NATURAL HISTORY. 



THE WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 



GEO. EMBODY. 



Although the white-throat, or Peabody 

 bird, has not a striking plumage, it ranks 

 among our best singers. It measures about 

 6 inches from point of bill to tip of tail 

 and its wings spread about 7 inches. Its 

 bill is short and strong, being well adapted 

 to cracking seeds. There is a conspicuous 

 yellow line before the eye, which changes 

 to a dull white as it passes over the eye 

 and back along the side of the head. The 

 centre of crown is dull, with a black stripe 

 on either side. On the throat is a large 

 white rectangular spot. The breast is whit- 

 ish, lightly streaked with grayish brown; 

 while the back is chestnut, with a few wide 

 black stripes. The legs are slender and 

 sometimes have a pinkish hue. 



The white-throat breeds from the wooded 

 slopes of Mt. Washington, Northward to 

 Labrador. The nest, which is placed on 

 the ground or in low bushes, rarely in trees, 

 is made of strips of bark, grasses, rootlets 

 and pieces of moss. The eggs, 4 or 5 in 

 number, are bluish white, speckled or 

 blotched with reddish brown. 



The song of the white-throat, like that 

 of the bluebird, has in it a tone of sadness. 

 Although of very high pitch, not unlike 

 the notes of a piccolo, it is not the least 

 shrill. Mr. F. Schuyler Mathews writes the 

 song in 2 ways, as follows: 



m n iniHm 



Old «Sa.frt Pe_ A . bof- y Pe.&-bod- x ^re*-* ?' Y 



......... j. ^ |gg|ggg| 



Besides this song one may frequently hear 

 the " tseep," and sometimes " chree " or 

 " cheep." 



In the spring and fall, in company with 

 juncos, chewinks and white-crowned spar- 

 rows, the white-throat may be seen in 

 hedges and in the garden, feeding on seeds 

 and worms. I have seen them many times 

 under the grape vines, taking what they 

 could get from the grape skins. They sel- 

 dom puncture the- grapes, for their bill is 

 not sharp and long enough for this. 



When given good care and proper food 

 the white-throat makes an excellent cage 

 bird, and will sometimes sing after a few 

 weeks in captivity. They are easily trapped 

 by means of the cage trap or bird lime. 



As soon as the bird is caught, place it 

 in a semi-dark cage, without food, for 6 or 

 8 hours. By this time the bird will have 

 become somewhat accustomed to the cage 



and will not injure its plumage by flutter- 

 ing. For the first few days the bird will 

 eat better from the floor of its cage, and 

 there the seed should be sprinkled. Later 

 it may be placed in seed cups. A small 

 vessel of water must be kept in the cage. 

 After the first week of captivity, a larger 

 dish of water, in which the bird can bathe, 

 should be placed in the cage every other 

 day. Canary seed with a little sunflower, 

 lettuce and hempseed is the best diet for 

 them. Occasionally throw in a small angle 

 worm and some chickweed. 



One of the best cages for white-throats 

 is a medium sized mocking bird cage, 

 where 2 or 3 pairs may be placed together. 

 As they enjoy company, they do finely with 

 other seed-eating birds. 



SNAKES AND SNARES. 



Editor Recreation: I read, with inter- 

 est, the article, " A Snake and a Rat," in 

 February Recreation. 



Few people have any idea of the muscular 

 power of a snake. I have, for years, been 

 collecting for the Smithsonian Institution, 

 and, when stationed at Mt. Vernon Bar- 

 racks, 30 miles North of Mobile, Ala., made 

 a large collection of snakes, poisonous and 

 non-poisonous, for that institution and for 

 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. 



Among the varieties was the coachwhip, 

 mentioned in the article alluded to. One 

 specimen, about 7 feet long, I kept for some 

 time, for purposes of experiment. In 

 capturing, or moving them from box to 

 box, for transportation, I used a snare, 

 made of a stick about 6 feet long, with a 

 groove cut around the upper end. About 

 an inch back of that, a hole was bored, large 

 enough to allow a good sized hemp twine 

 to pass freely through it, the edges being 

 smoothed, to prevent fraying of the twine. 

 One end of the cord was securely tied in 

 the groove; the other passed through the 

 hole, to form a loop to be thrown over the 

 head of the snake. The string should be 

 about 4 feet longer than the stick, and the 

 end held in the left hand. The loop is 

 thrown over the reptile's head, and jerked 

 tight; then grasped with the butt of the 

 stick, and the snake is at your mercy as 

 long as you hold the noose tightly. I have 

 handled 6-foot rattlers in that manner with 

 perfect safety. 



But, to our coachwhip: 



To test his constrictive powers, I would 

 occasionally remove the cover of the box 

 in which I kept him, and^ throwing the 

 noose over his head, and letting it slip back 

 a foot or more, drag him out. If given op- 

 portunity he would throw his coils around 

 the stick, and grasp it so firmly that it re- 



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