38 DIFFICULTIES OF BIRD STUDY. 



is one ever to discriminate among such an army? 

 In my own State, there are to be found at least 

 thirty-seven species of the Sylvicolidce^ either as 

 residents or migrants, many of them looking so 

 much alike that confusion is inevitable. Add to 

 this the fact that their autumn garb is often differ- 

 ent from their spring costume, and also that many 

 of them are extremely shy, concealing themselves 

 in thickets, or remaining in the tops of the tallest 

 trees, and you will see that bird lore is acquired 

 at the cost of a good deal of patience, persistence, 

 and — I had almost said — sweetness of temper. 



Many birds display an expertness in finding hid- 

 ing-places that amounts to a fine art. You per- 

 haps catch a glimpse of a little bird in the bushes, 

 and there is a flash of color that sets your pulses 

 fluttering ; but before you can fix him with your 

 glass, he has flitted behind a thick clump of tangle- 

 wood, and though you plunge in after him, getting 

 your feet wet and your hands and face scratched 

 by the briers, he still eludes you, affording only 

 momentary glimpses of himself, until, at last, if 

 the pursuit becomes too hot, he chips sharply, flirts 

 his tail, and then flies across the river, flinging back 

 at you a saucy gird of bird talk. It does no good 

 to scold or coax, to stamp your foot, or use your 



