op EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. I39 



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and even alights upon the ground, and from its 

 position makes the thickets resonant with song. > 



Its song may be heard at irregular intervals, 

 from early morn until, twilight has melted into 

 dusky night. It is so peculiarly its own, as never 

 to be forgotten when once heard. The following 

 syllables tswe—tswe—tswe—tswe—tswe pronounced 

 quickly, so that the final sound of each preceding 

 word glides into the initial souad of each succeed- 

 ing one, the last syllable ending somewhat abruptly, 

 express its language quite accurately. It is sharply, 

 loudly, and distinctly enunciated, and increases 

 in intonation from the beginning to the end. 



Being uncommonly terrestrial it its habits, than 

 otherwise, its diet consists mainly of the seeds 

 and insects which it discovers underneath decom- 

 posing leaves, and aquatic insects which it procures 

 along the margins of streams. Its earliest diet 

 consists of CEdipoda stdphurea, CE. nebulosa, 

 Caloptemis femur-rubnim, Acheta nigra, among 

 orthoptera ; Harpalus p'ensylvanicus, H. tompar, 

 Pangus caliginosus, Cratonychtis cittfrciis, Cicindela 

 vulgaris, Lachnostema hirticula, Platynus cupri- 

 pennis, Rhynchcenus pint, among beetles, Formica, 

 sanguinea and F. subterranea, among hymenoptera; 

 besides spiders and earthworms. Later, when 

 lepidoptera are abundant in their larval and 

 mature stages, an important addition is made to 

 its bill of fare. Anisopteryx vemata, Eufitchia 

 ribearia, and other geometers ; Clisiocampa Ameri- 

 cana, immature specimens of Promsthea, Fades 



