48 



THE NIDIOLOGIST 



The Blossom-Eater. 



J5V MORRIS GIHBS. 



WHKX I was a boy and the 

 advantages afforded by 

 works on Ornithology 

 were nnknown to me, the 

 names of nearly all of my feathered 

 friends were of my own coinage, 

 and this agreeable little songster 

 was denominated the " Blossom- 

 eater;" a name selected because 

 the gay, yellow fellow was often 

 seen picking at the catkins of 

 the willows. '"When I was a 

 boy " — how much those words 

 mean to all men — and how the 

 memories crowd upon us as we 

 glance back over those years of 

 freedom from care. And so it 

 is I prefer the name " Blossom- 

 eater " for this little blue-eyed 

 Warbler, for the love of those 

 early associations. 



There are few indeed who may 

 be considered lovers of our birds 

 and observers of their ^ 

 songs, who are unfa- v 

 miliar with the viva- 

 cious notes of this 

 a}j;reeable inhabitant of 

 the willow copse, for 

 the Blossom-eater is ^^^^ 



well 



distributed 

 s])ecies in the 

 U n i o n. The 

 song is thrill- 

 ing, and though 

 not long, viva- 

 city compen- 

 sates for its 

 brevity. There are 

 those who might not 

 care for the notes, and there 

 are some so-called Ornitholo- 

 gists who are capable of identifying but few 

 bird songs, but the lovers of bird melody 

 will agree with me that the notes of the 

 blue-eyed Yellow Warbler have a charm. 

 I know nothing more agreeaVjle or inspirit- 

 ing than the notes of this bird issuing from 

 a copse in early morning, when the sun 

 has lent his beams and the dew still glitters 

 on the foliage of the willows, and the grass 

 is sparkling with gems. 



The vSummer Yellowbird is one of the 

 first to make its presence known in the 



morning, and they are often heard while 

 yet the Whip-poor-will is monotonously 

 belching its jargon and the noiseless bats 

 are wheeling above in murky air. The 

 simple song, but doubly sweet at this time, 

 sounds almost out of place in the earliest 

 dawn. But soon the air is full of the joy- 

 ous notes of happy songsters, and a prac- 

 tised ear can detect the ditties of twenty 

 well known sj^ecies in the grove near, and 

 the willow copse on the edge of the stream. 

 On the top branch of the alder or willow 

 sits our little friend, and we may get near 

 enough to see the streaks of burnt umber 



