Thk Wilson Bulletin— No. 47 53 



parts by a railroad. A walk of one hundred yards alon^ the 

 railroad would take me to the pasture, which was tenanted by 

 many families of Uickcissell. The volubility of this songster 

 is well known. Sitting on the porch of my home, 1 could 

 hear long after sundown the ringing phrases of Diekcissell, 

 watted to my ears on the clear summer air. It was my cus- 

 tom to walk over to the pasture about four o'clock every 

 afternoon, and follow the tall, tree-like hedge which enclosed 

 the pasture. During these walks I noted down many songs 

 of Dickcissell, with a view to make a complete summary at 

 tlie proper time. Circumstances, however, called me from 

 Illinois before I accumulated sufficient data, but such as I 

 have to offer may prove of interest. The words suggested by 

 the songs are not vital to the descriptions, but arc gi\en as 

 the nearest rendering into English occurring to my mind 

 when the notes were made. 



On Jul}^ 13 1 first fixed one particular Uickcissell as a 

 part of a certain detail of the meadow. He soon became a 

 landmark in my walks. His first song was like this: Dick, 

 dick, ciss ciss sell, and this rendition proved to be his favorite 

 production. Frequently I could hear in it: Quick, quick, sell 

 sell sell, both songs being strongly emphasized at the last syl- 

 lable Only rarely would this songster offer: Dick, dick, dick, 

 sell sell sell. 



In another angle of the pasture I was sure to hear a per- 

 former who was seemini^ly addicted to bad habits, for as I 

 drew near his station, he would generally lake a stand on a 

 tall weed and shrill out lustil}-: Quick, quick , gV me a che~iC. 

 Frequently he would become so importunate as to repeat his 

 plea: Quick, quick, gi' me a chczc,gi''me a cheic. The charac- 

 teristic production of this songster began with only two notes, 

 but sometimes he would vary the performance by uttering 

 three dick or quick woiQs at the beginning. Once I was in an- 

 other frame of mind, perhaps, though I am free to say that I 

 do not clie7i', for I heard this songster utter, Dick, dick, minia- 

 ture, twelve limes in a minute, shortly after he had shouted 

 Gr Die a chezi'. 



In the same portion of the pasture where I met the first 

 Dickcissell, another nearby performer would regularly chant: 

 Dick, dick, quee quee quee, ciss ciss sell. After a generous 



