98 BIRD-SONGS ABOUT WORCESTER. 



falls perfectly. How apt is the descrip- 

 tion of the humming-bird, *' a vibratory 

 haze " ! The sight of a goldfinch fills him 

 with enthusiasm, and he exclaims, *' An 

 American goldfinch, indeed ! " 



According to Gilbert White's charming 

 book, " On the Natural History of Sel- 

 borne," which is as much of an English 

 classic as Izaak Walton's " Complete An- 

 gler," the linnets and sparrows of England 

 are rather weak singers. How different 

 here ! The purple-finch, goldfinch, indigo- 

 bird, rose-breasted grosbeak, the peabody 

 bird, the song, vesper, and field sparrows, 

 all of them superior songsters, are included 

 in this family. As for the thrushes, there 

 are in England only three species, the mis- 

 sal-thrush, or throstle, the song-thrush, or 

 mavis, and the blackbird. Our robin's 

 song, according to Burroughs, is scarcely 

 inferior to any of them, while they have in 

 England no birds whatever answering to 

 our mocking-bird, brown-thrush, catbird, 

 wood-thrush, and veery. 



Our vireos are a family peculiar to the 



