54 THE SPRING OF THE YEAR 



cept that it is useful a kind of virtue that gets its 

 chief reward in heaven. I am acquainted with only 

 four of the other nine Eastern members, crested 

 flycatcher, kingbird, wood pewee, and chebec, and 

 each of these has some redeeming attribute besides 

 the habit of catching flies. 



They are all good nest-builders, good parents, and 

 brave, independent birds ; but aside from phrebe and 

 pewee the latter in his small way the sweetest 

 voice of the oak woods the whole family is an odd 

 lot, cross-grained, cross-looking, and about as musical 

 as a family of ducks. A duck seems to know that 

 he cannot sing. A flycatcher knows nothing of his 

 shortcomings. He believes he can sing, and in time 

 he will prove it. If desire and effort count for any- 

 thing, he certainly must prove it in time. How long 

 the family has already been training, no one knows. 

 Everybody knows, however, the success each fly- 

 catcher of them has thus far attained. It would 

 make a good minstrel show, doubtless, if the family 

 would appear together. In chorus, surely, they would 

 be far from a tuneful choir. Yet individually, in 

 the wide universal chorus of the out-of-doors, how 

 much we should miss the kingbird's metallic twitter 

 and the chebec's insistent call ! 



There was little excitement for phoabe during this 

 period of incubation. He hunted in the neighborhood 

 and occasionally called to his mate, contented enough 

 perhaps, but certainly sometimes appearing tired. 



