44 Bird Comrades 



dwelling place to their taste in the spring of 1900. This 

 handsome birdlet may be known by his dainty yellow 

 hood, bordered with black, and cannot be mistaken for 

 any other member of the great feathered fraternity. 

 One cannot look at him without feeling that Nature tried 

 to see what she could do in the way of an unusual 

 arrangement of colors. Who can tell what impelled her 

 to make a living gem like this, as odd as it is beautiful ? 



On the side of the bluff referred to I was first attracted 

 by the vivacious song of the little male, which I had not 

 heard for several years not since an excursion I had 

 taken into Louisiana and Mississippi. His voice was clear 

 and ringing, and the tune he executed was by no means 

 a meager performance. 



One day a loud, metallic chirping was heard, and 

 presently two hooded warblers appeared, each with the 

 proverbial green worm in its beak. I decided to remain 

 in the nook and watch, for the nesting habits of these 

 rare warblers were new to me. In and out, up and down, 

 here and there, they flitted, making a checker- work of 

 black and gold amid the foliage, craning their necks, 

 peeririg at me with anxious inquiry in their dark little 

 eyes, and filling the woodland with their uneasy chirping. 



It was a long time to wait, but at length patience had 

 its reward; one of the birds flew down to the bushes on 

 the steep slope above me and fed a youngster in plain 

 view. No time was lost in pushing through the bushy 

 tangle to the magic spot. Behold! it was a young cow- 

 bird that had been fed by the devoted little mother! 



