THE HOODED WARBLER. 



191 



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you cannot handle it. but infinitely inure so in that its beauty takes a thousand 

 forms, a fresh one for every turn of fancy that may stir an avian breast. 



The further charm of comparative rarity is added to this exquisite crea- 

 tion, so that not a few of us count upon our fingers the occasions upon which 

 we have been granted a sight of it. To me the bird first came as a voice, 

 a sweet and pure but altogether puzzling sound, tossed down from a tree- 

 top on a foggy morning, an hour before dawn. The bird was at an unheard- 

 of distance from his chosen range, so when the sun dissolved the mist and 

 disclosed the 

 singer, sitting 

 quietly, and 

 piping in ac- 

 cents uncon- 

 strained, it 

 seemed to us as 

 tho we had 

 caught a fairy 

 overstaying his 

 time limit. 



The Hooded 

 Warbler shows 

 a decided pref- 

 erence for 

 damp woods 

 where there is 

 plenty of un- 

 der gro wth. 

 Beech woods 

 are favorite 

 places if the 

 1 ither condi- 

 tions are suit- 

 able. Here the 

 birds spend 

 their time fly- 

 catching along 

 the middle lev- 

 els, or descend 

 to search the 

 b r u s h . The 

 tail is some- 



. , Taken near Sugar Grove. 



times earned sleeping beauties. 



AJ$ei 





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