SMALL BIRD TALK 531 



and wood-thrushes were singing, and when I 

 reached the open fields which the real estate men 

 are still holding for the unearned increment to pile 

 up upon, the meadow larks showed their white 

 feathers as they flew low over the long grass out- 

 side of the baseball diamond and cried, "Oh so 

 che-ap! Here so-ch-e-a-p" and the little sparrow 

 with a smut mark on his breast sang his little ditty. 



When I reached the swamp woods and thickets 

 bordering the old railroad "fill" the swamp black- 

 birds were calling for Barbara, Bar-ba-ree! Bar- 

 ba-ree ! and their brilliant red epaulets and 

 black uniforms were conspicuous among the wil- 

 lows, alders, and cat-tails of the swamp-lands. 



Here I saw a chestnut-sided warbler and heard 

 him making his wish although he did not state what 

 he wanted, but simply said: "Whish, whisli, 

 whish, wish, wish, wish, wish!" 



A little dust-colored sparrow answered with a 

 soft and plaintive, 



"Chue, chue, chue; 



Teh, tch, tch, tch, tch, tch," 



the last six words spoken quickly in an ascend 

 ing scale. 



In the woods a black-and-white creeper, running 

 up and down the trunk of trees with a celerity 

 which made the red-headed woodpecker envious, 

 paused for a moment to greet me with, "Chee wee, 

 eweet, eweet, eweet," and I doffed my hat to the 

 little acrobat. 



Already and dressed for the mask ball with a 



