154 Dog-Trotting for Orchids 



dim woods. Burroughs translates its song thus : " O 

 spheral, spheral ! O holy, holy ! " 



My delight was complete, since I had found two rare 

 birds' nests within an hour, — those of the melancholy 

 songster and the screaming jay. Four days later I 

 visited both of these nests to see the birdlings. The 

 mother jay was not at home, so I did not distress her 

 when I climbed up to peep at the homely babies. I 

 passed on down to the deeper glen to the oven-bird's 

 wigwam. She too was absent. Five little bald heads 

 and five wide-gaping mouths were revealed as I drew 

 near the nest, bespeaking the necessity of a thrifty 

 mother to search for food to satisfy their needs. I 

 touched their little heads, then drew back and waited 

 almost an hour for the return of the mother bird, hop- 

 ing to see the feeding of the young. But she was 

 either shy or belated, and did not appear. 



