THE RETURN OF THE BIRDS 17 



but, as stated, not especially musical ; Chick-a-reW' 

 chickf he seems to say, hiding himself in the low, 

 dense undergrowth, and eluding your most vigilant 

 search, as if playing some part in a game. But in 

 July or August, if you are on good terms with the 

 sylvan deities, you may listen to a far more rare 

 and artistic performance. Your first impression 

 will be that that cluster of azalea, or that clump of 

 swamp-huckleberry, conceals three or four different 

 songsters, each vying with the others to lead the 

 chorus. Such a medley of notes, snatched from 

 half the songsters of the field and forest, and uttered 

 with the utmost clearness and rapidity, I am sure 

 you cannot hear short of the haunts of the genuine 

 mockingbird. If not fully and accurately repeated, 

 there are at least suggested the notes of the robin, 

 wren, catbird, high-hole, goldfinch, and song spar- 

 row. The pip^ pip^ of the last is produced so 

 accurately that I verily believe it would deceive the 

 bird herself; and the whole uttered in such rapid 

 succession that it seems as if the movement that 

 gives the concluding note of one strain must form 

 the first note of the next. The effect is very rich, 

 and, to my ear, entirely unique. The performer is 

 very careful not to reveal himself in the mean time ; 

 •yet there is a conscious air about the strain that 

 impresses me with the idea that my presence is 

 understood and my attention courted. A tone of 

 pride and glee, and, occasionally, of bantering jocose- 

 ness, is discernible. I believe it is only rarely, and 

 when he is sure of his audience, that he displays 



