BIRDS AND BATTLEFIELDS. 



191 



too, to be sure ! Otherwise tliey would not 

 have been true to song-sparrow tempera- 

 ment. 



Tennessee, however, has Bachman's spar- 

 row, trilling his sweet- 

 ly sad refrains on ev- 

 ery hillside, and that 

 makes partial compen- 

 sation for its lack of 

 our Northern lyrist. 

 While I should not 

 be willing to exchange 

 the song sparrow for 

 Bachman's, no doubt 

 there are persons 

 w^ho would pass 

 verdict in fa- 

 vor of the lat- 

 ter bird as the 

 superior triller. 

 The wood thrush- 

 — they could tell 

 you many a sylvan secret — 

 were quite abundant, their 

 sweet, pensive melody falling from the steep 

 mountain sides like the tinkle of half-muffled 

 bells. The orchard orioles were oftener seen 

 than their Baltimore cousins, but wherever the 



Oriole and nest. 



