Bird -Nesting with Burroughs 



89 



the presiding genius of ' Slab- 

 sides' ; one could not imag- 

 ine fitter companion with 

 whom to go a- nesting; for 

 be the paradox especially 

 noted that the enjoyments 

 of nest-hunting are doubled 

 when you halve them. 



Then there was ' Slab- 



sides ' itself, ideal haunt for 



man and bird, and round 



-«»» about were inviting wooded 



m V fK^^^mEUKm -A hills, with here and there 



^> « >^^^ ^^v^**W^W^Sw®^^HH^-. a cultivated vallevs between 



" •'^^"^^^^ .^^^ -w ,m.ar them, and, not far away, 



fields and orchards. 



Through these pleasantly 

 varied surroundings, on the 

 morning of June 16, 1900, 

 we wandered, visiting old 

 acquaintances as well as 

 searching for new ones. It 

 was not to be expected that 

 a passing tour of observation 

 and investigation should 

 yield results of unusual interest or scientific value, and I have nothing 

 more important to record than the mere joy of seeing and discovering 

 objects which never fail to excite a bird -lover's enthusiasm; with the 

 added satisfaction of being 

 able, in some instances, to 

 picture far more graphically 

 than could be done with pen 

 alone, the scenes from bird- 

 life which are here presented. 

 The difference between 

 casual and continuous obser- 

 vation is eloquently illustrated 

 by our comparative knowledge 

 of the first bird we visited — 

 the Phoebe of whom Mr. 

 Burroughs writes in the pre- 

 ceding pages. To me she was 

 interesting simply as a Phoebe hummer feeding young 



HUMMER ABOUT TO FEED YOUNG 



