128 IN BIRD LAND. 



two birds confounded ; yet there is no need of 

 making such a blunder. The woodland bird is 

 smaller, slenderer, and of a darker cast than his 

 relative ; and, besides, there is a marked difference 

 in the musical performances of these birds. The 

 song of the phcebe is sprightly and cheerful, and 

 the syllables are uttered rather quickly, while the 

 whistle of the wood-pewee is softer and more plain- 

 tive, and is repeated with less emphasis and more 

 deliberation. There is, indeed, something inex- 

 pressibly sad and dreamy about the strain of the 

 wood-pewee, especially if heard at a distance in the 

 "emerald twilight" of the "woodland privacies." 

 Mr. Lowell seldom erred in his attempts to charac- 

 terize the songs and habits of the birds, but in his 

 exquisite poem entitled "Phoebe" he certainly 

 must have referred to the wood-pewee and not to 

 the phcebe-bird, as his description applies to the 

 former but not to the latter. He calls this bird 

 "the loneliest of its kind," while the pewit is a 

 familiar species about many a country home. Tak- 

 ing it for granted that he meant the wood-pewee, 

 how happy is his description ! 



" It is a wee sad-coloied thing, 

 As shy and secret as a maid, 

 That ere in choir the robins ring, 

 Pipes its own name like one afraid. 



"It seems pain-prompted to repeat 

 The story of some ancient ill, 

 But Phabc 1 Phesbel sadly sweet, 

 Is all it says, and then is still. 



