A SHORT MONTH 7 



throat, the oven-bird, and the chestnut-sided 

 warbler, in addition to the grosbeak before 

 mentioned. Then followed a spell of cold, 

 unfavorable weather, and nothing more was 

 listed until the 6th. That day I saw a 

 Nashville warbler, several days tardy, 

 a catbird, and a Swainson thrush. On May 

 7, I heard my first prairie warbler, and to- 

 day has brought the oriole, the wood thrush, 

 one silent red-eyed vireo (it is good to know 

 that this voluble " preacher" can be silent), 

 and the redstart. It never happened to me 

 before, I think, to see the Swainson thrush 

 earlier than the wood. That I have done so 

 this season is doubtless the result of some 

 accident, on one side or the other. The 

 Swainson was a little ahead of his regular 

 schedule, I feel sure ; but on the other hand, 

 it may almost be taken for granted that a 

 few wood thrushes have been in the neigh- 

 borhood for several days. The probability 

 that any single observer will light upon the 

 very first silent bird of a given species that 

 drops into a township must be slight in- 

 deed. What we see, we tell of ; but that is 

 only the smallest part of what happens. 



