Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/547



This species seldom if ever resorts to the Southern States during win- ter, and to the westward of the Alleghany mountains scarcely proceeds farther down the Ohio than the neighbourhood of Louisville in Kentucky ; so that it may be considered as quite a northern bird. It reaches Massa- chusetts at the approach of winter, and is more frequent in the maritime districts of that State than in the interior, where, however, it is met with in considerable numbers. In the beginning of October, if the weather be cold, the Tree Sparrow is seen among the magnificent elm trees that or- nament the beautiful city of Boston and its neighbouring villages ; and, like the hardy, industrious, and enterprising people among whom it seems to spend the severe season by choice, it makes strenuous efforts to supply itself with the means of subsistence. Many remove as far south as Penn- sylvania, and even Maryland ; but I never observed one in either of the Carolinas. Their return to the north is marked by a lingering disposi- tion to wait each day for a finer and warmer morrow. They appear, in- deed, so perfectly aware of the danger to be encountered during a forced march in the early spring, that on the least change from mild weather to cold, they immediately return to their loved winter quarters. By the middle of May, howevei-, they have begun to move regularly, and their songs announce the milder season at every resting place at which they tarry.

The Tree Sparrow sings sweetly during the love season. I have frequently listened to their musical festivals near Eastport, in the State of Maine, while gazing upon them with an ardent desire to foUow them in their progress northward. Twenty or more, perched on the same tree, often delighted me with their choruses, now and then varied with the still clearer notes of one or two White-throated Finches, that, like leaders of an orchestra, seemed to mark time for the woodland choristers. Toward the close of the day their single notes were often repeated, and sounded like those of a retreat. They seemed to hop and dance about among the branches, mixing with the " White-throats," and enjoying a general con-