OVEN=BIRD. 
ceeded by amore moderate form of the noisy queechen, 
queecher, queecher, queecher, queecher of the Oven-bird, 
do not doubt fora moment that it is this fellow alone 
who has sung the whole song; the time, most likely. 
will be late afternoon just when the other birds are be. 
ginning to sing vespers! Mr. Torrey says, describing 
the song, the bird ‘‘ takes to the air (usually starting 
from a tree-top, although I have seen him rise from the 
ground), whence, after a preliminary chip, chip, he lets 
fall a hurried flood of notes, in the midst of which can 
usually be distinguished his familiar weechee, weechee, 
weechee.”’ But whether these syllables occur most 
frequently in the middle or at the close of the song 
is an indifferent matter; it is sufficiently to the point 
to know that they are bound to occur. They have 
been excellently represented by Mr. Burroughs, on this 
wise: 
Teacher, teacher, TEACHER, TEACHER, TEACHER. 
Naturally we would accent that word on the first sylla- 
ble, but I will leave it with any acute observer to say 
whether Iam not right in insisting that the bird does 
nothing of the kind, but on the contrary lays particular 
stress on the second syllable,* thus: TEA-CHER'. 
‘‘Here,” I imagine some one will say, ‘‘is another of his 
hair-splitting differences!” Yet, for all that, I presume 
it will be admitted that one can not be too accurate in 
the statement of fact, and it goes without saying, facts 
must be carefully presented in their relation to bird 
music otherwise they may prove valueless. Musically 
considered that accent on the second syllable is of the 
greatest importance, for it enables me to express with 
perfect ease and accuracy the character of the Oven- 
bird’s peculiarly noisy song; also, the slurs and the re- 
markable crescendo are so pronounced, that, regardless 
of tone or pitch, it is difficult to understand how the 
*I notice Mr. Cheney’s notation places the accent on the first 
syllable ; but I am confident that the second syllable is the stronger 
one, and that amore extended study of the song by Mr. Cheney 
would have resulted in a shift cf bis o¢cent. 
Taq 
