A DISTURBER OF NESTS. 23 



charming family, almost every wood thrush nest, 

 in the early summer, contains a cowbird's egg ; 

 and not until they have reared one of the in- 

 truders can the birds hope to have a brood of 

 their own. Fortunately they nest twice in the 

 season, and the cowbird does not disturb the 

 second family. 



While we sat watching the hermit's nest, we 

 were attracted by another resident of that cozy 

 group of hemlocks and maples. He appeared 

 upon a low shrub within twenty feet of us, and 

 began to sing. First came a long, deliberate 

 note of the clearest and sweetest tone, then two 

 similar notes, a third higher, followed by three 

 triplets on the same note. Though dressed in 

 sparrow garb, his colors were bright, and he 

 was distinguished and made really beautiful by 

 two broad lines of buff-tinted white over his 

 crown, and a snowy white throat. He was the 

 white-throated . sparrow, one of the largest and 

 most interesting of his family. The charm of 

 his song is its clearness of tone and deliberate- 

 ness of utterance. It is calm as the morning, 

 finished, complete, and almost the only bird song 

 that can be perfectly imitated by a human whis- 

 tle. I never shared the enthusiasm of some of 

 my fellow bird-lovers for the sparrows till I knew 

 the white-throat and learned to love the dear 

 little song sparrow. It is unfortunate that the 



