16 WAKE-ROBIN 
places, avoiding all show of concealment, — coming 
from the tangled and almost impenetrable parts of 
the forest to the clean, open woods, where she can 
command all the approaches and fly with equal ease 
in any direction. 
Another favorite sparrow, but little noticed, is 
the wood or bush sparrow, usually called by the 
ornithologists Spizella pusilla. Its size and form 
is that of the socialis, but is less distinctly marked, 
being of a duller redder tinge. He prefers remote 
bushy heathery fields, where his song is one of the 
sweetest to be heard. It is sometimes very notice- 
able, especially early in spring. I remember sit- 
ting one bright day in the still leafless April woods, 
when one of these birds struck up a few rods from 
me, repeating its lay at short intervals for nearly 
an hour. It was a perfect piece of wood-music, 
and was of course all the more noticeable for being 
projected upon such a broad unoccupied page of 
silence. Its song is like the words, fe-o, fe-0, fe-o, 
few, few, few, fee fee fee, uttered at first high and — 
leisurely, but running very rapidly toward the close, 
which is low and soft. 
Still keeping among the unrecognized, the white- 
eyed vireo, or flycatcher, deserves particular men- 
tion. The song of this bird is not particularly 
sweet and soft; on the contrary, it is a little hard 
and shrill, like that of the indigo-bird or oriole; but 
for brightness, volubility, execution, and power of 
imitation, he is unsurpassed by any of our northern 
birds. His ordinary note is forcible and emphatic, 
