WORM-EATING WARBLER 



John H. Sage, we heard its song some rods away. 

 At first it sounded like an insect ; then, on nearer 

 approach, it had the metallic quality of a rattle- 

 snake's rattle ; and when within sight of the bird 

 its song assumed the ring 

 of the Pine-creeping War- 

 bler and the Chipping 

 Sparrow, though distinct- 

 ly different from both. 



^fy ^ rst i m P ress i n of 

 Worm-eating Warbler. the bird was that he was 



brown, then that he was 



very plump, and finally, as he turned over his 

 head to look for a worm, that his black-striped 

 crown was strikingly handsome all of which 

 points were a surprise after the pictures in the 

 books. 



He sang with his head thrown back and his bill 

 wide open, his drooping tail shaking with the 

 energy of the performance. For some time he sang 

 regularly every ten seconds. He had a definite 

 beat, singing up and down the length of a shal- 

 low ravine. As he sang he hunted quietly, hop- 

 ping down the branches of a tree in ladder fashion, 

 dropping from the tree to the ground ; flying up 

 to another tree, and again down to the ground. 

 But though we followed him closely, and thought 

 we examined every one of the spots he visited on 

 the ground, we were unable to discover the rare 

 bird's nest and spotted eggs, and had to leave with 



