THE RETURN OF THE BIRDS. 29 



cible and emphatic, but, as stated, not espe- 

 cially musical : Chick-a-re'r-chick, he seems 

 to say, hiding himself in the low, dense un- 

 dergrowth, and eluding your most vigilant 

 search, as if playing some part in a game. 

 But in July or August, if you are on good 

 terms with the sylvan deities, you may listen 

 to a far more rare and artistic performance. 

 Your first impression will be that that clus- 

 ter of azalea, or that clump of swamp- 

 huckleberry, conceals three or four different 

 songsters, each vying with the others to 

 lead the chorus. Such a medley of notes, 

 snatched from half the songsters of the 

 field and forest, and uttered with the utmost 

 clearness and rapidity, I am sure you cannot 

 hear short of the haunts of the genuine 

 mocking-bird. If not fully and accurately 

 repeated, there are at least suggested the 

 notes of the robin, wren, cat-bird, high-hole, 

 goldfinch, and song-sparrow. The pip, pip 

 of the last is produced so accurately that I 

 verily believe it would deceive the bird her- 

 self ; and the whole uttered in such rapid 

 succession that it seems as if the movement 

 that gives the concluding note of one strain 

 must form the first note of the next. The 

 effect ia very rich, and, to my ear, entirely 



