White-throated Sparrow 
I2I 
glanders think the bird distinctly says, I -I -Pea- 
body, Pea-bod-y, Pea-bod-y-I, extolling the 
name of one of their first families. You may 
amuse yourself by fitting whatever words you 
like to the well-marked metre of the clear, high- 
pitched, plaintive, sweet song of twelve notes. 
Learn to imitate it and you will be able to 
whistle up any white-throat within reach of 
your voice in the Adirondacks, the White 
Mountains, or the deep, cool woods of Maine, 
throughout the summer, although the majority 
of these hardy sparrows nest on the northern 
side of the Canadian border. Our hot weather 
they cannot abide. When there is a keen 
breath of frost in the air and the hedgerows and 
thickets in the United States are taking on 
glorious autumnal tints, listen for the white- 
throated migrants conversing with sharp chink 
call-notes that sound like the ring of a marble- 
cutter’s chisel. 
During the autumn and spring migrations, 
when these birds are likely to give us the semi- 
annual pleasure of coming closer about our 
homes, with other members of their sociable 
tribe, you will see that the white-throat is a 
slightly larger and more distinguished bird 
than the English sparrow, and that he wears a 
white patch above his plain, gray breast. Ex- 
cept the white-crowned sparrow, who wears a 
black and white-striped soldier cap on his head. 
