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THE WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 



Fringilla pennsylvanica^ Lath. 



PLATE VIII. Male and Female. 



This pretty little bird is a visitor of Louisiana and all the southern 

 districts, where it remains only a very short time. Its arrival in Louisia- 

 na may be stated to take place in the beginning of November, and its 

 departure in the first days of March. In all the Middle States it remains 

 longer. How it comes and how it departs are to me quite unknown. I 

 can only say, that, all of a sudden, the hedges of the fields bordering on 

 creeks or swampy places, and overgrown with diflPerent species of vines, 

 sumach bushes, briars, and the taller kinds of grasses, appear covered 

 with these birds. They form groups, sometimes containing from thirty 

 to fifty individuals, and live together in harmony. They are constantly 

 moving up and down among these recesses, vn\\\ frequent jerkings of the 

 tail, and uttering a note common to the tribe. From the hedges and 

 thickets they issue one by one in quick succession, and ramble to the dis- 

 tance of eight or ten yards, hopping and scratching, in quest of small 

 seeds, and preserving the utmost silence. When the least noise is heard, 

 or alarm given, and frequently, as I thought, without any alarm at all, 

 they aU fly back to their covert, pushing directly into the very thickest 

 part of it. A moment elapses, when they become reassured, and ascend- 

 ing to the highest branches and twigs, open a little concert, which, al- 

 though of short duration, is extremely sweet. There is much plaintive 

 softness in their note, which I wish, kind reader, I could describe to you ; 

 but this is impossible, although it is yet ringing in my ear, as if I were 

 in those very fields where I have so often listened to it with delight. No 

 sooner is their music over than they return to the field, and thus con- 

 tinue alternately sallying forth and retreating during the greater part of 

 the day. At the approach of night, they utter a sharper and shriller 

 note, consisting of a single twit, repeated in smart succession by the 

 whole group, and continuing until the first hooting of some owl frightens 

 them into silence. Yet, often during fine nights, I have heard the little 

 creatures emit here and there a twit, as if to assure each other that " all's 

 well." 



