180 BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. 



and tail. The summer yellow-bird, on the con- 

 trary, wears heavier yellow, and is not only with- 

 out the contrasting black, but looks dull from the 

 " obsolete " brown streaks on his vest. The gold- 

 finch is a larger bird, and, as he lives on seeds 

 rather than insects, has the thick finch bill instead 

 of the fine one of the warbler. On the wing, at 

 a distance, the peculiar curved undulating flight 

 of the goldfinch marks him ; and when* -you are 

 near enough to hear him sing, you will find that 

 his canary-like song is totally unlike the warbler 

 trill of the summer yellow-bird. 



One spring we discovered a golden warbler's 

 nest in the top of an apple-tree in the old North- 

 ampton orchard, near the nest a song sparrow had 

 built at the bottom of a brush heap, and the loose 

 bunch of twigs the catbirds had patched up with 

 newspaper in an apple-tree crotch. Perhaps the 

 little bird thought its persistent enemy, Madam 

 Cowbird, would be less likely to visit its nest if 

 other mother birds were on the watch near by 

 for the golden warbler is the bird spoken of as 

 having had to build three stories to rid itself of 

 the cowbird's eggs. 



LXI. 



REDSTART. 



THE long tail of the redstart makes him appear 

 about the size of a chipping bird. In habits, 



