92 



BIRDS OF THE WEST 



morning. I should guess as many as forty. Do you know I have 

 ahnost given up speaking of any birds as "rare", for just as I 

 have said that such and such a bird is seldom seen, I turn and 

 find a flock of them feeding on my lawn. I think that more than 

 half of "rarity" is in our eyes. Many a man doubtless thinks 

 there are few birds in his locality while it may be that there is a 

 wren's nest in a hole at the top of his porch, the nest of a vireo 

 in the top of his elm tree, a robin's nest in his apple tree, a blue- 

 bird's nest in his garden, sparrows all around him and a hundred 

 swifts in his chimney. Surely if he watches, he will see the little 

 kinglets, for they have a little work to do for everybody. 



