76 Summer Studies of Birds and Books CHAP. 



been so often useful to me; and to Meiringen 

 accordingly I went with all speed as soon as my 

 duties came to an end. I did not need to go any 

 further to find my bird. The very morning after I 

 arrived there I was strolling along a path which runs 

 between allotments towards the famous defile of the 

 river Aar, when I heard a very sweet and varied 

 song which instantly attracted my attention. I soon 

 discovered the singer, perched on a tall pole which 

 had once supported peas or beans : he was within 

 about thirty yards of the river, and behind him was 

 a hedge, behind that again a deep hollow filled with 

 reeds and bushy undergrowth, then the embankment 

 of the Aar, and finally that great glacier stream 

 itself. To this promising spot I betook myself at 

 once, in order to find out who was the singer of a 

 song so new to me and at the same time so sweet. 

 After spending some time here, I felt pretty sure 

 that this was the bird I had come to seek, and I 

 also felt sure that the bird of the Botanic Garden 

 was not the same as this. The song of this little 

 fellow was of an entirely different type ; instead of 

 being a brilliant edition of the Reed Warbler's song, 

 it never once reminded me of it. It was something 

 quite new to me. I did not on that occasion hear 

 the full performance, nor did I then discover the 

 extraordinary power of mockery which the bird 

 possesses ; but within a day or two I became aware 



