202 WAKE-ROBIN 



still others that not even the hunters saw, and 

 whose names no one had ever heard 1 



When, one summer day, later in life, I took my 

 gun and went to the . woods again, in a different 

 though perhaps a less simple spirit, I found my 

 youthful vision more than realized. There were, 

 indeed, other birds, plenty of them, singing, nest- 

 ing, breeding, among the familiar trees, which I 

 had before passed by unheard and unseen. 



It is a surprise that awaits every student of orni- 

 thology, and the thrill of delight that accompanies 

 it, and the feeling of fresh, eager inquiry that fol- 

 lows, can hardly be awakened by any other pursuit. 

 Take the first step in ornithology, procure one new 

 specimen, and you are ticketed for the whole voy- 

 age. There is a fascination about it quite overpow- 

 ering. It fits so well with other things, — with 

 fishing, hunting, farming, walking, camping-out, -^ 

 with all that takes one to the fields and woods. 

 One may go a blackberrying and make some rare dis- 

 covery; or, while driving his cow to pasture, hear a 

 new song, or make a new observation. Secrets lurk 

 on all sides. There is news in every bush. Ex- 

 pectation is ever on tiptoe. What no man ever 

 saw before may the next moment be revealed to 

 you. What a new interest the woods have! How 

 you long to explore every nook and corner of them ! 

 You would even find consolation in being lost in 

 them. You could then hear the night birds and 

 the owls, and, in your wanderings, might stumble 

 upon some unknown specimen. 



