OVEN-BIRD. 



ceeded by a more moderate form of the noisy queecher, 

 queecher, queecher, queecher, queecher of the Oven-bird, 

 do not doubt for a moment that it is this fellow alone 

 who has sung the whole song; the time, most likely, 

 will be late afternoon just when the other birds are be- 

 ginning to sing vespers! Mr. Torrey says, describing 

 the song, the bird "takes to the air (usually starting 

 from a tree-top, although I have seen him rise from the 

 ground), whence, after a preliminary chip, chip, he lets 

 fall a hurried flood of notes, in the midst of which can 

 usually be distinguished his familiar weechee, weectiee, 

 iveechee." But whether these syllables occur most 

 frequently in the middle or at the close of the song 

 is an indifferent matter; it is sufficiently to the point 

 to know that they are bound to occur. They have 

 been excellently represented by Mr. Burroughs, on this 

 wise: 



Teacher, teacher, TEACHER, TEACHER, TEACHER. 



Naturally we would accent that word on the first sylla- 

 ble, but I will leave it with any acute observer to say 

 whether I am not right in insisting that the bird does 

 nothing of the kind, but on the contrary lays particular 

 stress on the second syllable* thus: TEA-CHER '. 

 "Here," I imagine some one will say, " is another of his 

 hair-splitting differences!" Yet, for all that, I presume 

 it will be admitted that one can not be too accurate in 

 the statement of fact, and it goes without saying, facts 

 must be carefully presented in their relation to bird 

 music otherwise they may prove valueless. Musically 

 considered that accent on the second syllable is of the 

 greatest importance, for it enables me to express with 

 perfect ease and accuracy the character of the Oven- 

 bird's peculiarly noisy song; also, the slurs and the re- 

 markable crescendo are so pronounced, that, regardless 

 of tone or pitch, it is difficult to understand how the 



* I notice Mr. Cheney's notation places the accent on the first 

 syllable ; but I am confident that the second syllable is the stronger 

 one, and that a more extended study of the song by Mr. Cheney 



would have n>sult><l in <i shift of his accent,* 



199 



