276 THE INVITATION. 



one, and underrated the other. The song of 

 the water-thrush is very brief, compared with 

 the philomel's, and its quality is brightness 

 and vivacity, while that of the latter bird, if 

 the books are to be credited, is melody and 

 harmony. Again, he says the song of the 

 blue grossbeak resembles the bobolink's, 

 which it does about as much as the color of 

 the two birds resembles each other ; one is 

 black and white, and the other is blue. The 

 song of the wood-wagtail, he says, consists of 

 a " short succession of simple notes begin- 

 ning with emphasis and gradually falling." 

 The truth is they run up the scale instead 

 of down; beginning low and ending in a 

 shriek. 



Yet considering the extent of Audubon's 

 work, the wonder is the errors are so few. 

 I can at this moment recall but one obser- 

 vation of his, the contrary of which I have 

 proved to be true. In his account of the 

 bobolink, he makes a point of the fact that 

 in returning South in the fall they do not 

 travel by night, as they do when moving 

 North in the spring. In Washington I have 

 heard their calls, as they flew over at night, 

 for four successive autumns. As he devoted 

 the whole of a long life to the subject, and 



