34 THE RETURN OF THE BIRDS. 



literally throng this idle-wild ; and I have 

 met here many of the rarer species, such as 

 the great-crested fly-catcher, the solitary war- 

 bler, the blue-winged swamp-warbler, the 

 worm-eating warbler, the fox-sparrow, etc. 

 The absence of all birds of prey, and the 

 great number of flies and insects, both the 

 result of proximity to the village, are con- 

 siderations which no hawk-fearing, peace- 

 loving minstrel passes over lightly; hence 

 the popularity of the resort. 



But the crowning glory of all these robins, 

 fly-catchers, and warblers is the wood-thrush. 

 More abundant than all other birds, except 

 the robin and cat-bird, he greets you from 

 every rock and shrub. Shy and reserved 

 when he first makes his appearance in May, 

 before the end of June he is tame and fa- 

 miliar, and sings on the tree over your head, 

 or on the rock a few paces in advance. A 

 pair even built their nest and reared their 

 brood within ten or twelve feet of the piazza 

 of a large summer-house in the vicinity. 

 But when the guests commenced to arrive 

 and the piazza to be thronged with gay 

 crowds, I noticed something like dread and 

 foreboding in the manner of the mother- 

 bird ; and from her still, quiet ways, and 



