WOOD NOTES WILD. 17 
new “kinks” in his vocal twistings. He repeated them 
many times, almost to tiresomeness. They were, — 
The morning of the 14th opened rainy, but the drops 
did not stop the concert of the birds. On putting my 
head out to catch the first of it, a pewee was singing, 
=a: Fj 
= 
Pe - wee, pe - wee. 
and a robin defied the shower in good set terms : — 
Whether he meant to sing in E major or minor, I did not 
decide. 
May 23 I was awake before 2 o’clock A. M., and all 
was still; not even a frog peeped. At the first faint com- 
ing of light the rooster crowed; and in about half an 
hour I heard the first bird-notes, the robin’s. At this 
hour the robin does not burst into full song, but begins 
with a subdued twitter, which rapidly opens and attunes 
his throat for the splendid moment when, yielding him- 
self to the fresh gladness, he puts forth all his power. 
The present performance was in a little maple close by 
my window, where, undoubtedly, he had spent the night. 
His song was, — 
2 
