Silvery tendrils of music reach me outdoors. White-throated Sparrows prowl my Iowa backyard, singing in chorus and counterpoint. Some notes are sustained, and some are trilled, in an ethereal, plaintive quaver.
Some authors transcribe the song as Old Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody. Others call it Oh sweet Canada, Canada. Here are several White-throated Sparrows in song, as I recorded them in Fairfield, Iowa, this morning.
White-throated Sparrows will soon depart for the great Northern Forest. I wonder why they’re already singing. Is it for the comfort of each other’s company on their long and danger-filled journey?
I cannot know what the songs mean to the sparrows, but it makes me think of small beings, flying northward all night long, and the distant forests that they’re risking everything to reach. Their music touches the wellspring of my soul.
We have had many white-throated sparrows around our feeders lately. I guess I did not realize they do not spend the summer here! They will be missed! Thanks for the information!!