WHITE-THUOATED SPAUROW. 81 



Sometimes in the Hpriiig they come north too rapidly, and 

 find the country so covered witli niiow tlmt they ure obliged 

 to Heek food about the settlemeiitH. Severa; timeH I have 

 seen throngs of them in the parks and gardens of St. John, 

 though they UHually retired to tlie Huburbu when the day's 

 bustle began. If they are detained with uh by storaiH, or by 

 continued cold weather until the approach of their nuiting seaHon, 

 they favor uh with a series oi the most delightful bird concerts of 

 the entire year. It is not too much to say of the fox sparrow 

 that he is the best singer of all the sparrows that \ isit this country. 

 His voice is strong, rich, and sweet, and the melody he sings is 

 decidedly beautiful. It is somethiiig like the song of the piirple 

 finch, though mucii siiperior, and the voice of the fox sparrow is 

 of finer (juality. Of the two, the fox sparrow is the more finished 

 artist. But both birds sing j(»you8 carols, with strong suggestions 

 of exultant vigor in their strains. 



WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 



This bird is almost universally known as the "Peabody bird," 

 or *' old-Tom-Peabody.'' Its song has been interpreted old-Tom 

 Peahody, Feahody, Feahody, and pea-pea-peabody-peabody-peabody ; 

 hence the name — though I have heard it called the "Kennedy bird " 

 in Massachusetts, and elsewhere. 



Among our sparrows, this species ranks second to the fox sparrow 

 in size and beauty of plunmge — the adult male being handsomely 

 marked. His general plumage is made up of stripes of reddish brown, 

 bl'ick, and dull buff, but the sides of the head, and the breast are an 

 ashy hue, while the head is made conspicuous by a central stripe of 

 white, bordered by stripes of black, and below these, stripes of yellow. 

 The throat is white, bordered by black stripes, and the wings have 

 two white bars. The female is marked like the male, but her colors 

 are of a duller tint. 



These familiar and much-loved birds are abundant all over 



the country, breeding regularly everywhere, excepting in the more 



southern portions of Ontario. The flocks reach our borders about 



the middle of April, and gradually spread northward, some going 



6 



