106 



THE COLOGIST. 



heavens that their niehxncholy roar is 

 softened l)y distance into an enchanting 

 mnrnmr and the "caw" of the crow, 

 bahincing on the topmost spear, h:)ses 

 its harsliness and blends well with the 

 melody of the \yinter y\''reu here below. 

 Under foot, the soft needles give a 

 springing elastic sensation to the foot- 

 steps, and tJicir rac^' odor temi:)ts one 

 to In-eatlie deep and long. Farther on, 

 in the dry maple woods, an old sugar 

 house long since deserted, has become 

 the haunt of numerous noisy Chickadees, 

 while the swamp l)eyond gives promise 

 of Warblers by-aud-by. On escaping 

 thither from the l)usy country rcnid out- 

 side, one is tempted to exclaim with 

 Longfellow 



"This is the forest primeval; 



The murmurlDg plues and the hemlocks, 

 Bearded n ith moss and In garmeuis green. 



Stand like ^ruids of E!d." 



It is the middle of April and on lirst 

 entering this sylvan retreat, I am salut- 

 ed by the ever-pleasing song of the 

 Ruby-cvowued Kinglet; instantly I be- 

 come absolved in a \ain attemx>t to 

 transpose it to ];)aper. Even while my 

 interest is thus centered I am conscious 

 of cicada like trill near by and after the 

 Kinglet has diseoverd me and has 

 changed his tune into angry chatter- 

 ings, I turn my attention to it. This 

 trill I notice is of the same pitch 

 throughout, liut hrst increases then de- 

 creases in poAver. 



By the aid (,)f a ])owerful tield glass, I 

 can make out the form of a little bird 

 up a monster pine and by his motions 

 I recognize him as the Pine-creeping 

 Warbler. Walking carefully along, 

 watching the ground very intently, lest 

 I shonhl step on a stray twig, I at last 

 reached the foot of the tree, and 

 straiightening up prepare to shoot, 

 when I discover he is not there. At 

 this moment the ti-ill sounds again but 

 this time farther along and on repeat- 

 ing the operation I am again fooled. 

 This continues until the distant twelve 

 o'clock whistle warns me and I am just 



about to start for home when two birds 

 flutter to the ground lighting saAagely. 

 So rapid are their motions that I can- 

 not distinguish them, l)ut ere long one 

 gains the advantage and his defeated 

 rival seeks safety in flight. 



The victor, his breast swelling with 

 pride, mounts a small bush and l)egins 

 the well-known trill; it is never finished 

 hoAvever, and his lifeless form soon re- 

 poses in my hand. 



Next day, the April "cold snap" ar- 

 rives and the sky is Avell overcast Avith 

 clouds so I determine to see hoAv my 

 bird friends stand the Aveather. I 

 again find the Pine Creepers, but how 

 changed their habits;they haA'e descend- 

 ed from their vavj boAvers and noAV in- 

 habit the deciduous trees of the SAA^amp. 

 One can easily observe their habits noAv 

 and see how appropriate the name of 

 creeper is, for apparently their best 

 hunting grounds are the trunks of the 

 trees, although numbers may be seen 

 hunting among the tAvigs Avith all the 

 diligence, if not quite the speed and 

 dexterity of other Warblers. 



As the season advances the males 

 deA^elope a greater variety of notes; 

 sometimes they end their trill Avith 

 four clear Avhistles, sometimes ihcj ut- 

 ter four pairs of notes, the first of each 

 pair the Ioav, folloAved bj" the four Avhis- 

 tles. 



They are noAv found everyAvhere; the 

 pine Avoods are full of them as a matter 

 of course, and they may often be found 

 in small patches of oak a mile or so 

 from the nearest pine. In the fall they 

 change tlieir plumage and have the ha- 

 bits of the Bush-Avarblers. Their ap- 

 pearance is so like that of the Black 

 Poll and Bay-breasted Warblers (full 

 plnmage of course) that it is no Avonder 

 that they are not oftener observed in 

 the fall. 



Stew.art E. White, 



Kent Co., Mich 



