<h2 id="c9">THE WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. <br/><span class="small">(<i>Zonotrichia albicollis.</i>)</span></h2>
<p>“The sparrows are all meek and lowly
birds.” They are not clothed in a plumage
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.</p>
<p>The White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia
albicollis) is one of the handsomest
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 wintering
from the latter state southward to
Florida.</p>
<p>Its scientific name is descriptive of the
marked color characteristics of its crown
and throat. Zonotrichia means hair or
crown bands, and albicollis is from the
Latin meaning white-throated. It is
sometimes called Peabody Bird, especially
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 expect
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. Chapman
says: “In September, when the
hedgerows and woodland undergrowths
begin to rustle with sparrows, juncos
and towhees, I watch eagerly for the arrival
of these welcome fall songsters.”
We cannot forbear quoting the words of
that great student of bird life, Audubon,
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 different
species of vines, sumac bushes,
briers and the taller kinds of grasses, appear
covered with birds. They form
groups, sometimes containing from thirty
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 uttering
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, hopping
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, without
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 ascending
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 describe
to you; but this is impossible, although
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 return
to the field, and thus continue alternately
sallying forth and retreating during
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.”</p>
<div class="fig"> <ANTIMG src="images/img1033.jpg" alt="" width-obs="500" height-obs="566" /> <p class="caption">WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. <br/>(Zonotrichia albicollis.) <br/>About Life-size.
<br/><span class="small">FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES.</span></p>
</div>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</div>
<p>The nest, too, is a neat creation of
small roots, coarse grass, bark and moss
and lined with a bedding of fine grass
and moss. It is usually placed on the
ground in fields or open woods, where
it is protected by the taller grasses.
Sometimes, however, low bushes or the
lower branches of trees are selected.
So careful is the White-Throat in the
constructing of its nest not to disturb
the surrounding vegetation, and so neutral
is the color of the material used,
that one may hunt for a long time without
finding it unless he luckily stumbles
upon it.</p>
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