350 AMEBICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



in the vicinity of Seattle and Tacoma, the song is of different form and 

 perhaps of a slightly different quality. The appearance of the bird, 

 both in form and color, is exquisite. The form is symmetrical through- 

 out, the body rounding with a perfect head and dainty, finely and beau- 

 tiful yellowish bill. The crown, with alternating black, or dark, and 

 and white stripes, furnishes a striking and lovely feature. The breast 

 is gray with a tint of brown in it. The back has a rich variety of smoky 

 or olive-brown with sepia-brown or black markings. Taken all in all, 

 one would have to travel far to find a more enticing bird. Imagine 

 our White-throated Sparrow all about in our New England towns , 

 nesting in our vines and hedges and singing day and night. Those 

 who know the latter can appreciate the happiness of the bird-lovers of 

 the Pacific Coast in the ministry of the Nuttall White-crowned Sparrow. 

 There is another subspecies of the White-crowned Sparrow whose 

 summer habitat is further north, beginning perhaps in northern Wash- 

 ington and extending to Alaska. This bird is known in the latest or- 

 nithological nomenclature as Gambel (formerly the Intermediate) White- 

 crowned Sparrow. His appearance is so like the Nuttall, that no one 

 but an expert can tell the difference, and then the bird would probably 

 have to be in the hand. But not only is his home widely separated in 

 the main, but there is the absence of a mark, besides the lighter general 

 color, which distinguishes him from his relative further south. In the 

 Nuttall Sparrow the pale yellow on the edge of either wing, while the 

 edge of Gambel is ashy. The song too is different and yet not so dif- 

 ferent but that, were it only a matter of song, the birds might be 

 classed together. 



THE NORTHERN NIGHTINGALE 



or Gambel Sparrow is quite numerously represented on the shores of 

 Puget Sound. As a pioneer child in the early days, 50's and 60's I 

 listened with delight to its song, especially when I heard it at night. 

 On account of this habit of waking and producing its sweet notes at in" 

 tervals, throughout the night, it has been aptly called the "Northern 

 Nightingale." Some have called it the "Sweet-Eva-Bird" as they 

 fancied its song resembled the words "Sweet, sweeter Eva." Others 

 translate it "Sweet, sweet, won't you listen to me?" To my ear it is 

 quite plainly spoken by a majority of the birds "Sweet, sweet, so rich 

 (or witch) are we" Either some are not as proficient as others or the 

 song is varied, sometimes cut short at "are." In the borders of, or in 

 the openings in the great forest, it builds its nest a few feet from the 

 ground, often in a young evergreen tree, likely the Douglas fir, the 

 boughs of which may be twined with sprays of the orange-scarlet honey- 

 suckle. The father bird sits on the top central twig and sings devoted- 

 ly day and night. Frequently I have seen them about dwellings, 

 perched on a porch railing or neighboring shrub, singing as fearlessly 

 as in a great forest. e. Inez denny. 



