PEPACTON 



garden birds one may notice the same tendency. I 

 observe a great variety of songs, and even qualities 

 of voice, among the orioles and among the song 

 sparrows. On this trip my ear was especially at- 

 tracted to some striking and original sparrow songs. 

 At one point I was half afraid I had let pass an 

 opportunity to identify a new warbler, but finally 

 concluded it was a song sparrow. On another 

 occasion I used to hear day after day a sparrow 

 that appeared to have some organic defect in its 

 voice: part of its song was scarcely above a whisper, 

 as if the bird was suffering from a very bad cold. 

 I have heard a bobolink and a hermit thrush with 

 similar defects of voice. I have heard a robin with 

 a part of the whistle of the quail in his song. It 

 was out of time and out of tune, but the robin 

 seemed insensible of the incongruity, and sang as 

 loudly and as joyously as any of his mates. A cat- 

 bird will sometimes show a special genius for mim- 

 icry, and I have known one to suggest very plainly 

 some notes of the bobolink. 



There are numerous long covered bridges span- 

 ning the Delaware, and under some of these I saw 

 the cliff swallow at home, the nests being fastened 

 to the under sides of the timbers, as it were, sus- 

 pended from the ceiling instead of being planted 

 upon the shelving or perpendicular side, as is usual 

 with them. To have laid the foundation, indeed, 

 to have sprung the vault downward and finished it 

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