BIRDS, FLOWERS, AND PEOPLE 117 



indeed, I wrote with perfect confidence : 

 " The song is clearly distinguishable from 

 that of the northern bird, less musical, 

 more woodeny and chippery ; " more like 

 the chipping sparrow's, I meant to say. If 

 I had come away then, with one bird's trill 

 to go upon, that would have been my ver- 

 dict, to be printed, when the time came, 

 without misgiving. But further observation 

 brought further light, or, if the reader will, 

 further obscurity. Some individuals were 

 better singers than others, so much was to 

 be expected ; but taking them together, their 

 music was that of ordinary snowbirds such 

 as I had always listened to. For aught my 

 ears told me, I might have been in Fran- 

 conia. This is not to assert that the Alle- 

 ghanian junco has not developed a voice in 

 some measure its own ; I believe it has ; 

 probability has more authority than per- 

 sonal experience with me in matters of this 

 kind; but the change is as yet too incon- 

 siderable for my senses to appreciate on a 

 short acquaintance, with no opportunity for 

 a direct comparison. In such cases, it is 

 perhaps true that one needs to trust the first 

 lively impression, which has, undeniably, 



