Bird -Nesting with Burroughs 



89 



the presiding genius of ' Slab- 

 sides' ; one could not imag- 

 ine fitter companion with 

 whom to go a-nesting; for 

 be the paradox especially' 

 noted that the enjoyments 

 g^v ^^'Pi**'.^^MK .^^^ ^^ nest -hunting are doubled 



m- J'^^r ^^^^^ when you halve them. 



Then there was ' Slab- 

 sides ' itself, ideal haunt for 

 /— ^ ^_ _ ^^^^_ man and bird, and round 



^^^7- 'u^^^^ % ^^^ about were inviting wooded 



_ ,, TrL-'-auJ^^H^ ^ hills, with here and there 



" ^ ~ ^ ^^"^ -ih^^^i^mmi^^tt^^^^ cultivated valleys between 



them, and, not far away, 

 fields and orchards. 



Through these pleasantly 

 ^ "^ ' J^^^ ^S^ ^^^HM varied surroundings, on the 



r ' ^^ij^^H^^^^ni^^^U^^BiM morning of June 16, 1900, 



we wandered, visiting old 

 acquaintances as well as 

 searching for new ones. It 

 was not to be expected that 

 a passing tour of observation 

 and investigation should 

 yield results of unusual interest or scientific value, and 1 have nothing 

 more important to record than the mere joy of seeing and discovering 

 objects which never fail to excite a bird-lover's enthusiasm; with the 

 added satisfaction of being 

 able, in some instances, to 

 picture far more graphicall\ 

 than could be done with pen 

 alone, the scenes from bird- 

 life which are here presented. 

 The difference between 

 casual and continuous obser- 

 vation is elocjuently illustrated 

 by our comparative knowledge 

 of the first bird we visited — 

 the Ph(fbe of whom Mr. 

 Burroughs writes in the pre- 

 ceding pages. To me she was 

 interesting simply as a Phci-be ir.mmkr tKhniNc vounc 



HUMMER .XBOL'T TO FEED VOLNG 



