THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS 



happened, I knew that Empidonax difficilis, for 

 all its ill-omened name, was readily distinguish- 

 able from any similar bird to be found hereabouts 

 by its distinctly yellow under parts ; and the bird 

 before me, face on, and close by, was a plain case, 

 or, as it is the present fashion to say, an easy 

 proposition. 



A few rods more and I came to a cluster of 

 small oaks, in which, on the morning previous, 

 I had found two or three Townsend warblers 

 (black-throated green warblers with a difference), 

 birds that I had seen some time before among 

 the Monterey pines at Point Pinos. With what 

 delight I put my glass upon the first one, so 

 bright, so handsome, so new, so suggestive of 

 one of my dearest New England favorites, and 

 so unexpected ! After all, I believe it is the un- 

 looked-for things that afford us the keenest 

 pleasure, — though I may be of another mind 

 within a week. The unexpectedness in the pre- 

 sent case was due to nothing better than igno- 

 rance, it is true, the bird being known (by other 

 people) to be common all winter in the Monterey 

 region ; but that is a consideration beside the 

 point. I followed the lovely creature, as it threaded 

 its way among the pine leaves, with as much 

 eagerness as if thousands of dollars had depended 

 upon the sight. And it was well I did (blessed 

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