70 CHARACTER IN FEATHERS. 



indescribable fashion, and chattering all the 

 while. His " inner consciousness " at such a 

 moment would be worth perusing. Possibly 

 he has some feeling for the grotesque. But I 

 suspect not ; probably what we laugh at as the 

 antics of a clown is all sober earnest to him. 



At best, it is very little we can know about 

 what is passing in a bird's mind. We label 

 him with two or three sesguipedalia verba, give 

 his territorial range, describe his notes and his 

 habits of nidification, and fancy we have ren- 

 dered an account of the bird. But how should 

 we like to be inventoried in such a style? 

 " His name was John Smith; he lived in Bos- 

 ton, in a three-story brick house ; he had a bar- 

 itone voice, but was not a good singer." All 

 true enough ; but do you call that a man's bi- 

 ography ? 



The four birds last spoken of are all wanting 

 in refinement. The jay and the shrike are 

 wild and rough, not to say barbarous, while the 

 white-eyed vireo and the chat have the charac- 

 ter which commonly goes by the name of od- 

 dity. All four are interesting for their strong 

 individuality and their picturesqueness, but it 

 is a pleasure to turn from them to creatures 

 like our four common New England Hylocich- 

 Ice, or small thrushes. These are the real pa- 

 tricians. With their modest but rich dress, 



