162 SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 



the sweetness and wildness they have when hea d in 

 June in our deep Northern forests. A day or two 

 afterward, in the same tree, I heard for the first time 

 the song of the golden-crowned wren, or kinglet, 

 the same liquid bubble and cadence which characterize 

 the wren-songs generally, but much finer and more 

 delicate than the song of any other variety known to 

 me ; beginning in a fine, round, needle-like note, and 

 rising into a full, sustained warble ; a strain, on the 

 whole, remarkably exquisite and pleasing, the singer 

 being all the while as busy as a bee, catching some 

 kind of insects. If the ruby-crowned sings as well 

 (and no doubt it does), Audubon's enthusiasm con- 

 cerning its song, as he heard it in the wilds of Labra- 

 dor, is not a bit extravagant. The song of the kinglet 

 is the only characteristic that allies it to the wrens. 



The Capitol grounds, with their fine large trees of 

 many varieties draw many kinds of birds. In the 

 rear of the building the extensive grounds are pecul- 

 iarly attractive, being a gentle slope, warm and pro- 

 tected, and quite thickly wooded. Here in early 

 spring I go to hear the robins, cat-birds, blackbirds, 

 wrens, etc. In March the white-throated and white- 

 crowned sparrows may be seen, hopping about on 

 the flower-beds or peering slyly from the evergreens. 

 The robin hops about freely upon the grass, notwith- 

 standing the keeper's large-lettered warning, and at 

 intervals, and especially at sunset, carols from the 

 tree-tops his loud hearty strain. 



The kingbird and orchard starling remain the 



