186 THE PASSING OF THE BIRDS. 



migrant in a certain spot he makes it a rule 

 to visit the place again a year afterward on 

 the same day, and, if possible, at the same 

 hour of the day. Another friend sends me 

 a very pretty story bearing upon the same 

 point. The bird of which he speaks, Wil- 

 son's black-cap warbler, is one of the less 

 common of our regular Massachusetts mi- 

 grants. I count myself fortunate if I see 

 two or three specimens during its spring or 

 autumn passage. My correspondent shall 

 tell the story for himself. 



"While I was making the drawings for 

 the 'Silva,' at the old Dwight house, I was 

 in the habit of taking a turn every pleasant 

 day in the gardens after my scanty lunch. 

 On the 18th of May, 1887, in my daily 

 round I saw a Wilson's black-cap for the 

 first time in my life. He was in a bush of 

 Spircea media , which grew in the midst of 

 the rockery, and allowed me to examine him 

 at near range with no appearance of fear. 

 Naturally I made a note of the occurrence 

 in my diary, and talked about it with my 

 family when I got home. The seeing of a 

 new bird always makes a red-letter day. 



"The next spring, as I was looking over 



