THE PERCHING BIRDS. 105 



" fervent, sensuous, and withal perfectly-rounded carol. ... It ex- 

 presses careless joy and exultant masculine vigor rather than the finer 

 shades of sentiment." 



On the Pacific coast, in the mountains of Cali- 

 fornia, and in the Rocky Mountains there are foxie 

 sparrows that are " varieties" of our Eastern form, 

 much like him in a general way, but with no charac- 

 teristic that is an advance over the bird that has ever 

 been a delight to all who are fortunate enough to 

 know him. 



When, forty years ago, it was my good fortune to 

 be allowed to go with " the boy" after the cows, 

 about sunset, as I passed along a narrow path that 

 extended for several rods through a briery tangle, I 

 never failed to see a strange black, white, and brown 

 bird that seemed to follow us and resent our intru- 

 sion by the vehement utterance of what sounded 

 like re-treat, re-treat. I was told then that the bird 

 was the Swamp-robin, and later fell to calling it 

 " Chewink." As with many another bird that gets 

 its familiar name from the fancied resemblance of its 



