170 THE PRAIRIE WARBLER. 
berry thickets, from the tips of oak saplings, or from the foliage of surrounding 
forest trees. His time was about equally divided between singing and bug- 
catching, and altho he might remain in a single clump for five minutes at 
a time, the bird did not keep the same position for two consecutive sec- 
onds. Even dur- 
ing song he would 
twist and writhe 
like an Italian 
prima donna, pro- 
ducing quite as 
much motion as 
music. 
The song of the 
Prairie Warbler is 
a little the most 
remarkable — pro- 
duction in the 
Mniotiltan reper- 
toire. It is a suc 
cession of mel- 
low — whistling 
creaks, each note 
pitched higher 
than the preced- 
ing, and each 
gaining somewhat 
in intensity until 
the next to the last 
one is reached 
The bird runs a 
weird chromatic 
scale upon a fairy 
oboe, with aneffect 
which Dr. Coues 
Taken near Photo 
Sugar by the - “cys 
Grave: Author. describes as “like 
a mouse complain- 
A HILLTOP PASTURE. ing of a_ tooth- 
WHERE THE PRAIRIE WARBLER MAY NEST. ache.” 
The bird seen at Sugar Grove was entirely destitute of the “brick-red 
spots upon the middle of the back,” usually recommended as a recognition 
mark, and certain other marks were less distinct than normally in the adult 
male. It was probably a male of the second summer which had not yet at- 
tained adult plumage. 
