BERKELEY IN MAY 



such hastily uttered phrases as the following: ^^Tit-a-iTea- 

 irea-trea; tree, tree, trea, tree, tree; trit-a-tree, tree, tree;** but 

 the ending of the song is frequently lost in a confused jumble of 

 sweet tones. If we are patient we may detect a small, blue 

 bird, considerably less than a sparrow in size, with restless, 

 animated movements to correspond with his song. It is the 

 lazuli-bunting, one of the commonest of the minor songsters of 

 summer. TTie plumage of the male is very gay, with the back 

 of azure and the breast of reddish brown ; but the female, like 

 so many of her sisters, is rather obscurely robed in brown, with 

 but a trace of the bright colors of her mate. Their nest is a 

 cup-shaped structure of grasses, in which are deposited four 

 or five pale blue eggs, generally unspotted, although occasion- 

 ally slightly dotted with points of brown. 



Continuing our walk, a flash of gold crosses the road and 

 disappears among the thick growth of bushes. Thither let us 

 follow, where the summer warbler is singing his high, vivacious 

 crescendo of song in a sudden outburst of joy. A little, sharp, 

 fine, metallic isit arrests our attention as we pass through a 

 clump of scrub oaks. It is well to pause when a new note 

 greets the ear in the course of a woodland ramble, and, with 

 eyes alert, await developments; for the birds are always ready 

 to display themselves to the unobtrusive observer. A little, 

 brown, perky bird soon flirts into view and greets us with a low, 

 harsh, rasping chatter, which at times changes to a more gut- 

 tural tone. We soon recognize our old friend, the western 

 house-wren, which is at home both in the woodland and in our 

 village gardens. 



Full of the beauty and wonder of the life we have seen, 

 we wend our way homeward, cheered by the exhilaration of 



[97] 



