THE GOLDEN-CROWNED ACCENTOR. 313 



of suspended, hovering flight, like certain of the Finches, 

 and bursts into a perfect ecstasy of song clear, ringing, 

 copious, rivaling the Goldfinches in vivacity, and the Lin- 

 nets in melody. . This strain is one of the rarest bits of 

 bird melody to be heard, and is oftenest indulged in late in 

 the afternoon or after sundown." Since Mr. B.'s discovery 

 others have identified this extra song. I hear it to fine 

 advantage in the night when the bird begins with its ordi- 

 nary and well-known chant, and ends in a prolonged and 

 beautiful warble, the effect of which, on the stillness of 

 night in the forest, is peculiarly pleasing. 



Some 6.00-6.50 long, greenish-olive above, with a yellow 

 crown margined with black, white underneath, the breast 

 and sides streaked with large arrow-shaped spots of black, 

 Golden-crown has the marking of the Thrushes, among 

 which he was formerly classed; but in structure he is a 

 Warbler; in size he is about half-way between these two 

 great families; in manner, especially when on the ground, 

 he resembles the Wagtails. He is a bird of the ground, 

 often busy among the rustling leaves scratching for food, 

 and he is a dainty walker, seldom leaving the ground, ex- 

 cept for some musical performance. 



In accordance with this general habit, his nest, found in 

 almost any part of the woods or swamp, is on the ground 

 a peculiar structure, roofed over, and having an entrance on 

 the side, bearing such a striking resemblance in miniature 

 to the old-fashioned out-door oven, that the builder has 

 been christened the "Oven-bird." Frequently the nest is 

 truly "a thing of beauty." Composed of dried leaves and 

 grasses, sometimes intermixed with shreds of bark and fine 

 twigs, or ornamented with mosses, thickly arched with 

 skeleton-leaves, or feathery tops of the finer grasses it looks 

 almost ethereal. Not infrequently, however, the nest is 



