144 SCRAPING ACQUAINTANCE, 



is possible for some of us, if we are never to be 

 allowed to call our gentle friends by name un- 

 til in every case we have gone through the for- 

 mality of a post-mortem examination. Practi- 

 cally, and for every-day ends, we may know a 

 robin, or a redstart, or even a hermit thrush, 

 when we see him, without first turning the bird 

 into a specimen. 



Probably there are none of our birds which 

 afford more surprise and pleasure to a novice 

 than the family of warblers. A well-known 

 ornithologist has related how one day he wan- 

 dered into the forest in an idle mood, and acci- 

 dentally catching a gleam of bright color over- 

 head, raised his gun and brought the bird to his 

 feet ; and how excited and charmed he was with 

 the wondrous beauty of his little trophy. Were 

 there other birds in the woods as lovely as this ? 

 He would see for himself. And that was the 

 beginning of what bids fair to prove a life-long 

 enthusiasm. 



Thirty-eight warblers are credited to New 

 England ; but it would be safe to say that not 

 more than three of them are known to the 

 average New-Englander. How should he know 

 them, indeed ? They do not come about the 

 flower-garden like the humming-bird, nor about 

 the lawn like the robin ; neither can they be 

 hunted with a dog like the grouse and the 



