FIELD SPARROW. 





Mr. Chapman recognizes the fact that the song has many 

 variations besides possessing the rare beauty of perfect 

 sweetness, and his opinion is well worth quoting. " His 

 song is in keeping with his character, being an unusually 

 clear, plaintive whistle, sweeter to the lover of birds' 

 songs than the voice of the most gifted songstress " (one 

 can not quite agree with that who has heard the great 

 artist Marcella Sembrich sing !) " Not only do the same 

 individuals sing several different songs, but two indi- 

 viduals in the same locality rarely sing alike. There is 

 also much variation in the songs of birds from different 

 regions .... to be convinced of its " (the song's) 

 " rare beauty one need only hear it as the sun goes 

 down and the hush of early evening is quieting the 

 earth." That is so well said that I need add nothing 

 further except the suggestion that the Field Sparrow is 

 certainly Nature's best exponent of the principle of Plain- 

 Song, i. e. the Chant. One need not for a moment sup- 

 pose it is necessary to have a wide range of voice and sing 

 a catching tune to creditably produce a song. No, music 

 is the artistic expression of thought and character, and 

 for that reason and none other the pathetic monotones 

 of the Field Sparrow charm us ; we do not care whether 

 he sings a tune or not, he may keep straight along on one 

 note * or not as he chooses, we are satisfied to know that 

 he sings with a depth of expression unsurpassed by any 

 of Nature's greatest songsters. There is a certain rever- 

 ential character to his song, too, which is reminiscent of 

 one of the Psalms of David chanted by the church choir, 

 but it needs a slight alteration to express the sentiment 

 of the Sparrow : 



O be joyful in the Lord all day long, 

 And come before his presence with a song. 



When the shadows lengthen into irregular blotches of 

 misty lilac on the slopes of the stony pasture and the 

 light has turned golden in the west, somewhere in the 

 tangle of blackberry briers not far away there is a 

 modest singer filling the silent air with the sober mono- 



* Mr. Bradford Torrey in his Birds in the Bush thinks that be 

 does ; see page 40 of that delightful little book. 



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