MAY. 131 



F. Oh, yes ! his song is very pleasing ; of which Wil- 

 son says, " Some idea may be formed of this song, by strik- 

 ing the high keys of a pianoforte at random, singly and 

 quickly, making as many sudden contrasts of high and low 

 notes as possible." I observe that they have a habit of sus- 

 pending themselves in the air, and then coming gradually 

 down, singing more and more rapidly till they alight, and in 

 the moment of alighting, make a hissing, or sometimes a low 

 guttural sound. They do not usually fly high, but sing in 

 this rapid manner, hovering over a field. After having 

 been several years in this country, on my return to England, 

 hearing for the first time the skylark in the air, and turning 

 quickly round and seeing the bird singing as it descended, 

 my first impression was, " there is a Bob Lincoln." 



C. What other birds have you lately noticed ? 



F. The Blackburnian Warbler (Sylvia BlackburnicB ) 

 is one ; a little bird of great beauty : the whole upper parts 

 are black, the black on the crown of the head, bounded and 

 divided in the middle by lines of rich orange ; a large white 

 spot on the wing ; the whole throat and breast rich fiery 

 orange with black spots ; the belly yellow. It is very rare 

 in the United States, but here, I see some every spring ; and 

 in some seasons they are quite common : they are not very 

 shy, coming around the house, and allowing a person to ap- 

 proach within a short distance, when in the woods. I saw 

 a pair of them a few days ago, busily engaged in pecking the 

 buds of a tamarack, probably searching for insects. Of its 

 musical powers I can give no account, as I have never heard 

 it utter a note. 



C. I have seen a bird somewhat like the one you de- 

 scribe, but its breast and belly were brilliant yellow, spotted 

 with black, the upper parts dark coloured. 



F. I too have seen it, but cannot exactly determine 

 whether it is the Black and Yellow Warbler (Sylvia Mag- 



