WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 
319 
ing up the fallen leaves in quest of worms and other insects, 
and are at this time often very unsuspicious, allowing a near 
approach without betraying any alarm; but when in large 
flocks, they move about in timorous haste as soon as ap- 
proached. About the isth of April they leave the Middle 
States, and retire to the high northern latitudes to breed, hav- 
ing been seen in Labrador, Newfoundland, and the fur coun- 
tries up to the 66th parallel in summer. At the period of 
breeding the male sings with considerable energy and melody 
already in the early spring ; also before their departure to the 
North, on fine mornings, they are heard to whisper forth a few 
sweet and clear notes, as in a revery of the approaching hap- 
piness of their more lively and interesting condition. 
This Sparrow — known to the country people of the East as the 
“ Peabody Bird ” — breeds abundantly in the northern portions of 
New York and New England as well as in the Maritime Provinces ; 
and at the west in northern Michigan and Manitoba. Two nests 
have been discovered in Massachusetts. The bird winters from 
southern New England southward. 
The song, which is loud and sweet, is familiar in the district 
where the birds build, for. they sing all day long, and are often 
heard during the night. It has been interpreted peA-paA-pedbody- 
peAbodypeAbody ; hence the name. 
