species. One consists of an initial note, followed by three or so repeated notes at an interval of about a major third above. The second song consists of an initial note, a second a whole step lower, and a third note, repeated two or three times, about a minor third below that. This second song is commonly described by use of mnemonics with the cadence of "Po-or Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" (or "O-oh sweet Canada, Canada, Canada") The rhythm is very regular, and the timbre could be described as pinched. These musical intervals are only approximate; to a human ear the song often sounds out of tune. The repeated note will often change in pitch very slightly, contributing to this effect. As reported by National Geographic in 2020, ornithologists have discovered a new song for the white-throated sparrow. This bird song begins in the same way as the typical song, but with a subtle difference: the repeating triplets, as in "Peabody", become doublets, as in "Cherry", ending with a final single tone. This new tune began to appear in British Columbia, Canada, and then spread east. The white-throated sparrow also has at least two calls, in addition to its song. Footnotes External links White-throated sparrow – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center White-throated sparrow species account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology White-throated sparrow – Zonotrichia albicollis – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter Stamps at bird-stamps.org white-throated sparrow Birds of Canada Native birds of the Northeastern United States white-throated sparrow white-throated sparrow Extant Late Pleistocene first appearances