SPARROWS 



(558) Zonotrichia albicollis 



(Cmel) (Lat.. white throated). 



WHITE-THROATED SPAR- 

 ROW. Ad. (f — Plumage as shown 

 by the nearer bird; crown black, 

 enclosing a white median line; super- 

 ciliary line white ending on the lore 

 in a bright yellow spot; throat 

 white, sharply defined against the 

 gray of breast and sides of head. 

 9 much duller and nearer like imma- 

 ture birds as shown by the lower 

 bird, which has no black on the head, 

 nor any pure white areas. L., 6.75; 

 W., 2.90; T., 2.85; B., .45. Nest 

 — Of grasses or weeds, lined with fine 

 grasses; on the ground or low-down 

 in bushes; four or five pale greenish- 

 blue eggs, thickly spotted with brown. 



Range — Breeds from southern Un- 

 gava and Keewatin south to Mass., 

 N. Y., Wis., and Minn. 



through southern United States, and are eagerly welcomed 

 by bird lovers as they pass through the Northern States 

 on the way to their summer homes. 



Their arrival is heralded by the piping song that will 

 greet us some fine April morning — a loud, clearly whistled 

 "Hi, hi, pea-bod-y, pea-bod-y, pea-bod-y. " While the 

 music does not sound like these syllables, the words fit well 

 with the song and are the cause of it often being known as 

 the Peabody Bird. A much better and more appropriate 

 rendering, I think, is the "Swee-e-e-t, Can-a-da, Can-a-da, 

 Can-a-da" — more appropriate because the majority of 

 them are bound for their beloved Canada the land of their 

 birth. 



Their songs are heard at their best during early morning 

 hours and toward evening; in fact, they are said in their 

 summer homes to sing frequently during the middle of the 

 night. At other hours of the day they are very busily 

 scratching among the leaves in woods, swamps, or under- 



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