FIRST PROFESSIONAL WORK 67 



was very abundant during May, and the birds 

 bred in numbers. This is also true of the blue- 

 winged warbler in suitable localities. The orange- 

 crowned warbler was one of the plentiful migrants, 

 while the black-and-white creeping warbler, the 

 blue-backed warbler, the yellow rump warbler, 

 the black-poll warbler, the mourning warbler, the 

 chestnut-sided warbler, the cerulian warbler, the 

 worm-eating warbler, were among the rare birds. 

 The yellow-breasted chat was to be heard every- 

 where. Camped out near some stream at this 

 time, spending several days in localities that 

 afforded particularly good collecting ground, I 

 clearly recall my sensation on hearing the still- 

 ness of the moon-lit night interrupted by the con- 

 stant singing and noisiness of many chats. 

 Among the birds characteristic of the interior re- 

 gion of North America that were common in the 

 vicinity of Warrensburg were Bell's vireo, the 

 chestnut-collared bunting, Lincoln's sparrow, 

 Harris's sparrow, the lark-finch, and the black- 

 throated bunting. 



Nowhere have I seen cardinals and blue jays 

 so much at home in people's front yards as they 

 were in this town. The jays were quite as 

 domestic then in the streets as the English spar- 

 rows probably are now, and were less shy than is 

 the robin in the East. The red-bellied and red- 

 headed woodpecker were noisy and numerous. 



