A Bouquet of Song Birds 
to be in a snarling mood, just at the time when 
it particularly behooves him to be affable and 
charming. 
Entering the woods I found a perfect carni- 
val in progress—trees and bushes flashing with 
bright colors, and the air song-laden with a 
delicate but universal chorus. One of the rare 
species in our latitude is the beautiful ‘‘ hooded 
warbler,’’ elegantly costumed in a black velvet 
mantle over a golden bodice, unique and strik- 
ing. These woods are about the most norther- 
ly limit where one can find it in considerable 
numbers. It is an exception to most of the 
warblers in having a song as rich and charac- 
teristic as its plumage. In fact, I heard two 
entirely different melodies from this species, 
which one could not suppose to belong to the 
same bird. Whether he has any more arias in 
his répertoire I cannot say. He thus scores a 
double success, sure not only to please the 
critics, but to win the approval of that large 
portion of every concert-audience which is 
more deeply stirred by the costume than the 
song. He is also peculiar in his manner of 
running about over tree-trunks, not hugging 
the bark, like a brown creeper, but with legs 
as straight as in the nuthatch. 
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