XIX. 



THE VAGARIES OF A WARBLER. 



The bird lover who carries a glass but never 

 a gun, who observes but never shoots, sees many- 

 queer things not set down in the books ; freaks 

 and notions and curious fancies on the part 

 of the feathered folk, which reveal an individ- 

 uality of character as marked in a three-inch 

 warbler as in a six-foot man. Some of the 

 idiosyncrasies of our "little brothers" may be 

 understood and explained from the human stand- 

 point, others are as baffling as "the lady, or the 

 tiger?" 



One lovely and lazy day last July — the fourth 

 it was — a perfect day with not a cannon nor 

 even a cracker to disturb its peace, my comrade 

 and I turned our steps toward the woods, as we 

 had for the thirty-and-three mornings preced- 

 ing that one. 



This morning, however, was distinguished by 

 the fact that we had a special object. In gen- 

 eral, our passage through the woods was an open- 

 eyed (and open-minded) loitering walk, alter- 

 nated with periods of rest on our camp-stools, 



