Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. 



35 



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This is the most complete song, but very 

 often the measures of quavers are four or' 

 five in number, and occasionally six, seven, 

 and even more. Often, too, the c note is 

 omitted, and frequently the g note is also 

 dropped. It may be supposed that there 

 would be no music in a single note, trilled 

 ever so finely, but there is where one is in 

 error. There never was more perfect 

 melody than issues from the White- 

 throated Sparrow's throat, even when it 

 floats to us as only a part of the bird's 

 song. Sometimes a bare fragment of the 

 song, the last quaver, reaches our ears, 

 and even this short effort is most harmoni- 

 ous. In fact there is not the slightest 

 monotony about the simple ditty. 



A much rarer and little known song in 

 the same octave, is one in which the re- 

 frain starts in with the tremulo on g, 

 then once on c and ending with <?, as 

 follows: "g — c — e-eee-eee-eee" I have 

 often tried to fit these songs to a minor 

 key, and may suggest that my readers, so 

 inclined, try c flat, e flat and c natural on 

 the piano or flute. If on the piano the 

 octave should be a higher one and the soft 

 pedal pressed. 



This description is poor, but may sug- 

 gest the divine melody of this comprehen- 

 sive singer, and if my readers have an 

 opportunity to listen to the song in the 

 future, they will readily recognize how 

 this bird's refrain can be set to our musical 

 notation. By all means use a flute, if 

 available. 



When singing, it appears that the little 

 fellow is sad, the notes sound so plaint- 

 ively, but we know the vernal songs only 

 hold the notes of love, and that like the 

 sounding notes of the Mourning Dove, 

 they express joy. 



In some parts of the country the song of 

 this bird is considered a petition or prayer 

 to Saint Theresa,* and the words "Oh, 



* The petition to Thei-esa was, I believe, first de- 

 scribed by M. L. Leach, in 'Forest and Stream.' It 

 indicates how readily words may be supplied to fill a 

 measure ; the word Theresa just metrically filling the 

 space of the wholly differently sounding sylables — pea- 

 bod-y. This song was also referred to by Dr. S. 

 Kneeland, Jr., in 1857, and many comments have been 

 made regarding the simple yet pleasing refrain, for 

 many years. 



hear me Theresa, Theresa," as sung by 

 the - bird, supposedly, will be found to 

 metrically compare to the tri-sylabic word 

 pea-bod-y, repeated. It is not difficult to 

 imagine that one of Mother Nature's peti- 

 tioners is plaintively beseeching recogni- 

 tion; and in accepting this view, condi- 

 tionally, I have tacitly admitted that the 

 complaint concerns the destruction of 

 forests and woodlands. It is about the 

 edges of clearings and new lands where 

 we find this little bird in the nesting 

 season. 



The White-throated Sparrow arrives in 

 southern Michigan in April, usually the 

 second week, but does not appear abundant 

 till the twentieth or later. It occasionally 

 reaches us in March, and my earliest date 

 is the twenty -first of the month, in the 

 forty-second parallel. It is a loiterer in 

 migrating, and not rarely is found about 

 our city yards as late as May tenth. 

 Sometimes it favors us with a song, but 

 usually passes us by, reserving its efforts 

 at song till it reaches its northern home. 

 Usually straggling flocks may be seen, 

 but this is more noticeable in the autumnal 

 migrations than in spring. Often groups 

 of five or six birds are noted, and as these 

 flocks embrace one pair of old birds, while 

 the others are immatures, it is probable 

 that the birds are of one family. 



Before the forty -fourth parallel is reached 

 a few pairs remain to breed, but it is only 

 north of the forty-fifth degree that we find 

 the species in abundance in the breeding 

 season. In desolate regions, where the 

 pine has been cleared away, leaving what 

 are known as "slashings" and "burns," the 

 Pea body Bird is right at home. It appears 

 to prefer these desolate 'sections, and its 

 beautifully clear quavers may be heard on 

 every side, sounding as a benison among 

 the cleared and blackened logs and stumps. 



The bird is an undoubted ventriloquist, 

 and its notes are often deceptive, leading 

 one astray in looking for the singer. I 

 have been deceived into thinking that two 

 or more birds occupied a neighborhood 

 when only one was there. The White- 

 throat not rarely charms us with his song 

 at night, and heard at this time, when all 

 is dark and silent, there is even an addi- 

 tional soulful thrill to its plaintive, feeling 

 ditty. 



In late May the nests are built, or in 

 [Continued on page 41.] 



