WILD LIFE OF ORCHARD AND FIELD 



fly-catcher, the latter attracting attention by his 

 piercing yet not unmelodious whistle, and by his 

 brave appearance, as, with crest erect, he perches 

 upon some topmost twig and scorns the world — 

 a very D'i^rtignan among birds. 



There is another brown and crested bird in the 

 orchard — the cedar-bird, or cherry wax- wing; but 

 it wears a sleek, Quakerish dress of drab-brown, 

 with blackish wings and a short tail tipped with 

 yellow, and it has scarlet waxen tips on the ends 

 of the smaller quills of the wing and sometimes of 

 the tail. It is not likely to be confounded, there- 

 fore, with the dashing fly-catcher ; moreover, it is 

 the most silent bird in the list. 



Many small warblers, vireos, and fly -catchers 

 are likely to be seen here, because the decaying 

 trees harbor hosts of insects — nuthatches, striped 

 zebra- warblers, agile brown - creepers, small wood- 

 peckers, and, most conspicuous of all, the purple 

 finch, whose song has delightful sweetness and 

 gayety. The word " purple '' conveys to my mind 

 a strong sense of blue; but here it alludes to the 

 crimson which tints the feathers of the bird's head 

 and breast, as though he had dived to the shoul- 

 ders into ripe strawberries. 



But there is one bird whose preference for the 



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