KENTUCKY WARBLER 67 



vanced/and we forced our way through the dense 

 tangle of undergrowth to follow it, till we came sud- 

 denly upon a forest garden, a great blue rug spread 

 on the floor of the woodland and lit up by the sun 

 coming through the skylights of the freshly leafing 

 trees. The delicacy of the light blue phlox and its 

 vine-like tracery of meadow rue made an exquisite 

 spring picture. There was such a luxuriant growth 

 of the phlox that negroes were picking it for the 

 market. As we stood absorbed on the edge of the 

 garden, suddenly, right before us, rang out the Wren- 

 like song we had been following, and on a low bush, 

 with head thrown back, the bird was singing. But 

 the brown Wren was a brilliant yellow, with black 

 velvety bands bordering his throat! A Kentucky 

 Warbler, we exclaimed in excited whispers, and then 

 stood silent, afraid of startling the bird that, quite 

 unmindful of us, now hopped down to the ground, 

 and now mounted a bush to sing. ' Klur-wcc, klur- 

 wce, klur-wee,' we repeated after him, to test for our- 

 selves Mr. Torrey's phrasing of it, and, indeed, at 

 times the bird pronounced the syllables as distinctly 

 as a person. And with what richness of tone! 

 Surely it is a song that goes well with the songster. 

 Mr. 'Torrey, referring to his note-book, copies the 

 exclamation made in the field, ' It is a beauty ! ' and 

 no one, seeing the bird for the first time in such a 

 setting as we saw him, can fail to share his enthusi- 

 asm." 



This Warbler, like the Oven-bird, is a walker. His 

 haunts are tangled woods near water, and he may 

 be looked for along the Potomac on the Virginia 

 side, on the islands, near Glen Echo, back of Mar- 

 shall Hall, and in similar places, but he is nowhere 



