THE WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 



(Zonotrichia albicollis .) 



"The sparrows are all meek and lowly 

 birds." They are not clothed in a plum- 

 age of gorgeous hues, but are endowed 

 with melodious voices in harmony with 

 their surroundings. "Theirs are the 

 quaint lullaby songs of childhood." Their 

 plain coats are a means of protection, for 

 they frequent the fields, the hedges and 

 the low shrubs of the woodland borders. 

 Some of their relatives, the grosbeaks, 

 the goldfinch and the finches, are more 

 brilliantly colored and are more arboreal 

 in their habits. 



The White-throated Sparrow (Zon- 

 otrichia albicollis) is one of the hand- 

 somest of the sparrows. It is one of the 

 exquisite parts of nature. Migratory in 

 habits, its range covers all of Eastern 

 North America, nesting from Michigan 

 and Massachusetts northward and win- 

 tering from the latter state southward to 

 Florida. 



Its scientific name is descriptive of the 

 marked color characteristics of its crown 

 and throat. Zontrichia means hair or 

 crown bands, and albicollis is from the 

 Latin meaning white-throated. It is 

 sometimes called Peabody Bird, especial- 

 ly by the New Englanders, with whom 

 Peabody is an important traditional 

 name, and they hear the birds say in its 

 song "I — I Pea-body, Pea-body, Pea- 

 body." This rendering of its plaintive 

 song is a caricature, yet the name clings 

 to the bird even in other parts of the 

 country. The reserved manner of its 

 movements would hardly lead one to ex- 

 pect that a beautiful song could flow 

 from its white throat. This song is so 

 well defined that the notation may be 

 written on the musical staff. Mr. Chap- 

 man says : "In September, when the 

 hedgerows and woodland undergrowths 

 begin to rustle with sparrows, j uncos 

 and towhees, I watch eagerly for the ar- 

 rival of these welcome fall songsters." 

 We cannot forbear quoting the words of 

 that great student of bird life, Audu- 



bon, who says of the White-Throat's 

 habit in autumn, "How it comes and how 

 it departs are quite unknown to me. I 

 can only say that, all of a sudden, the 

 edges of the fields bordering on creeks or 

 swampy places and overgrown with dif- 

 ferent species of vines, sumac bushes, 

 briers and the taller kinds of grasses, ap- 

 pear covered with birds. They form 

 groups, sometimes containing from thir- 

 ty to fifty individuals, and live together 

 in harmony. They are constantly moving 

 up and down among these recesses, with 

 frequent jerkings of the tail, and utter- 

 ing a note common to the tribe. From 

 the hedges and thickets they issue one 

 by one, in quick succession, and ramble 

 to the distance of eight or ten yards, hop- 

 ping 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, with- 

 out any alarm at all, they all fly back to 

 their covert, pushing directly into the 

 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, although of 

 short duration, is extremely sweet. There 

 is much plaintive softness in their note, 

 which I wish, kind reader, I could de- 

 scribe to you ; but this is impossible, al- 

 though it is yet ringing in my ears, 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 re- 

 turn to the field, and thus continue alter- 

 nately sallying forth and retreating dur- 

 ing the greater part of the day. At the 

 approach of night they utter a sharper 

 note, consisting of a single twit, repeated 

 in a 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." 



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