SCRAPING ACQUAINTANCE. 145 



woodcock. Hence, for all their gorgeous ap- 

 parel, they are mainly left to students and 

 collectors. Of our common species the most 

 beautiful are, perhaps, the blue yellow - back, 

 the blue golden-wing, the Blackburnian, the 

 black -and -yellow, the Canada flycatcher, and 

 the redstart ; with the yellow-rump, the black- 

 throated green, the prairie warbler, the sum- 

 mer yellow -bird, and the Maryland yellow- 

 throat coming not far behind. But all of them 

 are beautiful, and they possess, besides, the 

 charm of great diversity of plumage and hab- 

 its ; while some of them have the further merit, 

 by no means inconsiderable, of being rare. 



It was a bright day for me when the blue 

 golden-winged warbler settled in my neighbor- 

 hood. On my morning walk I detected a new 

 song, and, following it up, found a new bird, 

 a result which is far from being a thing 

 of course. The spring migration was at its 

 height, and at first I expected to have the 

 pleasure of my new friend's society for only 

 a day or two ; so I made the most of it. But 

 it turned out that he and his companion had 

 come to spend the summer, and before very long 

 I discovered their nest. This was still unfin- 

 ished when I came upon it ; but I knew pretty 

 well whose it was, having several times noticed 

 the birds about the spot, and a few days after- 

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