WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. 



Breeds from the higher mountain ranges of the 

 ern United States, . . . eastward, north of the Great 

 Lakes, to Labrador ; in winter over the whole of the 

 United States, and south into Mexico." 



The music of the White-crown has never been ade- 

 quately described, nor has its melodic value been fully 

 appreciated, probably because the bird sings casually 

 during its migrations, and the opportunity for the study 

 of the song is consequently limited ; as a matter of fact 

 it is far superior in its melodiousness to that of the 

 better known White-throated Sparrow. Constructively 

 considered the two songs are absolutely dissimilar ; in 

 general character they bear only a family resemblance. 

 Such an unequivocal statement, however, seems quite 

 at variance with Mr. Ernest E. Thompson's description. 

 He says, "Its usual song is like the latter half of the 

 White-throat's familiar refrain, repeated a number of 

 times with a peculiar sad cadence and in a clear, soft 

 whistle that is characteristic of the group." Now the 

 latter half of the Peabody-bird's (or White-throat's) song 

 is a succession of notes invariably in groups of three, 

 and that kind of melodic structure does not characterize 

 the White-crown's music! 1 cannot too emphatically 

 urge the importance of the governing rule in bird music, 

 which is, that each species has formed and followed its 

 own mechanical rhythm without relation to that of 

 another species. Here is the proof of the case in point ; 

 the White-throat sings thus : 



the White-crown sings thus : ...... There are no 



pea-bo-dy syllables in this tune. At most, if the White- 

 crown attempts a trisyllabic note, he does only this : 



and one would scarcely detect the triple 



note because that particular one is almost sure to be 

 double-toned and not clear* Again, as a rule, the song 

 of the White-crown (and that of the White-throat as 

 well) develops nothing which a musician would call a 

 musical cadence ; in this respect, therefore, I must un- 

 derstand Mr. Thompson to use the term in a general 

 sense, and refer to the modulations of the bird's voice. 



* There is absolutely no double-toned note in the Peabody-bird'.. 



SOUR. 



01 



