A First Glance at the Birds. 



There is a superstition, unfortunately 

 all too prevalent, that our birds do 

 not sing. The truth of the matter 

 is that our ears do not hear, or rather, 

 that our attention is directed to other 

 things. We talk of importing singing 

 birds from far-off lands at the same 

 time that we calmly permit many of our 

 own beautiflil songsters to be extermi- 

 nated. It is well for people to learn to 

 appreciate what they have before desir- 

 ing to add to their possessions. Does 

 the robin sing in the elms of New Eng- 

 land ? In the pines and redwoods of 

 California he sings the same dear old 

 song. Does the meadow-lark make 

 glad the plowed fields of Illinois with 

 his whistle? Here he sings a fuller and 

 richer tune. To be sure we do not 

 know the ecstatic song of the bobolink, 

 but the linnet sings here a strain that is 

 quite as vivacious and with a sweeter 

 melody. Bullock's oriole sounds his 

 ringing notes as bravely with us as the 

 more famed but no more lovely Balti- 



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