94 BIRDS OF THE GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



of sylvians, that frequents familiar places. His plumage 

 is not a briglit yellow, but faintly streaked with olive on 

 the back and wings. He feeds entirely on insects, and is 

 frequently seen in gardens among the cherry-trees and 

 currant-bushes in search of them. The birds of this 

 species are not shy ; and I have observed the same con- 

 fiding docility in other small birds which are not perse- 

 cuted. The note of the male is remarkable only for its 

 sweetness. It is too brief and shrill to attract attention, 

 except by giving notice of the cheerful presence of the 

 bird. He is so familiar as frequently to come up close 

 to our windows when a tree is near, peeping in upon us 

 as if to watch our motions. 



There is nothing in his general habits to render him 

 conspicuous ; and little is said about him, because he 

 is quiet and unobtrusive. But w^ere his whole species 

 banished from our land, he would be missed as we should 

 miss the little cinqfoil from our green hillsides, which it 

 sprinkles with its modest and familiar flowers, though it 

 attracts no admiration. The Summer Yellow-Bird, like 

 this little flower, dwells sweetly among the willows and 

 cherry-trees, seen by all, and loved for its unpretending 

 beauty, its cheerful note, and its innocent habits. 



Dr. Brewer mentions the Summer Yellow-Bird as one 

 of the few species that refuses to hatch the egg of the 

 Cowbird. If this bird should drop one of its eggs into 

 her nest, she builds up the walls and then covers the spu- 

 rious egg with a thick coating of fresh materials. He 

 mentions one remarkable case that happened in his own 

 garden. The Yellow-Bird had already built a new nest 

 over one Cowbird's egg. Another was deposited in the new 

 nest, and she built over that. She had finally made a 

 nest with three stories, the last one containing only the 

 Yellow-Bird's eggs. This fact and others of a similar 

 kind, related by ornithologists, indicate an unusual share 



