824 



Rural School Leaflet 



Baltimore oriole 



" My oriole, my glance of summer fire, 

 Is come at last, and ever on the watch. 

 Twitches the pack-thread I had lightly wound 

 About the bough to help his housekeeping, — ■ 

 Twitches and scouts by turns, blessing his luck, 

 Yet fearing me who laid it in his way. 

 Nor, more than wiser we in our affairs. 

 Divines the providence that hides and helps. 

 Heave, ho! heave, ho! he whistles as the twine 

 Slackens its hold; once more, now: and a flash 

 Lightens across the sunlight to the elm 

 Where his mate dangles at her cup of felt. '^ 



JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL 



Peacock. — Size : Larger than the 

 domestic hen, the tail much longer 

 than the rest of the body. 



General color: Prevailing colors 

 iridescent blues and greens. Broad 

 ends of tail feathers with conspicuous 

 spots margined with gold. 



Black-and-white warbler. — Size : Smaller than a sparrow. 

 General color: Streaked all over with black and white except on the 

 under parts. A decided white streak on the top of the head. 



Neltje Blanchan says: "Nine times out of ten this active little warbler is 

 mistaken for the downy woodpecker, not because of his coloring alone, but 

 also on account of his common habit of running up and down the trunks of 

 trees and on the under side of branches, looking for insects, on which all the 

 warblers subsist. But presently 

 the true warbler character- 

 istic of restless flitting about 

 shows itself. A woodpecker 

 would go over a tree with pains- 

 taking, systematic care, while 

 the black-and-white warbler, 

 no less intent upon securing 

 its food, hurries off from tree 

 to tree, wherever the most 

 promising menu is offered." 



" His fine strain reminds me of 

 hair-wire. It is unquestionably the 

 finest bird-song to be heard. Few 

 insect strains will compare with it in 

 this respect, while it has none of the 

 harsh, brassy character of the latter, 

 being very delicate and lender." 



JOHN BURROUGHS Black-and-white warbler 



