September 



such glittering beauties as in spring, for they 

 fade somewhat as doth the leaf: the golden 

 yellow is tarnished, and the jet-black restricted 

 and shabby, and all in all they look quite en 

 deshabille. The largest part of the troop con- 

 sists of females and the young, which to ordina- 

 ry observation are quite indistinguishable, and 

 lack the characteristic features of the males. A 

 single '' black-throated blue " was in their com- 

 pany. A few days later came the black-and- 

 white creeper, the Blackburnian, and a flock of 

 yellow^-rumped warblers. At one of the pools 

 the '^ solitary" sandpiper was bobbing his 

 head, much like the spotted sandpiper which 

 was here for a week in spring, but with the 

 under parts, excepting breast, a clear white. I 

 think these are the only two species of fresh- 

 water sandpipers in this region. 



I exchanged glances with the Maryland yel- 

 low-throat, as beautiful as in spring, and near 

 him was a "blue yellow - back," somewhat 

 dingy, but evidently a mature male. At this 

 time also came the ruby-crowned kinglet, but 

 it was the crownless female, and our monoto- 

 nous friend the brown creeper, who with the 

 perseverance of the saints has begun his win- 

 ter's work just where he left it off, at the bottom 



261 



