THE PERCHING BIRDS. 57 



Warblers, viewed as to their habits, are birds of 

 the trees, of the low bushes, of the ground, and of the 

 water. It is seldom, then, that we can wander out of 

 town in any direction, from April to October, and not 

 see one or more members of the great group. But 

 how are they to be recognized from true flycatchers, 

 or sparrows, or greenlets ? This is not always an 

 easy matter, but there are a few points that may be 

 borne in mind. Warblers are little birds, less rather 

 than more than five inches in length, slender, with a 

 narrow, sharp bill, and usually colored very conspic- 

 uously. They are warblers by name, but do not, as 

 a rule, have any song that attracts attention; and 

 when migrating, often merely utter a sibilant lisp that 

 is harsh and unpleasant. The " song," of course, 

 varies among the different species, and the birds can 

 be recognized, in many cases, by the character of the 

 utterance. They are all extremely restless birds, and 

 move among the branches of the trees with so rapid 

 a movement that identification becomes difficult, es- 

 pecially among those that are rather plainly colored. 

 This quick manner indicates at once that they are 

 not sparrows. 



The number being so great, it is impracticable to 

 give a detailed description of each, even of those that 

 are common to our Atlantic seaboard. The first of 

 the great migratory troupe to appear is the " Yellow 

 Red-poll," and often, very early in April, a hundred 

 or more will be found in an orchard or among the 

 pines about the farm-house. They twitter rather than 

 sing, hunt insects with tireless assiduity, remain but 

 a short time, and leave their hunting-grounds for 



