24 THE RETURN OF THE BIRDS. 



The plumage of the cuckoo is a rich glossy brown, 

 End is unrivaled in beauty by any other neutral tin* 

 with which I am acquainted. It is also remarkable 

 for its firmness and fineness. 



Notwithstanding the disparity in size and color, 

 the black-billed species has certain peculiarities that 

 remind one of the passenger-pigeon. His eye, with 

 its red circle, the shape of his head, and his motion 

 on alighting and taking flight, quickly suggest th^ 

 resemblance ; though in grace and speed, when on 

 the wing, he is far inferior. His tail seems dispro- 

 portionately long, like that of the red thrush, and 

 his flight among the trees is very still, contrasting 

 strongly with the honest clatter of the robin or 

 pigeon. 



Have you heard the song of the field-sparrow ? 

 If you have lived in a pastoral country with broad 

 upland pastures, you could hardly have missed him. 

 Wilson, I believe, calls him the grass-finch, and was 

 evidently unacquainted with his powers of song. 

 The two white lateral quills in his tail, and his habit 

 jf running and skulking a few yards in advance of 

 you as you walk through the fields, are sufficient to 

 dentify him. Not in meadows or orchards, but in 

 liigh, breezy pasture-grounds, will you look for him. 

 His song is most noticeable after sundown, wher 

 other birds are silent ; for which reason he has been 

 jptly called the vesper- sparrow. The farmer follow- 

 mg his team from the field at dusk catches his sweet 

 est strain. His sonjr is not so brisk and varied at 



