214 WAKE-ROBIN 



had found the author of the strain in the black- poll 

 warbler. He seems loath to believe that a bird so 

 small as either of the kinglets could possess such 

 vocal powers. It may indeed have been the winter 

 wren, but from my own observation I believe the 

 ruby-crowned kinglet quite capable of such a perform- 

 ance. 



But I must leave this part -of the subject and 

 hasten on. As to works on ornithology, Audu- 

 bon's, though its expense puts it beyond the reach 

 of the mass of readers, is by far the most full and 

 accurate. His drawings surpass all others in accu- 

 racy and spirit, while his enthusiasm and devotion 

 to the work he had undertaken have but few paral- 

 lels in the history of science. His chapter on the 

 wild goose is as good as a poem. One readily over- 

 looks his style, which is often verbose and affected, 

 in consideration of enthusiasm so genuine and pur- 

 pose so single. 



There has never been a keener eye than Audu- 

 bon's, though there have been more discriminative 

 ears. Nuttall, for instance, is far more happy in 

 his descriptions of the songs and notes of birds, and 

 more to be relied upon. Audubon thinks the song 

 of the Louisiana water-thrush equal to that of the 

 European nightingale, and, as he had heard both 

 birds, one would think was prepared to judge. Yet 

 he has, no doubt, overrated the 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 



