114 FAMILIAR FEATURES OF THE ROADSIDE. 



ing to himself — sotto voce — as he flits among the 

 shrubbery near the ground searching for seeds. His 

 music is spontaneous and variable, and he is enti- 

 tled to be called the musician jMt' excellence of the 

 meadow. Many of his notes, though, are similar to 

 those of the yellowbird and the indigo bird, but the 

 scope of his voice is greater than either of these two 

 sweet singers ; the following is a characteristic ex- 

 ample : 



]8\ia.. 



f^S 



^ 



I 



-i- 



Zwe- -zwe -zwePhiliiil trrr-rr-rrree ■ ■ 



It will be noticed that his song generally ends with a 

 trill, but not always, for 1 have heard him in the 



morning: sing; thus : 



Phil-il -il trrrrr-r-rrrec zi^-a -gee, 



Another song which I heard while wandering through 

 the Arnold arboretum, on March 22d last, ran in 

 this wise : 



gvd 



fFffp i^rrrrr -ff- 



