LYRISTS OF A SUBURB. 89 



It was a sweet, continuous warble, and not inter- 

 mittent like the trills of most of the sparrows ; the 

 voice was full, clear and flexible ; the notes varied, 

 several strains being much like certain runs of the 

 brown thrasher's song, but of decidedly finer 

 quality; while the whole carol was admirable in 

 execution and theme-like in character. The musi- 

 cian's voice was equally clear and mellifluent 

 whether he struck notes high or low in the scale. 

 Moreover, he seemed to sing in a sort of ecstasy. 

 To this day — many months later — those melli- 

 fluous strains ring in my ear, bringing that twilight 

 scene vividly to mind. 



It is surprising how many birds may be seen 

 here, each of which deserves a chapter, though 

 most of them can be given only a casual mention. 

 Here the little goldfinch may be heard in the 

 maples before the house, vying with the canaries 

 in their cages, and then darting away in his grace- 

 ful, undulatory flight, twittering at every forward 

 plunge, "/ can beat you ringing ; lean heat you 

 singing:' That tricksy spirit, the blue jay, calls in 

 the trees; the crow blackbird utter his harsh 

 " Chaek, ehackT as he flies overhead ; the Baltimore 

 oriole, though rarer than one likes, flutes occasion- 

 ally in the grove ; the robin carols on the house- 



