272 THE CLERK OF THE WOODS 



often called the yellow redpoll. If he could 

 only keep his tail still ! 



Next in order was the black-throated 

 green (May 4), which, take him for all in 

 all, is perhaps my favorite of the whole 

 family. He is the bird of the white pine, 

 as the pine warbler is the bird of the pitch- 

 pine. And now we have a real song; no 

 longer a simple trill, but a highly charac- 

 teristic, sweetly modulated tune or two 

 tunes, rather, perfectly distinguished one 

 from the other, and equally charming. If 

 the voice is rough, it is sweetly and musi- 

 cally rough. I would not for anything have 

 it different. 



What a vexatiously pleasant time I had, 

 years ago, in tracing the voice home to its 

 author ! How vividly I remember the day 

 when I lay flat on my face in a woodland 

 path, opera-glass in hand, a manual open 

 before me, and the bird singing at intervals 

 from a pine tree opposite ; and a neighbor, 

 who had known me from boyhood, coming 

 suddenly down the path. I may err in my 

 recollection (it was long ago), but I think 

 I heard the music for weeks before I satis- 



