62 LN OBIE GLAND, 
‘A little farther on, another songster, with a 
voice of excellent “dre, is descanting on a small 
oak sapling. Note, he runs over several trills, rising 
higher at every effort, until at last he strikes a note 
far up in the scale, holds it firmly a moment, and 
then drops to a lower note. ‘Then he repeats the 
process, the summit of his ambition being attained 
whenever he reaches that high note, which is 
bewitchingly sweet. How clear and true his voice 
rings ! 
‘‘ Sometimes a silence falls upon the marsh; not 
a note is to be heard for a minute or two; and 
then, as if by a preconcerted signal, a dozen spar- 
rows throw the air into musical tumult, their com- 
bined rush of notes seeming almost like a salvo. 
Often, too, when I approach the marsh, no music is 
heard, but no sooner have I climbed the fence into 
the enclosure than the choral begins; so that I 
believe I am justified in saying that the song-spar- 
row appreciates a human auditor. ‘This is not said 
by way of disparagement, —by no means; for 
almost all musicians, whether human or avian, sing 
toberneand=:: 
On the same day I saw a song-sparrow whose 
central tail-feather was pure white from quill to tip, 
and the bird remained in the marsh until the twenty- 
fourth of the month, his odd adornment visible from 
afar. I was also surprised to find two male che- 
winks in the bushes. A cardinal grossbeak was also 
seen, and a robin’s song and the loud call of a 
flicker were heard. 
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