THE OSPKEY. 



133 



arched rill. What would our f^leii.s be without 

 this calm sweet sing-er whose voice never fails 

 within its season? It bring-s peace, harmony 

 and quiet to your overtaxed nerves as stretched 

 out upon the g-reen turf, you listen to his liquid 

 melody. 



At Overlook Inn we viewed the city and noted 

 the universal change which the last month had 

 produced. No longer did the gray asphalt mark 

 the long streets and avenues, but green bands, 

 above which the housetops peeped forth, indi- 

 cated the thoroughfares of the town. We al.so 

 watched the Turkey Buzzards in their gyrating 

 flight and envied them for their grace; they 

 embody the very poetry of motion. 



Leaving the busy Metropolis behing us, 

 we turned to Goodhope and thence to Silver 

 Hill. We crossed Oxen Run with its extensive 

 valley, and from the next eminence had a pano- 

 ramic view of many a hill and dale. Most of 

 the birds allude:! to before were habitue's of each 

 shadv nook, and a few orchards, which were now 



wood-bound path. The oaks had hung long 

 festoons of pollen-bearing- stamens to the wind 

 and their tender young green leaves furnished 

 outstretched branch which will contain the pret- 

 tiest eggs of all; so pretty are they, in fact, that 

 it scarcely seems possible that so homely a bird 

 as a young Wood Pewee could ever emerge from 

 a shell so richly marked. This bird will keep 

 the woods from seeming utterly dead when the 

 noon-day heat of summer will silence all the 

 rest, for it is then that this .somber wee gray 

 thing takes a leading role. 



Every grove, every bunch of trees, seemed to 

 have its (juota of Red-eyed Vireos, and many 

 proclaimed the presence of the slower member of 

 the genus, which stops to swing its rocking cra- 

 dle from our boughs- the Yellow-throated. The 

 Warbling Vireo, which at this time frequents 

 the roads and parks of our busy city, and tenders 

 ever so.often its pleasing song to the passer-by, 

 is also present, and often announces this fact 

 from its shadv retreat. 





t yy.o '^/^ 'a'\ / 



/ 



/^>.; 



a welcome retreat to the passing Warblers. The 

 }51ack-throated Green in particular favored 

 them, while the low dense pine-growth shel- 

 tered the somewhat belated Yellow Red-poll, 

 and the intermediate ground, particularly in 

 ravines, the beautiful Black-throated Blue. 

 Brilliant Scarlet Tanagers were often seen and 

 also heard sawing off a piece of their song. We 

 were again favored by the presence of Coephlo- 

 eus, as well as some of the lesser folk of his 

 habit, the two Nut-hatches, canadensis^ and carc- 

 linerisis, the first a migrant, the last a resident. 

 Now and then we heard that plaintive sad but 

 pleasing note which the Wood Pewee calls his 

 own. and we knew that he too had returned to 

 build his cosy lichen-stuccoed nest upon some 

 shedding their snowy petals in flowery showers, 

 added several pairs of Bee Martins and a few 

 pleasing Bluebirds to our list. 



Turning to the right we entered the timber 

 proper and we drove for several miles over a 



The Thrasher. Harporhynchus rufus. 

 fProm Bulletin of Division of Hconomic Biology D. A.) 



In these sylvan dells, we occasionally .saw the 

 fleeting forms of Thrushes, too shy or seclusive 

 to permit us to approach them close enough 

 with the buggv. to determine their given naine. 



We i-eturned to the citv by way of (^xen Hill, 

 Congress Heights, and Anacostia, having noted 

 seventy-three species of birds in this single day. 

 To speak of all of these would require more 

 space than the editor of the OspkEY could spare. 



A SLXI>AV MOKNING AT HOME. 



It is the 6th of Mav. Still is the house! Old 

 Sol has not vet risen! I have donned my .suit 

 and stepped outside to catch perchance enthu; 

 siasm from nature to feed the glowing embers 

 of happiness within and warm the soul in 

 morning's ruddy glow. It is cool-quite cool 

 for the season— and heavy dew covers all the 

 trround. To the orchard I repair and seating 

 mvself on an old stump I listen to the medley of 



