] I AUTUMN STUDIES] [ 



the peculiar jerking of the tail, one would hardly 

 recognize the yellowpoll in his dull suit. The fly- 

 catchers frequently declare their identity through 

 mannerisms. Were it not for difference of manner 

 and voice, the phcebe and the pewee might easily 

 be confused ; so also the redeye and the warbling 

 vireo. I have known the redeye for years, but can 

 never make out his red eye, unless it be a glass 

 one. 



Now comes the winter wren, peeping and prying 

 round about a mossy tussock like a little mouse, 

 but far more self-contained. His wee tail is ele- 

 vated and his whole demeanor pert. What a 

 pidture he makes, prying about in the hair-caps, 

 his head little higher than the capsules, a ruddy, 

 rich-hued, speckled little fellow. If only he would 

 give us a measure of that fabled song, that Orphean 

 strain of the far North and of the mountain tops, 

 which is denied to dwellers on these lower levels! 

 There are songs to be heard only on Parnassus. 



These are the days of journeying seeds. In 

 spring it was blowing pollen; in early autumn, 

 mushroom spores; and now winged seeds flying 

 before the wind. Those of the hop-hornbeam 

 are done up in little papery bags which, though 



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