APRIL 



II 



The woods ring with the cheerful jingle of the 

 Fringilla hiemalis [the slate-colored junco or snow- 

 bird, now called by ornithologists Junco hyemalis. 

 ED.]. This is a very trig and compact little 

 bird, and appears to be in good condition. The 

 straight edge of slate on their breasts contrasts 

 remarkably with the white from beneath. The 

 short, light-colored bill is also very conspicuous 

 amid the dark slate, and when they fly from you, 

 the two white feathers in their tails are very 

 distinct at a good distance. They are very lively, 

 pursuing each other from bush to bush. 



THOREAU: Early Spring in Massachusetts. 



12 



At Hayden's I hear hylas on two keys or notes. 

 Heard one after the other; the sounds might be 

 mistaken for the varied note of one. The little 

 croakers, too, are very lively there. I get close to 

 them, and witness a great commotion, they half 

 hopping and half swimming about with their heads 

 out, apparently in pursuit of each other, perhaps 

 thirty or forty within a few square yards, and fif- 

 teen or twenty within one yard. . . . As I ap- 

 proach nearer, they disperse and bury themselves 

 in the grass at the bottom, only one or two remain- 

 ing outstretched upon the surface ; and at another 

 step, these, too, conceal themselves. 



THOREAU: Early Spring in Massachusetts. 



