The Birds' Calendar 



swept hither and thither by the winds ; and the 

 few that we see are only the scattering ones that 

 fall to the ground, to be whirled along by the 

 next gust. 



The male ruby -crowned kinglet is here, and 

 his twitterings seem just ready to burst out into 

 that full and delicious song that made him so 

 welcome a visitor in the spring — like a blossom 

 that needs only the warmth and sunshine of one 

 more day to make it burst from its calyx, and 

 fling its petals wide open ; so the kinglet's song 

 seems on the verge of ripeness, and struggling 

 to be set free. But it is too late in the season : 

 his lip.o are sealed till spring. With all the re- 

 semblance of the two kinglets, they are easily 

 distinguished by the head-markings : the gold- 

 en-crowned having the black and yellow lines 

 in both male and female, whereas in the ruby- 

 crowned the head has either the simple dash of 

 scarlet, or is entirely plain. 



I found only four warblers during the month 

 — the yellow-rump, black-throated green, black- 

 throated blue, and the black-and-white creeper. 

 Also the wood thrush, thrasher, and red-eyed 

 vireo finally disappeared. The snow-birds be- 

 gan to be numerous toward the close of the 

 month, and throughout October the song spar- 



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