86 BIRD-SONGS ABOUT WORCESTER. 



song, he still gives us his hardly less 

 musical call-note toivkee, until he leaves 

 for the South in October. 



The sweet, pathetic pe-ee-wee of the 

 wood-pewee is now heard not only in the 

 deep woods, which are the bird's proper 

 habitation, but on the city lawns as well ; 

 for at this season the pewees, like many 

 other forest birds, leave their woodland 

 retreats after the young have left the nest, 

 and seek their food in the gardens of our 

 cities, where they find insects in great 

 abundance. Speaking of the peculiar pa- 

 thos of the pewee's voice, I remember one 

 ornithologist who derides the sentimen- 

 tality of the poet who conceived this bird 

 to be weighed down with sorrow and woe. 

 Notwithstanding the peculiar structure of 

 its windpipe, the ornithologist assures us 

 that the pewee manages to enjoy life about 

 as well as the majority of birds. All birds, 

 however, considering the manifold perils 

 to which they are exposed, seem to be 

 remarkably cheerful and light-hearted. 



It is doubtful if many of our song-birds 



