BIRD PARADISE 127 



his hand against every man and every man's hand 

 against him. 



Of all the smaller birds that visit my lawn the 

 small flycatcher seems to be the most demonstra- 

 tive in asserting his presence and proclaiming his 

 wants. He has a metallic voice that he uses 

 without much iutermission, during all his wak- 

 ing moments. He seems to regard himself as one 

 of the magnates of the bird world. Other birds, 

 however, accord him very doubtful prominence. 

 His appearance is the signal for a sort of indiffer- 

 ence on the part of his fellow birds that is quite 

 noticeable. Just as soon as a pair of these fly- 

 catchers establish their summer home the male 

 bird is organized into a vigilance committee that 

 leaves no stone unturned in doing his entire duty. 

 The tone of his metallic voice is gauged to a key 

 and manner of the genuine scold. The presence 

 of any other bird opens the flood-gates of the fel- 

 low's feelings and the protest that follows is 

 belligerent in every particular. The oriole seems 

 to be his special dislike, so much so that I have a 

 notion that the brilliant-colored fellow has in 

 some way vented his spleen on his smaller brother. 

 Of course the robins and blackbirds receive their 



