188 WHITE-TnR()ATl']D SPARROW. 



green, spotted, chiefly at the larger end, with cinnamon- 

 brown or blackish markings. 



Up to this time the Chippy has given us a good oppor- 

 tunity to see his chestnut cap and l)lack forehead, but 

 when the nesting season is over he will change these for 

 a cap to match his coat, and with others of his kind gather 

 in old, weedy fields, remaining there until cold weather 

 drives him southward. 



About the time of the first frost a new Sparrow will 

 appear in the hedgerows and thickets and the undcr. 



„^.^ ^, ^, P-rowth of the woods. The white patch 



Wlute-throated ^ ....... 



Sparrow, *^*^^ ^^'^ throat may aid m his identifica- 

 Zonofiuchia aihivoUL^. tiou as the Wliite-tliroated Sjjarrow, a 



Phite XT.^ I. IsTorthern bird who in the summer 



nests from northern liew England northward, and in 

 winter is found from southern I^ew England to the Gulf 

 of Mexico. 



He is disposed to be rather (piiet for several days 

 after his arrival, and, beyond a few low notes addressed 

 to his companions, has little to say; but if you whistle 

 to him even a poor imitation of his song, nearly every 

 bird in the company will ho|) up from the tangle of 

 branches and, perching ou the outer tvrigs, look for the 

 friends who called. Perhaps some may essay a tremulous 

 res])onse, l)ut for a week or more they Avill make few at- 

 tempts to sing. Later, you will hear the sweet, plaintive 

 notes that give to this bird the name Peabody-bird. 



The AVhite-throat's call-notes are a low tseej> and a 

 very characteristic sbarp ch'tnl\ whicli has been well 

 likened by Mr. Bicknell to tlio sound of a marble cut- 

 ter's chisel. At this season the White-throats roost to- 

 gether in flocks of varying size, and if you chance to be 

 near their home at l)edtime you will hear this cldnTi note 

 given as a " quarriers' cborus." Finally, as the gloom 

 deepens, it will cease, and from the dark depths of the 



