386 UPLAND AND MEADOW. 



and the tip of a tail sinking in a hole in the ground is 

 all that I can recall. I found that the little fellow had 

 been sitting at the opening of his underground retreat, 

 and so could afford to be brave. 



All day long the rain continued falling, soaking ev- 

 ery nook and corner of the fields and woods. It grew 

 distasteful to the birds, and most took shelter in the ce- 

 dars and other available spots. One restless song-spar- 

 row tried to sing, but big round rain-drops burst upon 

 his open beak so often he gave it up in disgust. 



A few warblers congregated in the big locusts in the 

 yard, and offered a chance to take an observation from 

 within doors. There were black and white tree-creep- 

 ing warblers, a black-throated blue, and two myrtle 

 birds. These gave me hopes that an autumn flight of 

 warblers may wind up the month, or be the prominent 

 feature of November's Indian summer. 



Between wind and rain, the leaves have had a poor 

 show to-day, and far more than half are now scattered. 

 Through the bare branches I see many nests not discov- 

 ered during the leafy month of June. Some of them, 

 too, are in positions which it seems impossible should 

 have been overlooked. The exposure by the winds of 

 so many nests proves the cunning of such birds as de- 

 sire to have their summer retreats hidden. They cer- 

 tainly must study the matter of location very carefully ; 

 for it is not to be held that the whole matter is one of 

 mere accident. I counted eleven nests to-day in the 

 dooryard trees, not one of which I suspected as being 



