190 NEWS FROM THE BIRDS. 



steep hillside a little later. A busli sparrow 

 flew up from the ground, chirping uneasily, 

 and there, snugly set in the bushes, ^vas her 

 pretty nest containing four bantlings over half 

 grown. A catbird's domicile farther up the hill 

 contained only one egg. 



Brown thrashers were not plentiful about 

 Chattanooga, j)erhax3S not more than a half 

 dozen having been seen in my strolls; nor 

 were these especially musical. Near the hotel 

 where the mocker had domiciled himself a 

 thrasher occasionally made a half-hearted at- 

 tempt to sing, but apparently the superior per- 

 formances of his rival disconcerted him, and he 

 seemed to give up in disgust. 



Not a song sparrow was seen or heard in 

 all this regioD. About my home in Ohio 

 every piece of low ground has its quota of 

 song sparrows, often trilling every month in 

 the year. It was an unusual experience to fol- 

 low the winding hollows and crystal streams 

 in Tennessee without being greeted by a trill 

 from the throats of these merry songsters. 

 Yet I have no doubt that these birds pass 

 through here in the migrating season both in 

 the spring and the autumn ; for, one day in 

 November, I found several of them near Mont- 

 gomery, Alabama. And they were singing, 



