388 INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 



of March they already began to show indications for 

 pairing, and jealous contests ensued perpetually among 

 the males. The principal body of the species probably 

 remain the year round in the southern forests, where I 

 saw them throughout the winter; great numbers are also 

 bred in the Northern States. In summer their food is 

 the eggs and larvse of various insects, as well as flies 

 or cynips, caterpillars, coleoptera, and ants. In au- 

 tumn, the young frequent the gardens, groves, and 

 orchards, feeding likewise on berries of various kinds, as 

 on those of the cornel, wild grape, and five-leaved ivy ; at 

 this season they are very fat, and fly and forage in fami- 

 lies. They now only utter a shrill and plaintive chip. 

 I have had a male Pine Warbler, domesticated for a 

 short time ; he fed gratefully, from the instant he was 

 caught, upon flies, small earth-worms, and minced flesh, 

 and was so tame and artless, as to sit contented on every 

 hand, and scarcely shift himself securely from my feet. 

 On offering him drink he walked directly into the vessel, 

 without using the slightest precaution or exhibiting any 

 trace of fear. His tsliip and manner in all respects were 

 those of the Autumnal Warbler. 



The song of the Pine Warbler, though agreeable, 

 amidst the dreary solitude of the boundless forests which 

 he frequents, has but little compass or variety ; sometimes 

 it approaches the simplest trill of the Canary, but it is 

 commonly a reverberating, gently rising, or murmuring 

 sound, like er 'r 'r 'r 'r 'r 'r ah; or, in the spring, Hwe 

 Hwe 'ttv 'tw UiD Hid 'tw, and sometimes like Ush 'tsh 'tsh 

 'tw 'tw 'tw 'tio 'tw ; when hearkened to some time, there 

 is a variation in the cadence, which, though rather fee- 

 ble at a distance, is not unpleasant, as the little minstrel 

 tunes his pipe during the heat of the summer day, while 

 he flits gently and innocently fearless through the shady 



