Evening star., 1944-02-07
This and That
Bu Charles E. TrdceUeU.
BETHESDA, Md.

Dear Sir:
Il am a newcomer to the suburban
scene, but have had much pleasure
watching the birds. have up feed
ing station, and try to keep it full, al
though sometimes I fail rather dis
mally at this.
What I want to ask you about is
new bird, at least new bird for me.
1t is much like an ordinary sparrow,
except that it has black and white
stripes on its head. 1t seems to me
slightly larger than an English sparrow.
1t has pretty brown back and plain
gray breast and stomach. There is
very pale gray patch on the throat.
Il see it mostly in the evening, just
before dark, with the cardinals.
Sincerely, M. S."
This bird is the white -throated SPAR
row.
1t is a common winter resident, and
abundant migrant.
1t does not stay here in summer, but
usually comes in early October and re-
mains until late May
1t is one of the last of the wintering
birds to migrate.
Many observers, unfortunately, mis-
take 1t for common sparrow, but it
is far from common in any sense. The
entire continent is it's home.
1t is called peabody bird in New
England, and cherrybird in the Adiron-
dacks. People in Manitoba call it the
nightingale.
In other places it is called the Canada
bird, the white throat the white
throated crown sparrow, the Canada
sparrow and the Peverly bird.
In this vicinity it is familiarly called
the white throat by all persons who
really know it at close range.
This white" throat needs some clari-
fcation, perhaps. 1t is not really white,
but a pale gray, as our correspondent
correctly names it.
This bird is slightly larger than the
English sparrow, being about ~ inches
long from end of bill to end of tail,
stretched out.
The upper parts are rusty brown,
streaked with black; the under parts,
white and gray.
The crown is black, divided centrally
by narrow white stripe. There is
broad yellow stripe over the eye, which
becomes Whitish at the rear. The yell
low extends from the bill to the eye.
* *
The white throats nest is bulky, of
coarse grasses, moss and strips of bark.
1t is usually placed on the ground,
although the mother may build it in
low shrub.
The eggs are four in number and
are pale green, heavily sprinkled with
dark brown
The names of Peverly bird, and Pea
body bird require explanation.
The first comes from a New England
farmer who did not know when to SOW
spring wheat. AS he was debating, he
is said to have heard this bird sing,
and to him, in his dubious state of
mind, it seemed to say:
Sow wheat, Peverly, Peverly, Pew
erly"
Others imagined he said, "Old Sam
Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" Just who
this Samuel Peabody was we have never
been able to discover. Perhaps some
New Englander in Washington for the
duration will be able to explain.
The song, however, is fine one, per-
haps the best of all sparrow song.
1t is friendly bird, not disdaining
the society of either the common SPAR
row or the song sparrow. The song of
the latter, to our mind and ear, is the
better of the two. We know of no finer
bird song than that of the song SPAR
row, especially since it comes in the
winter cold, when most other songsters
are silent.
Several days Of 70-degree temperature
recently brought out many bird songs,
including the genuine spring song" of
the cardinal.
The white-throated sparrow helps
man by destroying great quantities OF
weed seed and insects. Eagweed Is one
Of its favorite foods.