ORNITHOLOGY 



47 



were hunting worms on the ground all 

 about, a near-by tovvhee was singing 

 unconcernedly, and on a neighboring 

 bush a tiny Maryland yellow-throat 

 called in his sprightly way, "Which 

 way, Sir?" The grackles were noisy, 

 disreputable birds, known to be occa- 

 sional nest-robbers, and in their time 

 of distress, no one would help them. 

 '1 he robins, quiet, respectable birds, 

 might avail themselves of the protec- 

 tion of all the other birds in the or- 

 chard, but the grackles must fight their 

 battles alone. 



stage of action. It is highly probable 

 that the "Sweet I'salmist of Israel" had 

 some such thought, when he longed for 

 the wings of a dove, that he might flee 

 from earth and be at rest. — From the 

 opening chapter of Swainson's "Birds," 

 published about 1835. 



Birds. 



If elegance of form, beauty of color- 

 ing, or sweetness of voice, were pecu- 

 liarities which constituted the superior- 

 itv of one class of beings over another, 

 we should unquestionably assign to 

 birds the highest station in the scale 

 of animal creation. No shadow of fear 

 mixes with those pleasurable sensa- 

 tions with which they are viewed ; and 

 those feelings, moreover, are height- 

 ened by the ethereal nature of the crea- 

 tures themselves. In a moment they 

 may spread their wings, launch into 

 boundless air, and be seen no more. We 

 almost view them as beings of a happier 

 world, alighting upon this "dim spot 

 called earth." more as a place of tem- 

 porary rest, in their voyage through the 

 regions of space, than as their perma- 

 nent abode. They remind us of those 

 invisible spirits of the tinseen world, 

 which, we are taught to believe, tra- 

 verse the air on the wings of the wind ; 

 wdio alight, but for a moment, among 

 the sons of men, and then depart to 

 breathe a purer atmosphere. Of all 

 unintelligent beings, they alone are 

 gifted with a musical voice, possessing 

 hr^-^h sweetness and varied expression. 

 Tl-ieir language, in some measure, is 

 thus intelligible even to man, inspiring 

 hiri with cheerfulness or melancholv. 

 Fence it is, that from among birds the 

 pof^ts have selected their sweetest 

 themes. They are. both poetically and 

 literallv, the butterflies of vertebrated 

 animals : flitting from one plant to an- 

 other, livine less on earth than in the 

 air. and having their wings ornamented 

 with feathers of bright or varied colors. 

 In both we dimlv see an indication of 

 that existence which wnll separate the 

 spirit of man from those cares, anxieties 

 and allurements which chain him down 

 to earth, as if it was his final and onlv 



A Starling Episode. 



So much has been said against the 

 English starling in regard to its driv- 

 ing away our native songsters wher- 

 ever it has taken up its abode, that I 

 was especially interested when we dis- 

 covered that a pair had made their ap- 

 pearance in the lot across the street 

 from our home — the first of these birds 

 recorded from Hyde Park as far as I 

 have been able to learn — on the 30th 

 of April, and began to carry nesting 

 material into a flicker hole high up in 

 a dead elm tree. Anticipating, though 

 with some apprehension as to the out- 

 come, the watching of these birds daily 

 to note their actions in relation to the 

 other birds, it was with some regret 

 that I recorded their disappearance two 

 weeks later, and believe that they were, 

 driven off by the English sparrows^ 

 which now occupy the elm stub. 



For several mornings following the 

 appearance of the starlings a pair of 

 flickers which had been about the place 

 for some time, and which were doubt- 

 less the pair which occupied this cavity 

 during the season of 191 5, came fre- 

 quently to the tree and seemed greatly 

 disturbed by the presence of the foreign 

 birds. When the flickers appeared the 

 starlings merely perched nearby and 

 apparently paid no attention to their out- 

 cries or their presence. The agitated 

 flickers meanwhile would flutter around 

 the trunk and peer into the hole, but made 

 no efifort while I watched them either 

 to pull out the nesting material or to 

 drive away the usurpers of their home, 

 and after a few such visits we saw them 

 no more. 



For a week or more following, the 

 starlings were observed daily about this 

 nest and going into the hole, but were 

 frequently scolded and driven from the 

 tree by some English sparrows which 

 appeared to be occupying a cavity 

 low^er down in the same tree. 



On the 14th of Mav I looked in vain 

 for our notorious visitors but have not 

 seen them since. Now the flickers have 

 gone and the sparrows seem to hold 



