214 WAKE-ROBIN 
had found the author of the strain in the black-poll 
warbler. He seems loath to believe that a bird so 
small as either of the kinglets could possess such 
vocal powers. It may indeed have been the winter 
wren, but from my own observation I believe the 
ruby-crowned kinglet quite capable of such a perform- 
ance. 
But I must leave this part of the subject and , 
hasten on. “As to works on ornithology, Audu- 
bon’s, though its expense puts it beyond the reac 
of the mass of readers, is by far the most full and 
accurate. His drawings surpass all others in accu+ 
racy and spirit, while his enthusiasm and devotion 
to the work he had undertaken have but few paral- 
lels in the history of science. His chapter on the 
wild goose is as good as a poem. One readily over- 
looks his style, which is often verbose and affected, 
in consideration of enthusiasm so genuine and pur- 
pose so single. ; 
There has never been a keener eye than Audu- 
bon’s, though there have been more discriminative 
ears. Nuttall, for instance, is far more happy in 
his descriptions of the songs and notes of birds, and 
more to be relied upon. / Audubon thinks the song 
of the Louisiana water-thrush equal to that of the 
European nightingale, and, as he had heard both 
birds, one would think was prepared to judge. Yet 
he has, no doubt, overrated the one and underrated 
the other. The song of the water-thrush is very 
brief, compared with the philomel’s, and its quality 
is brightness and vivacity, while that of the latter 
