The Birds' Calendar 



that it is always a red-letter day to the ornithol- 

 ogist when he discovers a new species, and it 

 is eminently so when his discovery is so notable 

 a specimen as the rose -breasted grosbeak. This 

 is one of the exceptional instances of rare vocal 

 accomplishments combined with great beauty. 

 It remained so long at the place, that at last I 

 really wished it would go away, feeling that it 

 would be wrong for me to forego the opportu- 

 nity of watching it as long as it remained. Not 

 being gregarious they are less likely to be found 

 than many other species. The female dresses 

 plainly, and is remarkably silent, all things con- 

 sidered. 



Two more warblers — the blue-winged yellow, 

 and the Nashville — here only for a few days, 

 and without special characteristics that were ob- 

 servable, are to be added to the list ; and at this 

 time also the pewee made his first lament of the 

 season ; the red-eyed vireo, too, began singing, 

 while over the Lake, day after day, were cours- 

 ing a flock of chimney swifts (not swallows at 

 all, say the books). Of the fifty species of swifts 

 found in the temperate and warmer parts of the 

 world, only four are in North America. They 

 are well named ''swifts," as they are not sur- 

 passed and are rarely equalled, by any other birds 

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