3o8 



THE MUSEUM. 



the breast in the form of a V; only a 

 few spots on the sides, thus leaving 

 the area above and below the collar a 

 pure white, upon which the pink feet 

 appear in sharp contrast. The bill al- 

 so is pink and there is only a light 

 streak of brown from the bill down. 

 The dark eye protrudes directly from 

 the yellow face without the least orbit- 

 al mark, but behind the cheek there is 

 a small wedge-shaped spot of warm 

 brown pointing from the eye. The 

 black crown streaks are seen now in 

 all their characteristic marking. 



When the bird thought the sitting- 

 had lasted long enough to afford me 

 a good likness, it disappeared, not to 

 be seen again, but following the wat- 

 er's edge a second one came into view, 

 flying up into a willow. The post- 

 auricular spot, in the other faintly in- 

 dicated, was here well pronounced and 

 large, but the breast-band had less 

 continuity, especially the meridian 

 .spots were smaller. 



Sitting on the branch, its upright 

 carriage and general contour remind- 

 ed me of ZonotricJiia IcucopJirys, the 

 difference in size being hardly appre- 

 ciable. When a. general stampede of 

 the frightened Fringillidge occured,this 

 bird joined the rest, alighting repeat- 

 edly in willows until lost to sight. 

 While still on the lookout for other 

 members of the noble Baird family, I 

 wondered whether a bird so peculiar 

 in color and marking may vary at dif^ 

 fercnt seasons so much that it could be 

 described in books with introductions 

 like "with a general resemblance to 

 Savanna." 



But the field is not the place for 

 studying book-descriptions, and the 

 constant changes which go on before 

 our eyes soon absorb our entire atten- 



tion. The Crackles, all pure and sim- 

 ple cFiicus as far as we can see, are 

 paying an interesting and interested 

 visit to the top-shaped receptacles of 

 the spatter docks, from which the nuts 

 have fallen, thus affording splendid 

 lurking places for different forms of 

 lower animal life. It is a pleasing 

 picture to see the glossy, graceful birds 

 alight on such a curious perch and 

 bendinig down peep into every nut- 

 hole. 



A flutter of dark steel-blue wings 

 set off against a reddish-gray body and 

 a part of Rusty Blackbirds alights in 

 the button-bush nearby. They came 

 to rest, and soft, melodious notes es- 

 cape their throats, as if dreaming of 

 times gone by and places far remote. 

 One has spied something in the weeds 

 below and, hanging Oriole-fashion 

 from the lowest branch, dips down its 

 head and body for a moment and 

 emerges with a big dragon fly, which 

 it soon dispatches wings and all. 



A fine old Marsh Hawk, in blue 

 and reddish apron, who has been over- 

 hauling the marsh with untiring wing 

 ever since sunrise, pays a flying visit 

 to the lake, but the birds do not mind 

 him much; all seem to be on friendly 

 terms with him. Six Mallards which 

 had been lying still amidst the shelter- 

 ing plants go up with tokens of sur- 

 prise and swinging around are heading 

 for Horse Shoe Lake, two drakes in 

 front, the females closely in pursuit. 

 A solitary Purple Finch alights in the 

 tree over our head, gives half a dozen 

 calls, a few strains of music, and pro- 

 ceeds. The Savannas which we found 

 along the lake on our arrival have long 

 since disappeared among the grasses 

 of the marsh, but the Swamp Sparrows 

 are getting quite familiar. They are 



