60 WAKE-—ROBIN 
days afterward and found an egg again cast out, but 
none had been put in its place. The nest had been 
abandoned by its owner and the eggs were stale. 
In all cases where I have found this egg, I have 
observed both male and female of the cowbird lin- 
gering near, the former uttering his peculiar liquid, 
glassy note from the tops of the trees. 
’ In July the young, which have been reared in 
‘the same neighborhood, and which are now of a dull 
‘fawn color, begin to collect in small flocks, which 
‘grow to be quite large in autumn. 
The speckled Canada is a very superior warbler, 
having a lively, animated strain, reminding you of 
certain parts of the canary’s, though quite broken 
and incomplete; the bird, the while, hopping amid 
the branches with increased liveliness, and indulg- 
ing in fine sibilant chirps, too happy to keep silent. 
His manners are quite marked. He has a habit 
of courtesying when he discovers you which is very 
pretty. In form he is an elegant bird, somewhat 
slender, his back of a bluish lead-color becoming 
nearly black on his crown: the under part of his 
body, from his throat down, is of a light, delicate 
yellow, with a belt of black dots across his breast. 
He has a fine eye, surrounded by a light yellow ring. 
The parent birds are much disturbed by my pres- 
ence, and keep up a loud emphatic chirping, which 
attracts the attention of their sympathetic neighbors, 
and one after another they come to see what has 
happened. The chestnut-sided and the Blackbur- 
nian come in company. The black and yellow 
