April 



when speaking of a favorite species he boldly 

 ignores grammatical rules. He is thus con- 

 stantly "in a strait betwixt two," reminding 

 me of a good Catholic friend with whom I 

 once boarded, who compromised the claims of 

 conscience imposed by his religious belief and 

 the requirements of hospitality by providing 

 meat dinners on alternate Fridays ! 



In company, as usual, with the pine-creeper, 

 came another and more interesting warbler, the 

 " red-poll," so called from a very pretty chest- 

 nut-red spot on the top of the head. It is also 

 entirely yellow beneath. But the readiest mark 

 of distinction from almost all other birds is its 

 habit of constantly flirting the tail, like the 

 phoebe. This is an infallible test of a red-poll. 

 Like the flycatcher, too, they often dart into 

 the air for insects. What the red-poll may be 

 as a songster when it gets to Canada, I do not 

 know ; for the present it has only a single note 

 of luscious quality, which is several times re- 

 peated. Altogether it is a very attractive little 

 creature, with its bright colors and vivacious 

 ways, and I am only sorry that New York is 

 not cool enough to induce it to remain and 

 settle down for the summer. 



Close upon the heels of these warblers or 



