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White-throated Sparrow 
The “Peabody’’ 
Song 
freshness that is truly delightful. Many writers have tried to interpret 
its song and tell us in English what the bird is saying when it sits upon 
the pine-top and whistles away for half an hour at a time. Mr. Stansell, 
of Alberta, for example, tells us that the call to his mind strongly sug- 
gests the words “Oh see me me me me me.” A very common render- 
ing of its song is given as “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.” 
There are many variations of this last translation, 
in all of which the word “Peabody” is prominent; 
hence long ago the custom arose of calling it the 
Peabody Bird. A Nova Scotian variant is “Joe Kennedy Bird.” 
On the other hand, probably more Canadians know it as the 
“Sweet-Canada Bird,” for they are thoroughly convinced that when the 
Sparrow sings it says “Swe-e-et Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da.” Wil- 
liam Hamilton Gibson relates the incident of a perplexed farmer named 
Peverly, who did not know what to plant until he heard a Whitethroat 
sing, “Sow wheat,, Pev-er-ly, Pev-er-ly, Pev-er-ly.” 
It is rather easy to whistle an imitation of the Whitethroat’s notes, 
and so much curiosity does the bird possess that often it will come from 
a distance at the call, and chirp and look and crane its neck with the 
liveliest interest. Comparatively few birds that will do this. The Bob- 
White will come if called by an expert, and in spring or summer almost 
anyone can gather a number of small birds around them in the woods 
by merely sucking the back of the hand, thus making a squeaking noise. 
In this case the birds show evidence of alarm and concern, for such a 
sound is a fair imitation of a baby bird in distress. 
The White-throated Sparrow is quite a handsome bird. With the 
exception of the Fox Sparrow bird-students would perhaps vote it the 
handsomest species of the Eastern States. It is six 
and three-quarters inches long, which is one and a 
quarter inches longer than the Chipping Sparrow, 
but the Chipping Sparrow is much more slender. 
The nest is usually built on or near the ground. It is made of 
grasses, grape-vine stems and other substances of a similar character. 
The lining is usually of fine grasses, although at times feathers, deer- 
hair, or rabbit-fur is used as a soft bed for the eggs. These range 
from four to five in number, and their pale green ground-color is thickly 
marbled with various shades of chocolate and brown. 
A Handsome 
Sparrow 
Classification and Distribution 
The White-throated Sparrow belongs to the Order Passeres, and to the Family 
Fringillidce. Its scientific name is Zonotrichia albicollis. It ranges throughout 
eastern North America, breeding from the region of the Great Lakes and north- 
ern New England northward to northern Quebec and the southern borders of 
Alaska; and wintering from central Missouri, the Ohio Valley and southern New 
England southward to Florida and northeastern Mexico. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
