BIRD-SONGS 



few feet from the ground, like the words, " preacher, 

 preacher, preacher," or " teacher, teacher, teacher," 

 uttered louder and louder, and repeated six or 

 seven times, is also famiUar to most ears; but its 

 wild, ringing, rapturous burst of song in the air high 

 above the tree-tops is not so well known. From a 

 very prosy, tiresome, unmelodious singer, it is sud- 

 denly transformed for a brief moment into a lyric 

 poet of great power. It is a great surprise. The 

 bird undergoes a complete transformation. Ordi- 

 narily it is a very quiet, demure sort of bird. It 

 walks about over the leaves, moving its head hke a 

 little hen ; then perches on a limb a few feet from 

 the ground and sends forth its shrill, rather prosy, 

 unmusical chant. Surely it is an ordinary, common- 

 place bird. But wait till the inspiration of its flight- 

 song is upon it. What a change! Up it goes 

 through the branches of the trees, leaping from 

 limb to limb, faster and faster, till it shoots from • 

 the tree-tops fifty or more feet into the air above 

 them, and bursts into an ecstasy of song, rapid, 

 ringing, lyrical; no more like its habitual perform- 

 ance than a match is like a rocket ; brief but 

 thrilling ; emphatic but musical. Having reached 

 its climax of flight and song, the bird closes its 

 wings and drops nearly perpendicularly downward 

 like the skylark. If its song were more prolonged, it 

 would rival the song of that famous bird. The bird 

 does this many times a day during early June, but 

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