14 AN IDLER ON MISSIONARY RIDGE. 



then, having freed her mind and attracted 

 my attention, she got inside and began peck- 

 ing here and there at the rim, apparently 

 giving it the final touches. The tufted tits 

 whistled unseen with all their characteristic 

 monotony. The veeries and the olive-back 

 kept silence, but the wood thrushes, as was 

 their daily habit, made the woods ring. One 

 of them was building a nest. 



Most admired of all were the Kentucky 

 warblers, of which there were at least five. 

 It was my first real sight of them, and, for- 

 tunately, they were not in the least bashful. 

 They spent the time mostly on the ground, 

 in open, grassy places, especially about the 

 roots of trees and thorn-bushes, — the latter 

 now snowy with bloom, — once in a while 

 hopping a few inches up the bole, as if to 

 pick off insects. In movement and attitude 

 they made me think often of the Connecti- 

 cut warbler, although when startled they 

 took a higher perch. Once I saw one of 

 them under a pretty tuft of the showy blue 

 baptisia (5. australis}, — a new bird in 

 the shadow of a new flower ! Who says 

 that life is an old story ? From the general 

 manner of the birds, — more easily felt than 



