MIDSUMMER MELODIES. 1 15 



Pe-e-w-e-e. On another occasion I was charmed by 

 the vocal rehearsals of a young pewee. His youth 

 was evident from the fact that he twinkled his wings 

 and coaxed for food from the mother bird, who re- 

 warded his vocal efforts by feeding him. The song 

 was extremely beautiful, spite of the crudeness of its 

 execution ; a clear continuous strain, repeated quite 

 loudly, with here and there a partially successful at- 

 tempt to emit the ordinary pewee notes. Occasion- 

 ally the parent bird would respond, as if setting the 

 ambitious novice a musical copy, and then he would 

 make a heroic effort to pipe the notes he had just 

 heard, and several times he succeeded admirably. 

 He had a voice of excellent quality, but did not 

 have it under perfect control ; still, the immature 

 song was so innocent, so naive and striking, that it 

 was a temptation to wish he would never learn to 

 sing otherwise. 



Permit me to add, in conclusion, that, while the 

 birds are not equally musical or plentiful all the year 

 round, yet there is never a time when their behavior 

 is not worth careful attention. Moreover, midsum- 

 mer is the most favorable time for the study of the 

 quaint behavior and varied plumage of young birds, 

 — a theme connected with our avian fauna that 

 merits more consideration than it has yet received. 



