Just listen up

I can't quite make out the tune, but the melody this dapper little guy's been whistling has perked up the backyard for days. The morning sunshine jumpstarts this white-crowned sparrow's repertoire and set after set, song after song roll out of him all day - and finally, I notice. Can't say that about Victoria though, who's referred to them as "stripie heads" and grooved to this gardener's opus for years.

Looking smart, dressed especially for the occasion, he and his friends will perch on fence posts or eaves and sound off in a fractured harmony, if only to impress devotee Stella the cat, watching intently from the back door, tail wagging in time.