Sparrows SONG-BIRDS.
body, peabody”; words from which it received the name of Peabody Bird.
Wilson Flagg says that the Maine folk interpret the notes as, “All-day, whittling, Whittling, Whittling.” And then there is the evidence of Farmer Peverly, Whom Ham- ilton Gibson interviewed, who, upon being perplexed and undecided as to the crop that he ought to sow in a particular field, understood the Sparrow to say, “ Sow wheat, Peverly, Peverly.”
You may take your choice as to the words, but pray notice that all these interpretations have the same accented value, and so equally imitate the song. This Sparrow also some- times sings softly in the night,—
“e w: it is Nestling in his tree
The sleeping Sparrow Dreams a melody."
Tree Sparrow: Spizella monttcom. Winter Chip-bird.
Length: 5.75-6.26 inches.
Male and Female: Bright bay crown. Gray stripe over eye, cheeks, throat, and breast. Dark brown back with feathers pheasant- like, edged with orange and brown Wings dark brown with paler edgings and two white bars. Bill black above, lower mandible yellowish, feet brownish black.
Sang .- In winter a twittering trill.
Season: Winter resident; October to April.
Breeds: North of the United States, wt of the Rocky Mountains.
Nest: Of grass, bark, and feathers; on ground, in a bush, or occa- sionally in a tree.
Eggs: 4—7, light green, finely sprinkled with reddish brown.
Range .~ Eastern North America westward to the Plains, and from the Arctic Ocean south, in winter, to the Carolinas, Kentucky, and eastern Kansas.
Like the Junco, the Tree Sparrow is a. winter resident, though not so constant and abundant as the former. It is
much larger than the Chipping Sparrow, which it so closely 152
