124 BIRDS OF THE PASTURE AND FOREST. 



common in our gardens among the fruit-trees, but more 

 shrill and feeble. The Creeper's note does not differ 

 from it more than the notes of different individuals of 

 the same species. 



The Speckled Creeper takes its name from its habit 

 of creeping like a Woodpecker round the branches of 

 trees, feeding upon the insects and larvae that are lodged 

 in the crevices of the bark. It often leaves the wood 

 and diligently manoeuvres among the trees in our gar- 

 dens and enclosures. The constant activity of the birds 

 of this species affords proof of the myriads of insects that 

 must be destroyed by them in the course of one season, 

 and which, if not kept in check by these and other small 

 birds, would, by their multiplication, render the earth 

 uninhabitable by man. 



THE OVEN-BIRD. 



While listening to the slender notes of these little syl- 

 vians, hardly audible amidst the din of grasshoppers, the 

 rustling of leaves, and the sighing of winds among the 

 tall oaken boughs, suddenly the space resounds with a 

 loud, shrill song, like the sharpest notes of the Canary. 

 The little warbler that startles us with this vociferous 

 note is the Golden-crowned Thrush or Oven-Bird. This 

 bird is confined almost exclusively to the woods, and is 

 particularly partial to noonday, when he sings. There is 

 no melody in his lay. He begins rather moderately, in- 

 creasing in loudness as he proceeds, until his note seems 

 to fill the whole wood. He might be supposed to utter 

 the words / see, I see, I see, I see, emphasizing the first 

 word, and repeating the two five or six times, growing 

 louder and louder with each repetition. There is not a 

 bird in the wood that equals this little piper in the energy 

 with which he delivers his brief communication. His 



