blackbirds than a "wheel-barrow chorus?" 



Among our common birds there are quite a number who 

 sing such clear and definite musical phrases that these may 

 be easily transcribed in musical notation. Among these 

 are the meadow lark, wood thrush, robin, tufted titmouse, 

 Baltimore oriole, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow, 

 wood-pewee, quail, chickadee, dove, our barn-yard friend, 

 the rooster, etc. 



