SCRAPING ACQUAINTANCE. 145 
woodcock. Hence, for all their gorgeous ap- 
parel, they are mainly left to students and 
collectors. Of our common species the most 
beautiful are, perhaps, the blue yellow- back, 
the blue golden-wing, the Blackburnian, the 
black-and-yellow, the Canada flycatcher, and 
the redstart; with the yellow-rump, the black- 
throated green, the prairie warbler, the sum- 
mer yellow-bird, and the Maryland yellow- 
throat coming not far behind. But all of them 
are beautiful, and they possess, besides, the 
charm of great diversity of plumage and hab- 
its ; while some of them have the further merit, 
by no means inconsiderable, of being rare. 
It was a bright day for me when the blue 
golden-winged warbler settled in my neighbor- 
hood. On my morning walk I detected a new 
song, and, following it up, found a new bird, 
—a result which is far from being a thing 
of course. The spring migration was at its 
height, and at first I expected to have the 
pleasure of my new friend's society for only 
a day or two; soI made the most of it. But 
it turned out that he and his companion had 
come to spend the summer, and before very long 
I discovered their nest. This was still unfin- 
ished when I came upon it; but I knew pretty 
well whose it was, having several times noticed 
the birds about the spot, and a few days after- 
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