BIRDS OF THE PASTURE AND FOREST. 123 



builds his nest upon the ground in the thickets that con- 

 ceal the boundaries of the wood. 



The note of the Chewink and his general appearance 

 and habits are well adapted to render him conspicuous, 

 and to cause him to be known and remembered, while the 

 Wood-Sparrow and the Veery might remain unobserved. 

 Our birds are like our " men of genius." As in the lit- 

 erary world there is a description of mental qualities 

 which, though of a high order, must be pointed out by an 

 observing few before the multitude can appreciate them, 

 so the sweetest songsters of the wood are unknown to 

 the mass of the community, while many ordinary per- 

 formers, whose talents are conspicuous, are universally 

 known and admired. 



THE REDSTART AND SPECKLED CREEPER. 



As we advance into the wood, if it be midday, or before 

 the decline of the sun, the notes of two small birds will be 

 sure to attract our attention. The notes of the two are very 

 similar and as slender and fine as the chirp of a grass- 

 hopper, being distinguished from it only by a different 

 and more pleasing modulation. These birds are the Eed- 

 start and the Speckled Creeper. The first is the more 

 rarely seen. It is a bird of the deep forest, and shuns 

 observation by hiding itself in some of the obscure parts 

 of the wood. Samuels, however, has known a nest of the 

 Eedstart to be built and the young reared in a garden, and 

 other authors consider the bird more familiar than shy. 

 In general markings, that is, as we view the bird without 

 particular examination, the Eedstart is like the Chewink, 

 though not more than half its size. It lives entirely on 

 insects, darting out upon them from its perch like a fly- 

 catcher, and searching the foliage for them like a sylvian. 

 Its song is similar to that of the Summer Yellow-Bird, so 



