84 EVERYDAY BIRDS 



they say, " Oh, it 's a sparrow/' and seek to know 

 nothing more. 



The family of warblers among the loveliest 

 of all birds are in a still worse case, and much 

 the same may be said of swallows and blackbirds, 

 thrushes and vireos. The number of species and 

 their perplexing similarity, which are such an at- 

 traction to the student, prove an effectual bar to 

 those who have time and money for newspapers 

 and novels, but can spare neither for a manual 

 of local ornithology. 



I have named six birds which every one knows, 

 or may know, but of course I do not mean that 

 these are all. Why should not everybody know 

 the goldfinch a small, stout-billed, bright yel- 

 low, canary-like bird, with black wings and tail 

 and a black cap ? And the flicker or golden- 

 winged woodpecker a little larger than the 

 robin, with gold-lined wings, a black crescent on 

 the breast, a red patch on the back of the head, 

 and a white rump, conspicuous as the bird takes 

 wing ? The hummingbird, too our only one ; 

 I should say that everybody ought to recognize 

 it, only that I have found some who confuse 

 it with sphinx moths, and will hardly believe 

 me when I tell them of their mistake. The 

 cedar-bird, likewise, known also as the cherry- 

 bird and the waxwing, is a bird by itself ; re- 



