RAMBLES ABOUT GEORGETOWN 199 



whatever its sex, its little bosom was bubbling over 

 with music.^ 



It was soon evident that the western robins were 

 abundant about Georgetown, as they were on the plains 

 and among the foothills. They were principally en- 

 gaged just now in feeding their young, which had 

 already left their nests. Presently I shall have more 

 to say about these birds. Just now I was aware of 

 some little strangers darting about in the air, uttering 

 a fine, querulous note, and at length descending to the 

 ground to feast daintily on the seeds of a low plant. 

 Here I could see them plainly with my glass, for thev 

 gave me gracious permission to go quite near them. 

 Their backs were striped, the predominant color being 

 brown or dark gray, while the whitish under parts 

 were streaked with dusk, and there were yellow decora- 

 tions on the wings and tails, whether the birds were 

 at rest or in flight. When the wings were spread and 



1 After the foregoing was written, I chanced upon the following 

 note in " Bird Lore" for September and October, 1901, written by 

 a lady at Moline, Illinois, who had made an early morning visit 

 to the haunt of a warbling vireo : "Seated on the ground, in a 

 convenient place for watching the vireo, which was on the nest, 

 we were soon attracted by a vireo 's song. Search for the singer 

 failed to find it, until we noted that the bird on the nest seemed to 

 be singing. Then, as we watched, over and over again the bird 

 was seen to lift up its head and pour out the long, rich warble — 

 a most delicious sight and sound. Are such ways usual among 

 birds, or did we chance to see and hear an unusual thing ? " 



