204 WINTER BIRDS ABOUT BOSTON, 



engaging. Emerson's "atom in full breath" 

 and " scrap of valor" would apply to him even 

 better than to the titmouse. . He says little, 

 zee, zee, zee is nearly the limit of his vocabu- 

 lary ; but his lively demeanor and the grace 

 and agility of his movements are in themselves 

 an excellent language, speaking infallibly a con- 

 tented mind. (It is a fact, on which I forbear 

 to moralize, that birds seldom look unhappy 

 except when they are idle.) His diminutive size 

 attracts attention even from those who rarely 

 notice such things. About the first of Decem- 

 ber, a year ago, I was told of a man who had 

 shot a humming-bird only a few days before in 

 the vicinity of Boston. Of course I expressed a 

 polite surprise, and assured my informant that 

 such a remarkable capture ought by all means 

 to be put on record in " The Auk," as every 

 ornithologist in the land would be interested 

 in it. On this he called upon the lucky sports- 

 man's brother, who happened to be standing by, 

 to corroborate the story. Yes, the latter said, 

 the fact was as had been stated. " But then," 

 he continued, " the bird did n't have a long bill, 

 like a humming-bird ; " and when I suggested 

 that perhaps its crown was yellow, bordered 

 with black, he said, " Yes, yes ; that 's the bird, 

 exactly." So easy are startling discoveries to 

 an observer who has just the requisite amount 



