THE RETURN OF THE BIRDS. 47 



for the catching; and the opportunity is 

 well improved. See that sombre, ashen- 

 colored pewee on yonder branch. A true 

 sportsman, he, who never takes his game at 

 rest, but always on the wing. You vagrant 

 fly, you purblind moth, beware how you 

 come within his range ! Observe his atti- 

 tude, the curious movement of his head, his 

 " eye in a fine frenzy rolling, glancing from 

 heaven to earth, from earth to heaven." 



His sight is microscopic and his aim sure. 

 Quick as thought he has seized his victim 

 and is back to his perch. There is no strife, 

 no pursuit, one fell swoop and the matter 

 is ended. That little sparrow, as you will ob- 

 serve, is less skilled. It is the Socialis, and 

 he finds his subsistence properly in various 

 seeds and the larvae of insects, though he 

 occasionally has higher aspirations, and 

 seeks to emulate the pewee, commencing 

 and ending his career as a fly-catcher by an 

 awkward chase after a beetle or "miller." 

 He is hunting around in the grass now, I 

 suspect, with the desire to indulge this fa- 

 vorite whim. There ! the opportunity is 

 afforded him. Away goes a little cream- 

 colored meadow-moth in the most tortuous 

 course he is capable of, and away goes So- 



